I've been starting the exercises, trying to keep my head clear. But I just can't. I receive a minor headache after doing swinging and palming (And yesterday, I had a major headache throughout most of the day.). Which I'm pretty sure is counterproductive. Haha. Are there any tips from those who have been successful with the methods that can tell how they relaxed? :)
My advice is sungazing. (Practice at your own risk!) There were many points in my Bates journey that I swore that looking directly at the sun gave me the most benefit, more benefit than any other technique. (Note: There are many people who look directly at the sun and receive no eye damage. Even conventional ophthalmologists will state that any sort of eye damage from sungazing is rare, and they also admit that it requires an effort to acquire eye damage from sungazing.)
If you can look at the sun without discomfort then you must have perfect eyesight. If I were you I would find a time when the sun is shining, go outside, and turn your head and open eyes to face the sun directly. If you feel ANY kind of discomfort while looking directly toward the sun, it means you're straining your eyes (which is a result of straining your mind/thoughts). And that is your starting point - you have identified the fact that you have eyestrain and you can continue from there.
I'd split all Bates techniques in two groups: "procedures" and "balancers".
The procedures are routines you do from time to time, several times a day. They are like first aid when you find yourself back in strain, and their aim is to bring you back into a more relaxed state, the best you can get at the moment. Procedures are: palming, sun treatment, sway (also known as long swing) and playing with the Snellen test card.
The balancers are the little tricks you keep doing all the time, when you are more or less relaxed, to prevent building strain and deepen the relaxation further more. Their aim is to dodge your mind and distract it from trying to control the eyes. Balancers are: keeping telling yourself that it's ok to see blur, not trying to control the eyes like if you were looking through somebody else's eyes; central fixation (starting from just noticing the peripheral field, then decrease the distance), shifting, noticing the swing and the universal swing, remembering the black dot, imagining things seen clearly, breathing, blinking softly.
Start with the procedures and then proceed to the balancers.
