Whenever I palm, it's hard for me to block out most or all the light because I have kind of a big nose. My hands, arms, and elbows also tire out fast. Is it okay if I use a bandana and wrap it over my eyes so its dark instead of palming?
Quote:Whenever I palm, it's hard for me to block out most or all the light because I have kind of a big nose.
Do not try to block out all the light, just block out the majority of light and don't worry if some light gets in, otherwise you might start straining.
Quote:My hands, arms, and elbows also tire out fast.
I had this problem too, but then I found that if I sit on a low chair, and put my elbows on my lap with my back bent, then it is easier. You could use cushions, but they were irritating for me (my elbows kept sliding off).
Quote:Is it okay if I use a bandana and wrap it over my eyes so its dark instead of palming?
No, [according to Bates] this will not have the same beneficial effect as palming. Nor will sitting in a dark room with your eyes closed. Your hands emit electromagnetic waves that heal the eyes and mind. Also, the warmth of the palms has a healing effect.
It's a traditional belief by most ancient cultures. If you put your hand on whatever part of the body that's in pain, the pain seems to disappear.
It's probably not electromagnetic, but most believe the life energy flows out of your hands. Some people have lots of energy flowing out, while others have very little. There are actually techniques to improve the energy flow. It seems like a pile of rubbish, but there was a show on this that yielded amazing results. Note that the results weren't published for the same reason Bates wasn't formally published, they were absurd:
There was a gentleman who ran his own practice for relieving back pain. His patients came in, lied down on their stomach and had their back covered with a wet towel and tinfoil. The gentleman came in and used his hands to heal back pain. Many believed that so much natural energy came from his hands that it heated the surface, hence tinfoil and a wet towel was required to prevent burns.
Well, some scientists laughed at him, and decided to prove this "myth" wrong. They invited a camera man from a TV show (I was just flipping channels one day and saw this), and acquired a thermal sensor, which is a device for measuring surface temperatures. One looks through the device and can see the temperatures of all surfaces in the room by the color that they adapt (red--> very hot, blue --> very cold). They put this gentleman and his patient in their own room to prevent any sort of tampering with the props, and did not permit him to wear any long sleeve articles of clothing. Once they analyzed it, they were astonished - there was a wave of heat that followed underneath his hands and heated the surface. They measured the surface temperature to be ~100 degrees Celsius (enough to boil water).
I'm not saying it's true, but these were their results, I'll leave the interpretation to you. I bet if you look for it you'll find many articles on this.
