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BatesEyeExercises.com===Exercisesformyopia
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Exercisesformyopia
Generateyourownexerciseplan
Shortsightedness(myopia)isthemostcommondiseaseofeyerefraction.Accordingtotheestimatesofthescientists,
30%oftheEuropeansand60%oftheAsianssufferfromshortsightedness.Inmostcases,thedefectoccursbeforethe
20.yearofage.Whenitcomestoanatomy,theeyeballislengthened,whichcausestheimproperrefractionoflightrays
fallingintotheeyeballandfocusingoftheraysbeforeinsteadofontheretina.
Moreinformationonthisdefectcanbefoundhere
Basicinformation
Beforeyoustarttopractice
Visualdefects
Identifyyourdefect
Dr.Batesmethod
Relaxationtechniques
Bodyrelaxation
Eyerelaxation
Generalexercises
Normaleye
Shortsightedeye
Centralfixation
Visiontechniques
Visualization
Specificdefectexercises
Myopia
Hypermetropia
Exercise K1. Exercise with a Snellen chart
Itisabasicexercisewhichisgoodforthedefectsofshortsightedness.Thosewhohavecorrectvisionshouldalsodothis
exerciseasoftenaspossibletomaintainthegoodsightorevenbetterthan20/20.
1. Set a Snellen chart in such a distance to see clearly about half the chart, its further part may be blurred and
invisible.
Presbyopia
Astigmatism
Amblyopia
Convergence
Strabismus
2. Readthelettersineachclearlyvisiblerow,letterbyletter.Trytodrawtheircontoursandseetheyareclearand
black.Duringthisexercise,blinkfrequently,closetheeyesfromtimetotimeandvisualizetheletteryouhavejust
read.Imaginethatitisevenblackerandsharper.
3. Whenreadingthechartyoucanalsoraisethehandsontherightandleftsideofyourbodytotheheightofthe
eyesandmoveyourfingersandpalms.Thiswillactivateyourperipheralperceptionandreducethestressdueto
centralvision.
4. Whenyoucometotherowwithnonrecognizableletters,donotstrainyoursight.Tryneithertoseeclearlythe
letters,norreadthem.Allowyoureyestomovefreelyacrossthelettersnottryingtoseethemclearly.Watchthe
spacebetweentheletters,theirblacknessandshape.Takedeepandslowbreaths,blinkandwaveyourfingers.
Once in a while, close your eyes and visualize the letters repeating in the mind that the chart is white and the
lettersareblack.
5. Move down the chart and when you reach its end, do a short palming. Then, repeat the steps but this time
startingfromthebottomofthechart.Watchifearliervisiblecontoursoflettersarenowbettervisible.Acceptwhat
isblurredandenjoyeverydetailyoucanseeclearlyandwithoutstress.
Duration:48minutes.
Repetitions:12timesperday
Alternativeexercises:K3,K6
Eyestrain:medium
Exercise K2. Stretching of eye oblique muscles
This exercise is designed to relax the eye oblique muscles that are used to change the eye optical length, and are
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responsibleforproperandacutevision.
1. Takeapenciloruseyourownthumbandstarttomoveitslowlyfromdown,nearthebodyandmoveittowards
thetipofyournose.Lookatthetipofyourfingeruntilittouchesthenoseandyoureyesturnalsotothatpoint
(thereisagoodchancethatnearthenoseyouwillseetwothumbs).
2. Then,beginahorizontalmovementtotherightstilllookingatthefingerasitismoving.Makemovementforthe
lengthofthearmorabitshorter.Yoursightcanmoveevenfurther(thethumbisnotasimportanthere).Stopin
thissettingforawhileandmovebacktowardsthenose.
3. Whenmovingfromthenosetoaparticulardirection,breathein(themusclesstrain),stopfor12seconds,and
afterwards,whenmovingtowardsthenose,breatheout(themusclesrelax).
4. Move as in the step 2, upwards and then to the left. Move smoothly, but in case of any pain, refrain from
exercises.Makenomorethan210fullturns(down,right,up,left)dependingonhowmuchyoureyesaretired.
Duration:2minutes.
Repetitions:24timesperday
Alternativeexercises:A1,A4,R8
Eyestrain:medium
Exercise K3. Exercise with two charts
This exercise allows to practice the alternate perception from near and far, which improves eye accommodation and
spatialperception.
1. Theexerciserequiresaspecialchartwithlettersthatyoucanlookatfromfarandnear.
2. Fixthebiggerchartonthewallinthedistanceatwhichyouseeitmoreorlessclearly,andholdthesmalleronein
yourhand.
3. Readthenext3lettersfromthesmallerchart,closeyoureyesforasecond,thenlookatthebiggerchartandread
thesameletters.Followthiswithnext3letters.
4. Duringthisexerciseyoucanreadthelettersinvariousways.Readthembythecolumns,rowsorslantwise.You
canalsoformmoreirregularshapesorjustchooseanyletteringyoulike.Followthisprocedurenotmorethan5
times.
5. Now,moveyourselfalittlebitfromthefarthercharttoseethelettersblurrily.Practiceasinthesteps34.Blink
andbreathtokeepyoursightrelaxedatalltimes.
6. Shouldyoufeelanyeyeacheduringthepractice,discontinueitanddoshortpalming.
Duration:24minutes.
Repetitions:24timesperday
Alternativeexercises:K1,K6
Eyestrain:high
Exercise K4. Exercise with a cord
Thisexercisehelpstoassesstheindividualrangeofgoodvision(nearandfarpoints)andextendit.
1. 1.Thisexerciserequiresa1mcord,preferablyelasticline,beadsorothermovablemarkers(availableinourshop).
ItisalsoagoodideatoaskotherpersontohelpYou.
2. Goodvisionismeasuredforeacheyeseparately.
3. Holdoneendofthecordatthecheekbone(abitbelowtheexaminedeye).Theotherendisfixedtoanythingat
theheightoftheeyes.
4. Now,wemarkournearpointofacutevisionthatshouldbesomewhereintheareaof520cm(dependingonthe
defect)andbegintomovethemarkerfromthebeginningofthecord(atthecheek).Weareinterestedinfindinga
pointwewillbeabletoseeourmarkerclearlyandacutelyfrom.Itcannotbeafuzzyorblurredimage.Wemark
suchapoint.
5. Now, we mark our far point of acute vision. We begin to move the marker from the other end of the cord (for
example,bystraighteningourhandoraidedbyotherperson)andwhilecomingnearertothecheekwefindour
farpointofacutevisionwewillbeabletoseeclearlyourmarkerfrom.Wemarkthispointwiththemarker.
6. Withthenearandfarpointsofouracutevisionmarked,wecanbegintoworkonextendingtherangeofgood
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visionbymovingthemarkerabout5cmneareachpointtobothsides.Theelasticcordthatcanbedrawnnearer
andmovedawaywiththehandistheperfectoptionhere.Breatheincalmlyasyouapproachtheeyeandbreathe
outwhenyoumoveaway.Thisexerciseshouldbeperformedforabout4minutes,butquiteoftenduringtheday
(evento10timesaday).Ifoneoftheeyesisweaker(lazyeye),weshouldworkonittomakeitassharperas
thestrongereye.
Duration:24minutes.
Repetitions:210timesperday
Alternativeexercises:K5
Eyestrain:medium
Exercise K5. Reading with playing the trombone
Thisexerciseconsistsincheatingtheeyeswhilereadingatext(achartorbook)setveryclosetotheeyes(09cm).As
wedrawthechartnearerandnearer,theprintstartstoblur,whichisduetothelackofaccommodationinsuchashort
distance.Apersonsufferingfromfarsightednesswillexperiencefocusingoftheimageontheretinaatleastforawhileor
evenbehindit(paradoxicalfarsightedness).Owingtothat,ourmindsendsasignaltotheeyesthatthefurtherstraining
oftheobliquemusclesisuseless.Thissignalshouldresultwithrelaxationofmuscles,thesocalledsofteningofsightand
thisiswhatwereallywanttoachieve.Similarly,movingabooklikethetromboneallowstoextendtheperceptionfieldby
thesmoothchangeofaccommodation.
1. Setachartorbookabout15cmandconcealoneoftheeyes.Drawthechartnearertotheeyeslowly.
2. Whentheprintisblurred,moveyoursightacrossthelettersandwordsnottryingtorecognizethem.Blinkfrom
timetotime.
3. Now,makethereturnmovementslowlystoppingatthepointwhenyouseethetextwithperfectacuity.Stopat
thispointforawhileandreadoneortwosentences.
4. Then,movethechartevenfartherawayuntilthetextisabitblurred.Blinkanddrawthecharttothepointofthe
mostacuityagain,andthen,evenclosertotheeyesuntilthetextisalmostunreadable.Gothroughthesteps3
and4(playingthetrombone)severaltimes.Thistechniqueshouldimproveyourrangeofgoodvisionforthenear
point.
5. Dothisexerciseagainfortheothereye.
Duration:2minutes.
Repetitions:24timesperday
Alternativeexercises:K4
Eyestrain:medium
Exercise K6. Exercise with a calendar
Thisexerciseallowstopracticethechangeofaccommodationandthusimproveouracuity.
1. Theexerciserequiresaspecialcalendarchartwithdigitsofthreedifferentsizes.
2. Fix the calendar chart on the wall and set yourself at a distance from which you see clearly the largest digits,
recognizethemiddlesizeddigitswithdifficultyandcannotreadthesmallestofthem.
3. Begintheexercisefromalookatthenextbiggerdigit(forexample,1),closetheeyes,turnyourheadrightand
opentheeyes.Makeareturnmovementwithyoureyesclosed,thistimestoppingatthenextdigit(inthiscase,
2),closeyoureyesagainandmoveyourheadleft.Openyoureyesagainandgobacktothecharttothenextdigit
(inthiscase,3)etc.untilwereachtheendofthefirstrow(110).Doashortpalming.
4. Now, move to the first digit in the second row (that is, 11) and keeping your eyes open, go downleft to the
mediumsizednumberof11.Closetheeyesforasecond(imagingthedigitof11andthatwemovethesightfrom
a large to a mediumsized digit). Open your eyes again and move your eyes down right from the large to the
mediumsizednumberof11.Closeyoureyesagain.Repeatthestep4fornextnumbersofthesecondrow(11
20).Doashortpalming.
5. Now, practice with the numbers from the third row (2130) so that with your eyes open you can make the
movement:largesizednumberof21,mediumsized21ontheleft,mediumsized21ontherightandfinallythe
smallsized21.Itisnotimportantthatyouarenotabletoseethesmallsized21clearlyoratall.Closetheeyes
andimaginethismotioninyourmind.Visualizethatyouareseeingeachnumberveryclearly.Now,repeatthe
step5forthenextnumbersfromthethirdrow(2130).
6. Shouldyoufeelanyeyeacheduringtheexercise,stopdoingit.Intheend,doalongerpalmingasthisexercise
putsmuchstresstotheeyes.
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Duration:45minutes.
Repetitions:12timesperday
Alternativeexercises:K1,K3
Eyestrain:high
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