Bates eye gymnastics is a set of practical exercises that allow you to correct vision without surgery and the use of glasses. This manual was developed by the American ophthalmologist William Bates, who has devoted his entire life to the study of vision problems. The main conclusion he came to was that most eye anomalies develop due to pathological tension of the eye muscles. Those efforts that a person makes over and over again, trying to see objects near or far, lead to the development of all kinds of anomalies, including farsightedness, myopia, astigmatism. Bates claimed that his exercises help the eyes relax, train passive vision. At the same time, you don’t have to put much effort into this.
Bates method
Discussions aboutThe effectiveness of Bates' gymnastics for the eyes continues to this day, although the method itself has been known for many decades. William Horatio Bates is an American ophthalmologist who lived at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. He put forward a theory on the basis of which he claimed that he was able to completely cure the patient of farsightedness, myopia, astigmatism.
The essence of his theory was that mental stress becomes the reason for the deterioration of a person's vision. Moreover, each type of anomaly corresponds to a certain type of tension, which provokes the disease.
For example, myopia, according to Bates, appears due to the constant attempt to see distant objects, and farsightedness - on the contrary.
Science does not recognize
Modern science claims that Bates's gymnastics for the eyes is a method of restoring vision that is not recognized by science. Researchers have repeatedly found that these exercises do not lead to improvement in vision. Moreover, the central premise of the American scientist's theory that the eyeballs change shape to provide better focus is not true.
Despite this, there are still quite a lot of followers of this theory in the world. There are also in Russia. Among other things, they claim that this gymnastics helped them themselves, after which they began to promote it among the general public.
Astigmatism treatment
In most cases, Bates vision restoration is used to treat astigmatism. Today itone of the most common diseases that leads to vision problems in humans. It is because of him that both nearsightedness and farsightedness appear.
Let's figure out what it is - astigmatism in adults. This pathological condition occurs as a result of an irregular shape of the cornea, in some cases the lens. If in the normal state the lens and cornea have a spherical surface, then with astigmatism their sphericity is disturbed. In this case, some images may focus on the retina, while others remain in front of or behind it. It is because of this that a person as a result sees a distorted picture, in which some lines may be clear for him, while others may be blurry.
Specialists distinguish between lenticular and corneal astigmatism. The difference in the refraction of the weakest and strongest meridians characterizes the magnitude of this pathological condition in diopters. That's what it is, astigmatism in adults.
There are several ways to correct this condition - contact lenses, glasses, laser vision correction. According to the followers of the American ophthalmologist, restoring vision using the Bates method can help correct the situation.
Effective restoration of vision
Exercises, developed by an American scientist, are based on the fact that in order to maintain good vision, it is enough to minimize any eye strain. Bates was sure that the eye works perfectly only in a relaxed state. However, almost all of us are accustomed tofocus the gaze with effort and tension.
This habit leads to constant nervous overload. Modern life is already full of stress, and any additional psychological discomfort leads to muscle tension, including the eye muscles. Involuntary and voluntary eye strain eventually leads to fundamental changes in the visual organ, the appearance of various types of refractive anomalies.
Bates' eye gymnastics is based on two basic principles. To radically improve vision, he calls for learning how to relax the eye muscles. At the same time, he claims that it will be impossible to do this due to general mental or physical discomfort.
In this regard, Bates' eye gymnastics exercises are based on relaxation techniques not only for the eyes, but also for the mind and body.
Hyperopia
To defeat farsightedness, he offers a set of rather unusual exercises.
The patient is recommended to read a newspaper or a book with small print on a daily basis. In this case, the text should be at a distance of 25 centimeters from the eyes. In this case, it is impossible to use any means of vision correction, as it will only cause additional fatigue. While reading, it is recommended to try to look between the lines. In this case, the eye muscles will not strain so much. This exercise should be performed no more than a quarter of an hour.
Next, you need to have a Sivtsev table at hand to check visual acuity in two formats. For convenience, it can be printed onsheets of A4 format. Print one table in a standard size, as it looks like an ophthalmologist, and make the second small. Attach a large poster to the wall, move away from it at a distance of five meters. At the same time, keep a smaller format table in your hands. Exercises for the eyes with farsightedness is to alternately read a large and small table. At the same time, try to direct your gaze between the lines, as in the previous task. The exercise time is three to five minutes.
And for the next task, you will need a vision chart. In this case, it is recommended to alternately look into it and at the objects located in the room. Ideally, observe the moving objects. For example, for a cat that walks around the apartment, or for birds flying outside the window.
Another exercise should be performed while facing the window. Start turning your body, while concentrating on some object located outside the window. Movement should be slow and smooth. Lower your arms along the body, and spread your legs shoulder-width apart. When turning, look forward all the time. Repeat the movements for two to three minutes.
It is worth emphasizing that these exercises may not be suitable for everyone. For example, reading a book without glasses with severe farsightedness for a quarter of an hour can be very difficult. Therefore, before doing eye exercises and eye exercises, be sure to consult your doctor.
Myopia
With myopia, that is, myopia, asBates believed that due to constant eye strain, the functions of the center of vision are disturbed. Therefore, at the heart of his theory were exercises for training the central fixation. They are based on the hypothesis that by consciously mimicking an eye with impaired vision the behavior of a he althy eye, visual acuity can improve.
Gymnastics for the eyes according to Bates with myopia is performed on the so-called Om-map, which is a complex curly pattern. In its center is a bizarre hieroglyph in which you can read the letter combination "Om". An American ophthalmologist claimed that exercises on the Om-map can improve blood circulation in the eyes, increase the sensitivity of the fovea of the retina, and help improve visual acuity.
Complex exercise
Exercising to improve vision with myopia consists of six exercises. First set up the Om-map at a distance of about three meters at eye level. Fix your gaze at the starting point in its center. Then begin to slowly lead it along the entire sign, paying attention to the fact that the clearest part of the sign will be the one on which the eye is fixed at the moment. The exercise should be repeated three times. After that, it should appear to you that the entire sign has become darker than it was before.
The second exercise must be performed while standing. Place the Om-card at a distance of one and a half meters from the face. Please note that the central sign depicted on it is surrounded by a broken line resembling the image of rayssun or sunflower petals. Fix your gaze on any part of this line, and then begin to move it along the segments, moving your head following your gaze. At each end of a separate segment, start blinking rapidly. When doing this exercise, pay attention that the lines that the eye is currently falling on are blacker than the rest.
The third exercise is performed at the same distance from the Om-map. Pay attention to the circle that is drawn around the sign. Fix your gaze in a certain place on it, begin to slowly move around the entire circumference, moving your head along. Repeat the exercise several times, and then close your eyes, trying to do the same in your imagination.
Hold a pocket version of the visual acuity chart at arm's length. It should be at eye level about a meter from the face. You can put the table on the table, while there must be good lighting.
This eye muscle relaxation exercise is aimed at training the central fixation. Keep your eyes on individual letters that are clearly visible to you, noticing their clarity. Then artificially create dim lighting conditions by turning off the electric light or covering yourself with a dark blanket. The lighting should be so dim that at the same distance you can make out the type, but so that reading is already given with certain difficulties. Alternate reading the table in good and dim light to improve visual acuity.
Moreover, the vision chart should be read several times a day withdistances from three to six meters. In this case, it is necessary to blink often, the lighting must be as good as possible. Start the exercise from a distance of three meters, and then gradually increase it. The main thing is that when reading there is no tension. After finishing the exercise, perform palming. This is a special exercise developed by Bates, which we will cover in more detail.
While traveling in public transport or walking regularly watch moving objects. Passers-by, oncoming cars. This, according to an American ophthalmologist, will also improve your vision.
It is important during all these exercises that the eyes are as relaxed as possible, even half-closed, but not squinted. Distant objects should be viewed without much tension.
Palming
Palming Bates advised to complete any gymnastics complex for the eyes. This is effective in helping to relax while covering the eyes with the palms of your hands.
The patient should be in a comfortable lying or sitting position. The palms are folded so that the fingers of one hand lie on the fingers of the other crosswise. With palms joined in this way, cover your eyes. Make sure that the nose is not pinched, and the hands do not press on the eyeballs. If the rays of light still penetrate through the eyelids, move your fingers closer together or move your palms slightly.
After that, calm your breath, wait for the light reflections under the eyelids to completely disappear. To speed up this process, you can start imaginingsolid black objects. Having achieved maximum blackness before the eyes, you can be sure that the eyes are completely relaxed, and the level of excitation of the nerve cells of the visual analyzer is reduced. This rest is considered to be very beneficial for the eyes. It is recommended to repeat the procedure several times a day, as soon as it becomes necessary to remove the accumulated fatigue. You should stay in this state for three to five minutes.
Universal exercises
In addition to exercises that are purposefully designed to save the patient from nearsightedness or farsightedness, there are a number of universal techniques developed by Bates that are suitable for any visual impairment.
For example, a set of exercises for swinging and moving. For him, you will again need a table to test your vision. Hold your gaze on one of the letters, and then move it to the next letter located on the same line. Continue moving your gaze in this way, lingering on each letter for two to three seconds.
Repeat the exercise, moving your gaze vertically. In this case, your gaze should, as it were, slide up and down. First look at the large letter, then at the smaller one, then at the even smaller one. If the eye movement is done correctly, the table will appear to move up and down.
Reviews
In reviews of Bates's eye gymnastics, some of the patients who had vision problems claim that these exercises really helped them. They got rid offarsightedness or nearsightedness.
Note that such claims should be treated with caution, as there is no scientific evidence to support that Bates' methods actually help.
