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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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