Essentially, the Bates method is about relaxing both the eyes and mind. Vision is much more than just a function of the eyes, and the eyes for their part merely respond to the directions given by the mind. There are incorrect ways of using the eyes, and these promote strain, blurry vision, poor eye teaming, and a multitude of other problems. The Bates method provides ways and guidelines for relieving the strain and restoring the natural, relaxed seeing that the eyes are always capable of, even after decades of abuse.

When the eyes are relaxed, the vision is normal, and only a very small area in the visual field is seen best at once. When a person with normal vision looks, for example, just slightly to one side of a letter on the eye chart, the letter doesn't appear as clear as when he looks directly at it. In contrast, the clearest area in the visual field of a person with abnormal vision is much larger, yet this larger area isn't as clear as the point seen best by a person with normal vision. The visual system is only capable of seeing with natural clarity in this way, one point best. This is called central fixation. The smaller the point regarded, the better the vision. There may be a limit, but it is certainly far beyond the 20/20 standard.

Along with seeing one point best at a time, in normal vision there is the constant illusion of movement. When a person with normal vision shifts his gaze to a point on the right side of an object, it appears to slide left. When he shifts to a point on the left side, it appears to slide right. So on with upwards and downwards. This effect is called oppositional movement, or as Bates called it, simply "the swing." As the object appears to move or wobble in this way as a person regards different parts of it, the whole world appears to be moving with it.

What causes people to strain and otherwise abuse their eyes, when it's practically always avoidable? If you do so, you're approaching seeing in an effortful manner, bringing in unnecessary strain, suffering, and tension as you lock your eyes in a stare, inhibiting the swing (described above) and trying to push your eyes into focus. The sight can be temporarily and partially improved by efforts to see, but such abuse can't bring the vision to normal and will only result in further deterioration.

To put it simply, at some level you're convinced that an effort is required to accomplish anything, so naturally you won't allow seeing to be a passive, effortless act. Something won't allow you to relax, and the reasons for this can be buried in suppressed emotions or underlying beliefs about the way you should behave. Fortunately, these blocks will surface and release as you drop away areas of tension while practicing the Bates method successfully.

In a nutshell, the Bates method teaches you to use your vision exactly like it was meant to be used, and in this way it is unlike any other system meant to improve your vision. . See Dr. Bates's book and the rest of the content on this site for further elucidation of the Bates Method.