My Recent Progress & Body Relaxation Technique

Though I haven't been posting for quite a while, I'm doing pretty well recently. I am experiencing the calmness of my mind more often recently and exploring this feeling with interest. All Bates techniques seem to be working better for me now. Involuntary clear flashes are becoming common. I even had my eyes occasionally tested with auto-refractometer and found 0.5D improvement in one eye and 0.25D astigmatism improvement in the other, which is not much to boast about, but I think I'm finally on the right track.

I think we should never give up our Bates practice, but I also think we should be smart, and move on to try different ways until we find what works best for us. In my case, the thing I've been looking for was effortlessness of the mind. I could never discern this feeling, as it was almost otherworldly to my mind, habitually strained and always whirling with thoughts. So whatever I practiced, it was still with effort, and I couldn't even tell.

Then I remembered what Dr. Bates wrote that when the mind is perfectly relaxed, the entire body and all nerves are relaxed too. So I looked around and found a technique for deep body relaxation. This technique was recommended to me by one Bates teacher, but it's also well known in yoga and other practices. It's very simple. I lie down on my back, close my eyes, and scan my body, shifting my attention from one part of the body to another, relaxing each muscle and imagining that part heavy and warm. I spend one breath on each part. I breathe with my belly and notice that the peak of relaxation in each part is reached in the pause after breathing out. The point of this exercise is to divert the mind from thoughts and follow your shifting inside the body. Even a few minutes spent inside the body has a miraculous effect on the mind. The whirl of thoughts dismisses and the effortlessness and calmness come out. Complete silence and relaxation comes to all parts of the body. When you stand up, you find all symptoms of strain quickly and efficiently relieved.

I practiced this exercise three times a day for a few months, and I really liked it, because it's always a rest. Quite soon I began noticing that I can consciously remember that indescribable feeling of effortlessness, comfort and calmness of the mind at any time of the day, and when I do, my vision instantly improves. Any Bates technique works like a charm in such moments. And in reverse, in the days when I can't remember this state, all methods fail. I've practiced this long enough to become convinced that this has the decisive influence on all my Bates practice.

The funniest thing is that when I think about it, I see that my discovery is nothing else but what Dr. Bates already wrote. This body scanning is actually a modification of palming. I'm sure clever Dr. Bates was very well aware about this state of effortlessness, and that's why he started with palming with almost every patient. He could then take a look at the patient and clearly tell if the patient made it or not. That's the secret of his success. As I re-read the book again, the words resonate with my own experience with a new wave.

I keep exploring this state and feeling of effortlessness of the mind, how it can be brought about and what it depends on, and refining my skills. It's such an exciting adventure! :) I'm giving more trust to my body and intuition, and hoping it will bring me to the right path.

P.S. I'm going to change the format of this blog. Instead of lengthy posts that make it hard keep up regular posting, I'd rather write short thoughts and observations quickly as they come.