1: For palming, are the eyes suppoed to be open or closed during the exercise?
2: I'm having trouble seeing perfect black, any suggestions? As a result the clarity i'm supposed to get after releasing my palms is very slight.
3: Sometimes when I tightly close my eyes and open them again, I get a semi-clear flash (not completely clear, but much better than before). Am I hurting my eyes this way?
4: When tears or water gets into my eyes (like when bathing) I get a very momentary clear flash. Does this count in part of the myopic improvement?
Looking for detailed answers here-thanks in advance.
xavier Wrote:1: For palming, are the eyes suppoed to be open or closed during the exercise?
The eyes should be closed, and no pressure on the eyes or surrounding area from your hands.
Quote:2: I'm having trouble seeing perfect black, any suggestions? As a result the clarity i'm supposed to get after releasing my palms is very slight.
There is no level of clarity that you're "supposed to" get, these are just your expectations. Seeing black is a sign that your visual system is relaxed. However, palming in itself is a relaxing break for the eyes, so I do it often throughout the day for short periods. You can try to imagine something black, like letters on the eye chart. I recall someone in these forums mentioning that they imagine black ink spilling, and that has worked for me a few times. What I'll do is notice the smallest, blackest part and imagine that to be the source of the spill, and try to expand the black area as the ink spreads out. The most important part is to not force anything. Gently use your imagination in these ways, and notice what happens. Over time, you may find that you will see deep black at times and more often.
Quote:3: Sometimes when I tightly close my eyes and open them again, I get a semi-clear flash (not completely clear, but much better than before). Am I hurting my eyes this way?
You are hurting your visual system by possibly introducing more tension. These are known as hard blinks and the clear flashes that result are not what you're looking for. I sometimes do the same thing, as a way to massage the muscles near my eyes, but I ignore the clear flashes as any sign of progress.
Quote:4: When tears or water gets into my eyes (like when bathing) I get a very momentary clear flash. Does this count in part of the myopic improvement?
No, the water acts as a lens that reduces the refractive error. People often mistakenly get clear flashes when running, riding a bike, or in windy weather because of tears that form. After awhile, you will know when you start to get true clear flashes because of relaxation in your visual system rather than from hard blinks or tears.
xavier Wrote:2: I'm having trouble seeing perfect black, any suggestions?
When I palm, I actually don't think about black. I just daydream, think hard enough that I forget that I'm palming, and I usually get pretty good clear flashes from it.
well i thank you for your response, it was very detailed and helped me much.
So now i'd like to ask
1)if any of you have experienced an actual permanent reduce in refractive error,
2) your thoughts on pinhole glasses as opposed to standard glasses. [because i have a set of pinhole glasses]
3) i dont understand (how to carry out) swinging at all. When i tried bates' written methodology i didnt see anything new
4) I read somewhere on the forum that it is good to look at the sun directly. Is this true?
xavier Wrote:2) your thoughts on pinhole glasses as opposed to standard glasses. [because i have a set of pinhole glasses]
Regular glasses make your vision worse because you get used to seeing through them. Pinhole glasses don't have that effect. But since my eyesight isn't that bad (20/40 in my good eye) I just wear neither.
xavier Wrote:4) I read somewhere on the forum that it is good to look at the sun directly. Is this true?
u can look at the edge of the sun 30 minutes after sunrise and 30 minutes before sunset, because the UV levels are low. You can also look at the sun directly during the winter.
Never look at the sun during a solar eclipse, because it seems not so bright and so your pupils remain dialated. That way the rays from the sun will blind you.
xavier Wrote:1)if any of you have experienced an actual permanent reduce in refractive error,
of course, many of us have. Once you attain permanent relaxation, you attain permanent improvement.
Quote:3) i dont understand (how to carry out) swinging at all. When i tried bates' written methodology i didnt see anything new
did you read the "swinging" thread in the method of the month?
Quote:4) I read somewhere on the forum that it is good to look at the sun directly. Is this true?
I wouldn't do it. If it helps you relax your eyes, do it with caution. Bright sunlight can damage the photosensitive cells on your retina, so if you are to look at the sun, do so with extreme caution. I would recommend sunning instead.
and I don't have an opinion on pinhole glasses. Personally, I don't think you should overcomplicate things - just relax your eyes.
Just keep this in mind: it's not about palming or sunning, or pinhole glasses, it's about relaxation. Perform each one of the exercises to achieve visual relaxation.
xavier Wrote:1) How long should we palm/swing for? I used to think 20 seconds was enough.
(yay, this is the 3000th post of the forum!) I think it shouldn't really matter how long you do it, as long as it's enough to get your eyes to relax. But for me, I don't notice much benefit from just 20 seconds; I usually palm for longer.
More questions.
An in-depth exploration of palming:
Let's imagine you walk into a room with no light source at all. It is completely dark.
1) When you emerge from the room, into say, a garden, will there be eue relaxation?
2) If you palm while in the room:
a) Will there be greater relaxation than in 1)?
The objective here is to find out what makes palming effacious. Clearly Bates once mentioned palming works by calming the eyes and (having the mind and eyes in sync with one another.)
Yes, palming is about calming the mind and eyes, not about darkness per se. People don't reverse their myopia by sleeping, as even though it's dark, and even though your body is relatively at rest, your mind is still running anxiously and doesn't let your body truly relax.
David
Site Administrator
"Half of our funny, heathen lives, we are bent double to gather things we have tossed away." - George Meredith
My next question pertains to the issue of swinging.
How fast are we suppoed to swing?
I was under the impression it was move your head left and right vigorously.
But after about 10 times of this, I began to feel quite giddy.
Any solutions, or is the swinging process supposed to be slower?
Swinging is not a vigorous motion, in fact it is not anything you do - please try to change your thinking on this, it is a VERY IMPORTANT distinction.
The swing is a SENSATION OR ILLUSION of natural vision. The illusion is that when you move your eyes in one direction to see, objects appear to move in the opposite direction.
There are many ways to create the swing, and the Long Swing is common. One of my favourites is a bit simpler. Just sit in your office chair and swivel or sway ever so slightly... briefly look at one point on the wall to get the sensation, then when you have it, let your eyes move freely with your sway... or sway a little more to get the sensation. If that works, then stop swaying and move your eyes only, across large things first like side to side of a big window or top to bottom of a door. With some practice, you will be able to swing smaller and smaller distances. Remember, you are successful in creating the proper illusion when things appear to move in the opposite direction.
I practice swinging all day long, by emphasizing the natural motion when I'm walking or going for a run, or consciously moving my eyes only, while at my desk or when talking to someone. My daughter loves to get the swinging sensation when she dances, that's a very natural one.
I don't really know definitely, but I think swinging is not really supposed to be an exercise, but a habit. Like, you get used to noticing the swing if you move your head or eyes in everyday life.
