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      Dr William Horatio Bates was a respected American Ophthalmologist who practised mainly in New York and worked in a number of important teaching hospitals. He noticed that the vision of many of his patients was extremely variable and realised that this meant it could be improved. He later gave up his orthodox practice in order to devote his life to discovering, then showing others, how long sight, short sight and astigmatism could be prevented and improved in children and adults without the use of glasses.The Bates method recognises that visual problems are rarely static: vision is a dynamic process and needs to be worked with in a dynamic way. Dr Bates maintained that the key to most visual problems was central fixation.Central Fixation means that you see best the thing that you are looking at. For this to happen the eye needs to be able to clearly distinguish the centre from the periphery. For this to happen the eye muscles need to be able to move freely and sensitively. For this to happen, the eye muscles and all other parts of the visual system need to be relaxedIf you strain to see, the eye muscles become tense, the eye does not move freely and the retina becomes desensitised. In the early stages of a visual problem, it may be quite easy to let go of the strain: if it has become a habit over years it may be very difficult to let go. That is why so many optometrists believe that the eye is fixed and vision does not change.Relaxation of the eyes does not mean vaguely staring into space: it means using the eyes properly, looking at everything in detail and with full attention, but without strain. People who see normally do this as a matter of course: people who have had trouble seeing for years may find it quite difficult to learn.We start with simple techniques to encourage relaxed use of the eyes – to learn the difference between strain and relaxation. From there we can progress to learning to recognise the ways in which we defeat ourselves in the attempt to see and to overcome them by learning how to keep the mind in contact with what we are looking at while keeping the eyes relaxed.We also use movement games to further develop relaxation and to help the eyes relearn the natural movement patterns that are vital for central fixation.When this starts to work correctly, the system begins to automatically recalibrate itself.So where do the muscle strengthening exercises come in?        They don‘t. If the muscles are used in a proper relaxed way they work fine. Most of the exercises which are supposed to strengthen the muscles directly actually add to the strain and weaken them. Where these are mentioned together with the Bates Method they have been added on by other people who have misunderstood what Dr Bates was talking about. It is possible to use sequences of eye movements to help detect and overcome strain, but this needs to be done very sensitively and is best supervised by a teacher. There are two techniques for you to try, ‘Palming’, and ‘Colour Days’. Click on the links to get started. Both techniques can be very enjoyable, but remember, it’s important to take your time: There is no need to rush.Palming is the foundation for all Vision Improvement techniques – when you palm you give your eyes a chance to relax: there is nothing to see, nothing to try and see, and nothing to do!Colour Days are another foundation skill, encouraging you to look out at the world without straining============================================= All vision improvement programs are based on the the revolutionary ideas ofDr. Bates.upped by request of user 7thZombie