Relearning to See: Improve Your Eyesight -- Naturally!

by Thomas R. Quackenbush

In this accessible presentation of the famous Bates method, Thomas R. Quackenbush (who teaches the Bates method in California and Oregon) describes how eyesight can improve naturally, at any age and regardless of heredity. This book is a wonderful tribute to the genius of Dr. Bates, who was a pioneer in discovering how vision becomes blurred and how it restores itself naturally to clarity and acuity. Now 80 years later, his findings and teachings remain light years ahead of our contemporaries. His approach to treating vision problems was truly holistic and the theme throughout this book is very much an extension of that holistic approach. Dr. Quackenbush is to be commended for his dedication in getting the truth out and keeping the torch burning in this "bible" on vision improvement.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Fitness

552 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 1996

Reviews

[Jess Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

=====[ORIGINAL REVIEW written on December 12, 2008:]=====

In one of the reviews in the first two pages of the book, someone comments that the book could really be titled "Relearning to Live". I heartily agree. A lot of the 5-star reviews say it as it is.

Compared to the hundreds of dollars I've spent on eyeglasses, eighteen dollars to read about improving eyesight (to the point where eyeglasses aren't needed--truly!), seems to be a bit of a paradox. I was a bit skeptical at first, but the will to improve my eyesight by natural means, was stronger than doubt. I believe this is an important step, as one has to assume responsibility for their own health and well-being (as quoted by a holistic health practitioner, somewhere in the book).

This book may very well be the best eighteen dollars I've invested in. It is of incredibly high standard and quality. To say the least, Mr. Quackenbush has a thorough, comprehensive, and extensive understanding of Bates' method and vision.

I started out at -7.25 (with -0.25 astigmatism--which I never believed I needed); currently I'm about -5.50 (no astigmatism). My -7.25s were getting fuzzy around Feb 2008. Yesterday, I tried on my original -7.25s, and I've better than perfect eyesight with them. This would be a total impossibility, had I not gotten this book.

Many optometrists have a negative view of Bates' teaching. Why, of course. If everyone had good eyesight, a whole bunch of optometrists would go out of business overnight.

For me, the first few days were a bit trippy. Headaches, etc. I will not forget the day my vision "sharpened" with a -6.00 pair. I was walking around in a store and it just happened.

"Don't stare, don't strain", are two golden rules to remember. The reading material will help you remember and put those (and other) good eye habits into practice. Yes, it takes dedication. Yes, lasik is "fast". Read the book and you'll see the price you pay for permanently tampering with (i.e: cutting) your corneas.

Personally, I do not intend to let Bates' (3 decades of research; was forced to resign from his graduate teaching position due to his contemporary, un-orthodox views) and this author's beneficial work to mankind, go to waste.

=====[UPDATE on June 29, 2010:]=====

I remember leaving a(n Amazon.com) review some time ago on this book, and am going to update it with the following comment.

I started off around -7.25 (both eyes) when I chanced upon this book on Amazon. I was sick and tired of going to optometrists and shelling out a lot of money for glasses.

Right now I'm around -4.50 (both eyes), my 700 degree specs are SUPER sharp nowadays.

Why, because of applying what the book/method teaches/suggest, which MAINLY is to:

1) not stare
2) not strain
3) reduce stress (mental and tangible)

-4.00 and over is considered "high myopia," so I'd like to drop it down to -4.00 at least. That being said, if I can do that, I might as well go all the way down to 6/6 perfect eyesight.

WOW, what a miracle!

[Clark Night · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the book to learn how to easily apply shifting and other methods to improve the eyesight. Use Amazon.com's `Look Inside Tool'; search for Shifting, Sketching, Brushing and Centralization taught by this Expert Author, Teacher.

I attended the Author Thomas Quackenbush's Natural Vision Improvement class in 1999 in San Francisco, CA after reading, studying his book 'Relearning To See-Improve Your Eyesight Naturally' in 1997. Later I read his 2nd book 'Better Eyesight, The Complete Magazines of William H. Bates' (The Ophthalmologist that discovered Natural Eyesight Improvement) when it was published in 2001. He has taught Natural Eyesight Improvement since 1983, trained thousands of students and hundreds of teachers.

My present age is 55. I have used the Bates Method since 1974, age 17 to keep my eyesight clear. In 1996 at age 40 I developed unclear close, reading vision; small print, objects at about 7 inches and closer were blurry. I tried the usual Bates Method of Natural Eyesight Improvement and it worked. I began searching for books on the subject and in 1997 purchased, studied Mr. Quackenbush's book. The vision then went from 20/20 with occasional fluctuation to 20/30, 40 then to clearer than 20/20 at close and far distances maintaining that clarity to my present age.

I had to check out this teacher! I attended his class in the spring of 1999. This resulted in the clearest eyesight I have ever experienced; 20/10 which is better than 20/20; seeing the smallest line on the bottom of the eyechart clear at 20 feet. Sometimes the eyesight is clearer; 30/10 to 40/10; 40 feet away-see the letters on the bottom line of the eye chart clear and smaller letters. (Usually 20/20-30/10 is the best I get due to working on a computer 5-10 hours a day.)
I can see fine details, crystal clear eyesight. I remember one day after coming home from Tom's class I easily saw a homeless man in our neighborhood 5 blocks away down Grand Avenue in So. San Francisco. Recognized details of his face, beard, hat, cloths.
At night I can look across the street in the dark and see people clear through a window in the far end of a lighted building. Objects outside in low light are clear and I can see the craters on the moon. No glare around lights at night, eyes are comfortable in bright sunlight without sunglasses.

This method corrected Presbyopia at age 40. I could read small print before, but now can read tiny fine print clear! See fine print clear 1-3 feet away... and up close to the eyes at 8, 6, 3, 2, 1 inches from the eyes. Also see a natural magnifying effect placing a small object or tiny fine print up close to the eyes, 1/4th inch almost touching the eyelashes and see it clear; like when I was a kid and would look at a clear colored marble close to the eye and see tiny parts inside the glass or like a jeweler does when inspecting a diamond without a magnifying glass. I practice reading the fine print as Dr. Bates describes and shifting point to point, tiny part to tiny part on the details in the small stones Tom gave us in his class or on a flower, leaf, piece of cloth...

I continue to use this natural eyesight method and the fine print directions to keep my reading vision, close and distant vision clear. Dec., 2012; age 55 and it still works.

This book, the method IS NOT EYE EXEXERCISES.
The person applies use of normal vision functions as easy, relaxed natural vision habits all the time, all day long. It is also used for night vision. With some practice, this occurs on its own, the normal eye, visual system function occurring automatically, maintaining clear eyesight.

Before taking the class, reading this book I only understood, used basic shifting; moving the eyes, (visual attention) side to side, top and bottom on an object to see it clear.
After learning from this author, teacher; I understood that the eye shifts freely, not in a repetitive, controlled, limited pattern and; tiny shifting, saccades also occur on small parts, fine details of objects. The author makes this easy by teaching `Sketching, Brushing'. The eyes use `Centralization' with shifting; 'using the eyes fovea centralis' (which is in the back of the eye, center of the macula, in the retina), moving the eyes central field from small part to small part (point to point) on objects. This is the normal function of the eyes and it occurs naturally, on its own. Imitating, practicing this returns the eyes, eyesight to normal function. Shifting, Centralization... are applied all the time as easy relaxed habits.

Go to Chapter 9, Part 3 to dive right into Natural Eyesight Improvement Training; The Three Principles of Natural Vision; MOVEMENT, CENTRALIZATION AND RELAXATION.
Then to Chapter 12, Part 4; The Three Habits of Natural Vision; SKETCHING, (ALSO KNOWN AS SHIFTING), BREATHING AND BLINKING

Then to Chapter 15 for the SUMARY.

Relaxation, Memory, Imagination; In the class we practiced a Self Healing Activity with relaxation, memory, imagination. The students sat in the class and closed, covered their eyes with the palms of their hands as described by the teacher.
We imagined, visualized a story using the memory, imagination to describe what subjects, objects we were thinking about. Each student creates their own addition to the imaginary story; A man from India that was sitting next to me in line talked about imagining he was in the jungle having a great time investigating the different plants, animals, the river, water falls, all in color, motion, seeing objects clear at close, middle, far distances, hearing the wind blow through the trees, bird calls, feeling the wind, warmth of the sun, touching objects, seeing, feeling their texture, shape...

Then my turn came to continue the story and I said I was upset with him because I was in my big stone chair in the woods relaxing, looking at the colored details in the stones and he was there feeding the wild animals, attracting tigers, monkeys... to my secret hideout. I could see the orange, yellow and black strips on the tiger, his face, whiskers, eyes, tail swaying. He crawled up on the rock with me and ate a sandwich the man gave him and then took a nap. He purred like a kitty cat. The sun sparkled on his fur as the breeze passed through it. Each person added to the story as we traveled in our minds, imagination. When we uncovered and opened our eyes many people, including myself experienced clear or improved sight. The relaxation remained long after the class when I returned to work. I could re-activate it anytime I felt stress, strain. Improving the memory, imagination, relaxation improves the clarity of eyesight.

The book, course improved mental clarity, function, sense of well-being and self-respect. I quit a dangerous job in a hotel that was causing much stress.

More than eyesight improvement, this is a stress reduction class. Relaxed breathing is taught. Relaxation of the shoulders, neck, correct posture, clear eyesight at the computer, healthy full spectrum sunlight, indoor light, how to work with an eye doctor to obtain freedom from glasses and other information is included.

The Bates method also corrected a wandering eye, double vision, blur and astigmatism condition I experienced in 2009-2011 due to a neck and back injury caused by a dishonest chiropractor throwing my neck, spine, hip, vertebrae, bones out of alignment, mis-aligned neck vertebrae C-1, 2, 4, 6, others along the shoulder area, T1... and the spine, hips then trying to sell me 240 treatments to start and stating I will never be cured. It was like being in a car accident; nerve, cartilage and other injuries, a whiplash like effect. Over 2 years I finally found a new, honest doctor, physical therapist and healing is now 95% although the injury in the neck may always be there so I have to be careful lifting, over straining the neck typing... Natural Eyesight Improvement brought the vision back to 100% clear!

Nerves travel from the neck, spinal cord, 'brain stem' to the eye muscles. The brain stem also connects in the brain and the optic nerve passes near the brain stem, through the brain. Nerves, blood, lymph vessels also travel to the brain, eyes through the neck. Any injury to the neck, vertebrae, misaligned vertebrae... and even the spine, back, pulling, tension on the spinal cord, brain stem can affect the eye muscles, brain/visual system, clarity of vision. This includes impairing eye movements and causing strabismus.

Dr. Bates proved that tension in the outer eye muscles causes pressure, tension, pulling on/in the eyeball, alters its shape and focus of light rays, clarity of vision. He also proved that relaxation of the muscles returns the eye to normal shape, correct focus of light rays and clear vision. See the color pictures of the eye, eye muscles in the Author's book; lengthened, shortened and irregular causing different vision problems due to tension in, malfunction of the outer oblique, recti eye muscles. Then see the picture of the normal eye producing clear vision. The ciliary `lens muscle' and lens function can also be affected.

I am grateful for the Natural Vision Improvement knowledge Mr. Quackenbush has taught me. It keeps the eyesight clear for life even under very adverse conditions! The body and sight can heal and with correct practices healing is faster, maintained.

Tom is one of the rare true teachers that has never strayed from the Bates Method. He has improved it using only natural safe practices.
Some other teachers have changed the method in order to make more money; advising lasik, sunglasses, contacts, harmful type eyeglasses and incorrect, unnatural practices that cause vision impairment. Tom has never done this.

I consider another main reason my eyesight never remained impaired in younger life and now is due to not wearing eyeglasses. In elementary and high school my mother bought glasses for me on advice of a nurse. I refused to wear them due to the pain, tension they caused and noticing the eyesight would be worse after wearing the glasses. Thankfully I had a nice mother and teacher. I was allowed to sit closer to the blackboard, without glasses and the distant vision improved on its own. In the U.S. Army my Sargent was smart and allowed us to have the option not to wear glasses. I could aim, hit the target with my M-16 from the distant foxhole without glasses.

Stress, strain, reading unfamiliar distant letters... can affect the sight. Teachers should realize this. I also think studies done on the computer should be printed out or listened to as to avoid constant reading on the computer screen and other devices which can lower the vision. Artificial 3-D in video games, Computers, some new TV's... impair brain, visual system, eye, eye muscle function.

I continue to refuse to wear eyeglasses. Eye doctors cannot prescribe for me because the vision is clear with use of the Bates Method.

I would have posted a review years ago but was a low income person, no access to internet, never heard of Amazon.com until a few years ago.

Feb, 2012 - buying another copy of this book to send to a friend. My friend has improved his vision. Mr. Quackenbush's book has helped many of my friends, people I meet in the grocery store, at work, the train station. We do sunning and shift, centralization... on the eyechart, trees, railroad tracks... waiting for the train into Boston.

I also have this book by Ophthalmologist Bates, Edited by Thomas Quackenbush (read-studied it many times and now read for fun!);

[Steve Goodwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those types of books which should be required reading for general health.

We learn how to exercise our bodies through P.E. classes but not much is ever mentioned about our eyes. How to keep them healthy, and keep their full range of focus ability.

Like many muscles, if we don't use them, we lose them. Staring at computer screens, or blank walls in offices all day, doesn't stretch our eyes to look into long distances.

A good read, with practical advice which may help many people. Like most things, it takes work.

[Brad Belschner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book helped my improve my prescription from -9.5 to -7.0 Diopters. That's a huge difference, and I'm deeply indebted to Thomas Quackenbush (probably the all-time worst name to have if you work in alternative medicine!). I wanted to get all the way to 20/20 vision, but in the end I concluded this was not possible. The theory underlying this book is flawed.

The Bates Theory teaches that eyeballs are malleable, and that the muscles *surrounding* the eyeballs control focus. But eyeballs aren't malleable (with the exception of the cornea), and vision simply doesn't work that way. Sorry Bates.

Nevertheless, most of the peripheral content of this book is true. Eyes were designed to stay in motion, eyes were designed to focus on one tiny object at a time, blinking often is a good thing, most of the visual process is mental, etc. If we use our eyes improperly, then we can make our vision worse and worse over time. THOSE are the sort of vision problems we can improve, the kind caused by bad vision habits. The kind of vision problems we *can't* fix are those caused by the shape of our eyeballs. Quackenbush's advice and methods helped me to shave 2.5 Diopters off my prescription (which is amazing), but ultimately I guess the shape of my eyeballs prohibits me from seeing better than -7.0 D.

So in the end, I do recommend this book, but with a big grain of salt. If your prescription is 20/40, or something low like that, then you can almost certainly attain 20/20 vision. But if your vision is much worse (like mine), then you'll probably be able to make vast improvements, but it might be that hardware problems could keep you from attaining 20/20.

[Quratulain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blurred vision is a message from the mind and body that a persons visual system is out of balance with nature.”
Many people experience a lowering of their sight during a period of high stress. Incorrect vision habits
Relaxation is the key to normal, clear sight.”
No one is truly healthy who has blurred sight.”
Three key principles underlying natural, clear sight: movement, centralization, and relaxation.
The nearsighted eye is too long from front to back. A diverging lens is used to focus light rays farther back into the eyeball, onto the retina.”
A converging (Convex) lens + sign indicates the focal point is beyond the converging lens.”
A farsighted eyeball is too short from front to back. A converging lens is used to focus light rays closer to the front of the eye onto the retina.
In astigmatism the eyeball is oval. The amount or magnitude of this ovalness is measured in diopters. The oval shape can original at any angle. Axis is measure of angle of astigmatism.”
Prism correction for strabismus is measured in units of base, indicated by prism symbol.
Visual Acuity is not reliable evidence of the state of refraction.”
No absolute correlation between diopters in a prescription and visual acuity. Diopters relates to the refractive error of the eyeball.”
When improving vision, the most pronounced experiences of sharper vision occur from -3.00D to zero D.”
Rather than identifying the cause of their initial blur and reversing it, most people obtain glasses or contact lenses.”
Refractive error in the eye which is left to itself are never constant.”
After people once begin to wear glasses, their strength has to be steadily increased in order to maintain the degree of visual acuity secured by the first pair.”
The sight always improves, to a greater or lesser degree when glasses are discarded, although the fact may not always be noted.”
When a strain of these muscles does exist, glasses may correct its effects upon refraction, but the strain itself they cannot relieve. The glasses make the muscle strain worse.”
Others, having less independence of mind, or a larger share of the martyrs spirit or having been badly frightened by the occultists, submit to an amount of unnecessary torture which is scarcely conceivable.”
Glasses fitted at 20ft are harmful and habit-forming at 20ft and beyond. Less than 20ft, the glasses are many times worse. This is what brings on progressive myopia
If left alone without glasses and the incorrect eye habits in all close work stopped, the eyes would return toward normal.
A farsight who looks into the distance with his reading glasses will also strain his eyesight.
Better vision in bright light is due to the pinhole effect. Most people who have blurred vision have more blur in darkness than in bright light•
Eyesight is tested in darkness to ensure you are given the maximum correction needed for all situations.”
Mono vision can result in the loss of normal depth perception .
Bifocals cause more neck strain.
Agrawal Mind and Vision book
People with blurred vision have a tight neck because the same strained vision habits that tighten the eye muscles also tighten the neck muscles
The best approach while improving vision is to discard glasses permanently. Glasses of reduced prescription can be under while transitioning. Remove the glasses whenever they are not essential.”
Use safe glasses for driving.
For near vision: do not wear glasses if possible. If glasses are necessary obtain a weaker prescription. If different corrective lenses are needed for more than one distance, it is better to have two pairs of glasses.
When vision with a pair of reduced glasses becomes crystal clear, they must be further reduced.
Improperly made glasses can strain your eyes.
Vision does not improve while wearing contact lenses:foreign object, too strong for close vision, don’t wear corrective lenses when it is not absolutely needed.”
Centralization: only a small part of the visual picture we see is clearest, while most of the visual picture is unclear— even for those with perfect sight.
People with blur tend to put their visual attention into the areas of the picture that are unclear.
Accommodation is attributed only to the lens which acquires more curvature on its from side by the contraction of the ciliary muscle. Bates attributes accommodation to the action of the two oblique muscles producing an elongated eyeball.
Atropine cause ciliary muscle to lose any possible contraction power to change the curvature of the lens and the lens relaxes into its normal at rest flatter shape for distance vision.”
It seemed to me that if a statement is a truth it must always be a truth. There can be no exceptions
No error of refraction was ever a constant condition.
The lens/ciliary muscle is NOT a factor in accommodation.
The adjustment necessary for vision at different distances is effected in the eye, by a change in the length of the eyeball. This alteration is brought about the action of the muscles on the outside of the globe.
Refractive errors occur due to functional and REVERSIBLE derangement in the action of the extrinsic muscles.”
Functional myopia vs organic myopia
Nearsightedness, farsightedness (at least before age 40) and astigmatism do NOT have anything to do with the front side of the lens not being able to acquire more curvature.”
Vision blurs when person is still for too long.
Nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, strabismus are FUNCTIONAL PROBLEMS caused by chronically tense EXTRINSIC eye muscles.
Presbyopia is said to be caused by hardening of the lens but Bates said it is due to tense recti muscles.”
The eye accommodates to see clearly up close and then unaccommodates to see clearly in the distance.”
The normal eye can focus sharply on an object at any distance from infinity up to about 25fm in front of the eye.”
Helmholtz research shows that during accomodation there are only changes at the front side of lens NOT the back.
Helmholtz research did not indicate that both sides of the lens change their curvature, which is what a person might expect when the ciliary muscle contracts and expands around the lens.”
Bates: Lens is NOT a factor in accommodation.”
Two oblique muscles accommodate the eyeball. Whether or not the lens and/or ciliary muscle play any role in accommodation, they are NOT necessary for accommodation.
1) many lensless people accommodate 2) many older people keep excellent vision both near and far 3) many so called presbyopes improve their vision with the Bates method 4)an eye with a paralyzed ciliary muscle can still accommodate
Bates: presbyopia is hypermetropia occurring at middle age caused by strained recti muscles foreshortening the eyeball.”
The presbyopes sight for the distance is often very imperfect and always below normal, although they may have thought it perfect. Improvement of distance vision improves the near point vision.
Make it a practice of reading the finest print they can find.
It is a fact that many people in stressful industrialized societies lose the ability to see clearly up close around age forty.”
In science of ophthalmolog, theories often stated as facts have served to obscure the truth and throttle investigation for more than a hundred years.”
The oblique muscles are the muscles of accommodation. The recti are concerned in the production of hypermetropia and astigmatism.
The daily reading of small, distant, familiar letters will do much to lessen the tendency to strain when disturbing circumstances arise.
In true nighttime vision, the cones do not function and there is no central vision. Only rods function in true nighttime vision. Peripheral vision constitutes 99% of the visual field.”
It is not possible to see better than 20/400 with the peripheral rods.
Maximum concentration of rods is located in a circle 18th around the fovea.“
The cause of nearsightedness is the formation of strained, incorrect vision habits.”
When both oblique muscles contract, the eye is squeezed into a long shape. When the two oblique muscles relax, the eyeball returns to its normal round shape. This is Bates explanation of accommodation.
In nearsightedness, the two oblique muscle contract and the person sees clearly up close and STAYS contracted chronically. They do not release and the eyeball remains elongated.”
Laser procedures: improve distance acuity without the use of glasses. They only change the refractive status. The change involves only the cornea, while the depth of the vitreous chamber remains increased and eyeball is still elongated. Person still has myopia and remains subject to all the risks of myopia.”
When all four recti muscles contract, they pull the front of the eyeball backward against the fatty tissue in the eye orbit and thereby shorten it from front to back.
When the four recti muscles release the chronic tension they hold in farsightedness, hypermetropia is reversed— regardless of the mechanism of accommodation.”
All persons who have astigmatism have eye strain. When eyestrain is relieved, the astigmatism disappears.”
The three principles of natural vision are: movement, centralization, relaxation
People with normal sight unconsciously shift constantly with movement and centralization (attention to detail).
Swinging and blinking
People who have blurred vision have a tight neck, eye muscles, head, and shoulders. These tensions are caused by rigid staring, shallow or even stopped breathing•
Imagine stationary objects to be moving opposite to the movement of his head and eyes.
Oppositional movement
Vision and vision habits cannot be perfectly normal until they are subconscious.”
Oppositional movement- pencil, the sway, the long elephant swing, the long swing with closed eyelids, the infinity swing. The purpose is to eliminate the staring habit.”
When a person is out of balance, the incorrect directions seem correct. The comfort of moving in the incorrect direction only matched my imbalance.”
Infinity Swing: keep you attention brushing the middle finger.
The sway is more powerful than the Long Swing because the feeling of oppositional movement is more subtle.
Nose-feather is the Long Swing
Double oppositional movement
Head Movement Parallax: objects at different depths produce retinal images which move a different rates across the retina when the head is moved.
Walking ensures that the depth cue of head-movement parallax is available to the visual system…
There is no picture out in the world— only light rays enter our eyes. The picture we see occurs primarily in the mind. The eye sees and the mind perceives.
When a person becomes rigid by staring, not only do the eye muscles contract tight but many head, neck, and shoulder muscles become chronically tight.”
The visual system cannot tolerate the experience of stationary objects appearing to be stationary for more than a second or two. Continual movement is necessary for normal clear vision.”
Second cervical vertebrae is especially related to the visual system.”
The emotion most associated with kidney stones is fear.
A person can move the head but still be spaced out. In order for someone to not be staring, both movement and centralization are needed/“
The rod light receptors in the peripheral part of our retina are designed to pick up movement. The physical and mental attempt to make objects still- called staring— interferes with the ability of rods to perceive movement in the peripheral vision.”
Movement: shifting(sketching), abdominal breathing, blinking.
Centralization is the normal, natural, subconscious mental habit or skill of having one’s primary visual attention or interest at one small, central point at any particular moment, and this central point of interest is the only place within the visual field that is clear and most colorful.”
When a person has normal centralization and normal sight, only the central object is seen clearly and all peripheral objects are much less clear and less colorful.”
The rods which pick up our peripheral vision are incapable of picking up peripheral objects clearly. Only the cones in the fovea centralis pick up clarity.”
People with normal sight see objects clearly but only one at a time. They shift constantly from one clear point to another clear point.”
When the eye attempts to see every point in its field of vision about as well as the central point, not only is its visual power lowered, but it is subject to a sever strain.
The vision could not have become blurred without acquiring diffusion. Diffusion becomes part of the personality.
The spatial limitation of central clarity is compensated for by constant movement of the eyes.”
Eccentric Fixation: trying to see with the sides of the retina. Eccentric fixation is diffusion.”
An eastern yogi was visiting a big supermarket in the US for the first time. A sales clerk asked the yogi if he needed help finding anything. The yogi answered, “No, I am just thanking God I don’t need any of these things.”
Centralization is relaxed, involuntary visual concentration. Effort to see lowers vision. Squinting is artificial vision•
“I see the better course and approve it but I follow the worse.”
Pointing is centralizing.
Perfect sight can be obtained only by relaxation.
The eyes are rarely if ever completely relaxed in sleep and if they are under a strain when the subject is awake, that strain will be continued during sleep, to a greater or lesser degree, just as a strain of other parts of the body is continued.
The eyes do not get tired of seeing.
When the mind is at rest nothing can tire then eyes
When a person has normal sight the eye is at rest and when the eye is at rest, it is always moving to avoid the stare.”
Vision is meant to be effortless.
Learn to combine relaxation with activity; learn to do what you have to do without strain; work harder but never under tension.”
By the time the child leaves school or college, it not only knows nothing but is in the majority of cases no longer capable of learning.”
Mental strain of any kind always produces a conscious or unconscious eyestrain and if the strain takes the form of an effort to see, an error of refraction is always produced.”
Essentially myopia appears to be the response of the total person to some form of stress.”
As we build vision, hearing becomes more acute.”
Noises in her ears are promptly relieved by palming.
It is impossible to see clearly when staring.
The three habits of natural seeing are sketching(shifting), breathing, and blinking.
In the beginning the simplest and easiest form of sketching is edging or Outlining. Trace the shape of a tree, a house, flower, door, etc. Sketching eliminates the habit staring.
The nose-pencil is attached to the nose to remind us to move the head- not just the eyes. Move the head while keeping the primary interest where the nose-pencil is touching. It is impossible to stare.
The picture we see is not out in the world. Objects are out in the world and light rays from those objects enter our eyes. Light rays land on the retina and then stimulated light receptors send messages along the optic nerve to the brain. The picture we see is formed in the brain.”
The return to clarity is a reflection of an individual’s return to a normal, healthy state of internal relaxation— a return to a balance with nature.”
Any form of artificial eyesight ‘correction’ will never address the real cause of blurred vision. The original strain remains until it is released by the individual.”
Movement + Centralization = Sketching or Shifting
Visualizing is not necessary for improving vision.”
Sketching or shifting is the correct way of seeing the world— all day long. It is NOT an eye exercise. It is the the first of three key vision habits.”
People who talk about Bates eye exercises do not understand Bates’ work.
1) sketching is somewhat exaggerated in the beginning. Larger sketching is best in the beginning to be sure the head is released and mobile. Ultimately the head movement can be very small but the head and neck are still relaxed and mobile.
2) blurred vision is slow or frozen vision. Normal vision is swift vision. It takes time to learn swift, constantly shifting sight.
3) sketching and shifting consciously is unnatural.
What we see is conscious but how we see is meant to be unconscious.
The sooner a student forgets the eyes exist, the faster will be the improvement of sight.
Someone who signs a lot is likely not breathing normally. The body is grasping for oxygen.”
If incorrect breathing habits make a person stare, vision will lower.”
Fetal sleeping position is bad for breathing
Smoking causes poor night vision.
Breathing is a natural form of movement— an internal massage— essential for stimulation of and circulation in all organs and tissues.
One of the best methods of breathing: seperate the teeth while keeping the lips closed, breathing deeply as if one were yawning.”
Blinking is a rest. It prevents fatigue and improves the sight in myopia and helps maintain good vision more continuously.”
In all cases where the sight was normal, blinking occurred almost every second. When light is good, blinking occurs at less frequent intervals.”
Nearsighted tend not to blink for long periods of time when their attention is in the far distance.
Farsightedness tend not to blink for long periods of time while reading or doing other activities up close.”
Squinting is narrowing of the eyelids that blocks part of the peripheral light Ray entering through the pupil. Although a person can often see better artificially, squinting is a harmful habit. It injures the eyes
The pinhole effect shows your minimum potential eyesight without glasses.”
Astigmatic cornea has angular distortions (wavy surface). In astigmatism, the single light rays from straight ahead might not continue in a straight line back to the fovea.”
Trick vision (harmful); it is possible to see more clearly by bending the head forward and downward while raising the eyes. The narrow angle of light along the eyebrows or eyebrow ridge creates a partial pinhole effect. This also strains the neck.
Squeezing the eyelids very tight can also create a flash of clear vision but it is an INCORRECT habit. A student should never associate any time of effort with his vision.
Students have flashes of clear vision while improving their vision. Continue to breathe and blink and sketch.
Continue to practice good vision habits during a plateau.
2-3 years to gain naturally clear vision is required
It took time and hard work to establish blurred vision.
Blinking, centralizing, and imagining stationary objects to move opposite to the movement of one’s head.”
Imagine stationary objects to be moving opposite to the movement of one’s head and eyes.
Invisible infrared light has lower energy than red light. Infrared light is heat.
Bright light: human retina is most sensitive to yellow-green light at 555nm and least sensitive to violet and red light.
In darkness, humans are most sensitive to green light at 496nm. Green light is seen as white or gray in true nighttime vision.”
Syntonics is a field of natural health that uses color lights to open up constricted pathways of light energy traveling from the eyes to the brain.”
Many people have restricted energy flow (photocurrent) from the eyes to the brain.”
Life stresses can shut down the flow of specific colors from the eyes to the brain.
When individuals view certain colors, especially colors associated with their sub-dominant hemisphere, many types of healing can occur.
Closed-eyelids sunning is one of the best ways to regain light tolerance.
People who are sensitive to light, NEED light.
Do long swing at sunrise or sunset. Keep eyelids closed. 5-10 minutes.
Strobing while sunning: flicker your fingers in from of your closed eyelids. This creates a stroboscopic effect or flashing effect which stimulates micro movements in the eyes
.”

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried. I tried this for years. I did the exercises, I walked around with my glasses so much that I became able to function fairly well amidst a huge blur. I was on a forum for fans of this book and they would all go on about how much it helped their vision. And then one day I said I was frustrated (my vision was really wretched) that my vision was, according to my eye chart, exactly the same, and people wrote and said basically, well, this really helped me feel better about not wearing glasses, but I'm the same on the eye chart too.

This will not improve your eyesight. If you're desperate to not wear glasses, you might find you can not wear them more comfortably than you might expect, but any variations in your vision will not be a result of doing eye exercises. Live with it.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had a unclear eysight especially for long distance view.

I take a little walk every morning and there I check my eyesight. There is a high voltage pole 1 km away and I thought the pole was made of 2 poles (with a horisontal bar above). Today I know and can clearly see that the double pole is for sure only one single pole. I see it clearly now, and even also the thin wires holding it in place.

Now I see the text on the televison clearly. Had great problems with that before this book.

There is no doubth in my mind – read this book, use it and avoid eyeglasses!

[Livia Blackburne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a rather unfortunate last name for an alternative medicine author. I didn't read most of it -- just the relevant chapters. After reading this, I did request reduced prescriptions from my optomitrist, and twice in a row now, I've returned to the optomitrist to find that I see 20/20 with the reduced prescription. I'd say my eyes have improved maybe from -5.75 to -5.00? I don't quite remember. Not sure how far I can take this, but hey, any improvement is nice.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

It had some interesting ideas, but overall no clinical (or other) research or trials were offered as proof.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly comprehensive book all about the Bates method of natural vision improvement. Tom quackenbush was clearly a bit of a nerd and he really goes into a lot of explanations of the science behind everything he shares. Some of it is not too relevant like the technology of how to reduce the radiation output of CRT monitors. But his writing is clear and easy to read and it's fun to hear what he has to say. I especially liked seeing all of the stories about students and how they have improved their vision. I don't agree with everything and some of the advice is a bit dated, especially around nutrition, but there are a lot of techniques and things to try to find what works for you. Try the infinity swing!

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Bates method involves

* Movement: eyes should always be in motion, never fixed on anything
* Centralization: keep looking at only one thing at a time
* Relaxation: don’t strain

The book includes suggestions for better shifting (sketch lines with your eyes), breathing (he likes yawning), blinking (do it more).

There is a section on nutrition (standard advice for real, low-processed foods. He also suggests no dairy or wheat).

http://www.seeing.org/ seems to be the main online site.

Wikipedia is highly critical of the method, pointing out that it’s never been scientifically validated, and that some of Bates’ assumptions about the eye are provable wrong.

[Debra Daniels-Zeller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is way too long, but overall it's a great inspiration for anyone who wants to improve her vision. Lots of information about the eyes, how they work, things that go wrong with vision, plus lots of relaxation tips, aspects of the famous Bates Method for improving eyesight, plus exercises to improve your vision. For anyone tired of paying for new glasses and stronger prescriptions every year, this book is awesome inspiration. We need more books like this that empower us to take care of ourselves.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tom Quackenbush's textbook is a fascinating melange of basic biology with total devotion to Dr. William Bates and his methods. Quackenbush spends dozens and dozens of pages quoting entire passages from Bates' books and periodicals. I take issue with Quackenbush's fanboy fervor towards Bates' teachings-as-doctrine (and unlike the skeptics on Wikipedia, he does sweep some of Bates' mistakes under the rug), but this book is full of beautiful science and clear diagrams of how many of the exercises can be performed—a really great reference.

[Dustin Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thick book that takes some perserverance to get through, but the insights (no pun intended) are amazing--but only if actually applied. I'm applying the book in conjunction with many practical changes in how I see. I strongly suggest taking notes and practicing the new ways to see.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Better Eyesight Without Glasses by Dr William Bates, left me very confused, but this book made the concept much clearer and provided the exercises to return one to normal habits. Why is this not taught in all schools?

[Happyreader]

I'm all for aging gracefully but I'm fighting the reading glasses.

[KristaMaureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time will tell if it'll work or not.. :)

[Aurel Mihai · Rating 1 out of 5]

Part quackery, part medicine, part advertisement, excessively long.

[Thenmozhi Rajendran]

Good