Nothing Is Straining, Nothing Is Relaxing

It is a mistake to think that there are some "magic bullets" that will make your mind and eyes necessarily relax or strain every time you use them. I've been misguided by this idea for quite a long time, trying and failing many times to reproduce relaxation "that I had yesterday", while doing seemingly the same thing as yesterday. This is a great source of disappointment for the beginners. 

But in fact, nothing strains or relaxes. It all depends on the state you are currently in, and your attitude to the thing. You can use it, consciously or unconsciously, to strain or to relax your mind (or neither nor). Theoretically any procedure can be both straining and relaxing for you at different times. Even sun treatment, even palming can be straining, and what you think is "a strain to see" can be relaxing. I have experienced these.

In practice, however, there are procedures and circumstances that are as a rule relaxing, for the majority of people. These techniques are all carefully collected in the great book by Dr. Bates. There is however no guarantee that you will not misuse them and cause yourself even more strain. In fact, you will, many times, before you learn to use them correctly, without effort. There is a special frame of the mind that you need to discover before you succeed with any of these practices. It is the state of universal swing.