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.

Great Progress with the Universal Swing!

It's been so close for all these years but I always passed by without realizing what it was, and how do I consciously get into that state.

I discovered it by accident. I was in my country house doing some physical work, and I pulled a muscle in my back causing myself acute pain. That day I practiced a lot of long swing (swinging my head from side to side) and I decided to use it to try to alleviate the pain. To my surprise, the pain momentarily disappeared after just a few swings, and also I noticed at that moment my mind felt different, like if I suddenly woke up!

In few days after that I've been studying that state of the mind and I've learned that it's the universal swing that I've been looking for, and that now I am able to enter that state consciously! Not always, but often times I can, and these times are coming more and more often recently.

Here is what it feels like:

• I suddenly feel like I'm awake from "sleepiness". This is a kind of pseudo-sleepiness caused by stare, when the eyes want to close and roll up and you feel discomfort. This "sleepiness" can be taken to its extreme when one looks at the sun with stare. (That's why I think sun treatment is useful -- it demonstrates people what is stare, how it feels, and then how it feels when the stare is gone and replaced with the universal swing.) BTW, it seems that the association of the feeling of stare with "sleepiness" is pretty personal to me, other people do not seem to use the word "sleepiness".
• The entire world seems to be moving in slow, short and easy motion. Sometimes this motion is so subtle that it's almost unnoticeable.
• The entire vision becomes deeper, more vibrant and transparent
• The state is fueled by motion. When I move my head, even a small bit, my mind resonates to the movement and a new wave of awakeness and swing is produced.
• Photophobia goes away entirely. The eyes suddenly open up wide and blink freely, feeling very light and easy, no need to squint at the bright day. I can look at the sun at such moment, without any discomfort and scotomata.
• Flashes of improved vision follow in few seconds, unless I lose the swing.
• When the swing stops, the stare returns immediately. I realized there are only two states: stare and swing, there are no other states. The movement should never stop.

I learned how to enter the state using long swing. I sway my head from side to side for a few minutes, noticing how my shoulders, window frame and the entire world is moving in opposite direction. Recently I've been able to remember the universal swing with only a couple swings of my head. I keep going and swing my head from time to time pretty much all the time, like a Chinese statuette, checking if I still have the swing, and renewing it.

When I lose the swing, it always happens very surreptitiously, so it's easy to miss. It feels like you forget again what is universal swing, and fall into the unconscious sleep. It requires and will require much awareness from me not to lose the moment when it happens and to renew the swing to keep it permanent. But I think it's now just a matter of time to learn to do it under all conditions.

My vision has also greatly improved. In favorable conditions (sunny days which are plenty recently) I have lots of long-lasting flashes, some of them close to 20/20, all through the day.

P.S. My blog has been quite silent recently. That's because I am participating actively in a Russian-speaking community "TRUE BATES METHOD или как ПРАВИЛЬНО восстанавливать зрение по Бейтсу".

Two Years of Bates Practice

In few days it's going to be exactly two years since I discarded my contacts. 

I still haven't got perfect sight, and I am still on my way. The problem of imperfect sight appeared to be way more deeply ingrained, and the Bates method is a way more serious and fundamental treatment than one may think after reading the book. My myopia had been developing for maybe ten years, so I guess the cure should not be expected orders of magnitude faster than that. 

Yet I feel my progress is enormous. It is not about the flashes of improved sight, that have become so natural and self-understood, and even some very slow "average" improvement too. The main thing is that I now know for sure what exactly I should do, or, more precisely, not do, to enter this relaxed state - the state of universal swing. The longer this state lasts, the deeper it becomes, and the eyesight improves accordingly. Currently I am able to maintain the universal swing for maybe 5-10% of all time.

Bates practice feels like balancing on a rope, or like carefully saving a candle light from wind, or like growing a tender flower. At some moment you fail and need to start over again, but eventually you become more successful in this subtle balancing. It is completely not like steady body building thrice a week in a gym.

I am at the barrier right now and I don't expect any major breakthroughs until I learn to balance in the universal swing longer and plant it in the background of my mind. It's not fast and easy but I am prepared. 

Bates treatment is not all about the vision only, it's much more. I am amazed how deep and fundamental are Dr. Bates' findings about the nature of mental strain and its influence on our entire body state and health. The corollaries are very interesting and useful. Take for example fatigue, boredom, annoyance, anxiety, fear and so on - these bad effects are all caused by mental strain. There are many possibilities to try and practice, and I do.

For me it's also the science of quitting the deeply rooted wrong habits and changing beliefs. That's what our mind is ruled by - habits an beliefs. If one masters the art of changing them, one becomes the master of his mind, not a slave anymore.  However, no matter how smart a person can be, the brain is very slow in analyzing and realizing how it works by itself, i.e. reflecting in itself. That's why Dr. Bates was a genius. Very few people I know understand or even care that we can change our own habits and beliefs consciously. The habit of strain and the belief that strain is necessary are the most unfortunate ones. I hear people saying they love sweets or can't live without meat or believe eye troubles are incurable or they can't lose weight etc. In fact most people are proud of their "tastes" and deem them to be part of their beloved character, but these all are just habits and beliefs borrowed non-critically and/or unconsciously from the parents and the society. They can be discarded if one stops associating himself with them. It is not fast, but it is possible, like loading another software into a computer. I look around me and see how many other strains surround me, and by becoming conscious of them, I doom them. My life is becoming happier every day. The Bates practice is the right thing for the daring people whose life's mission is liberation. When you get the right thing, it does not matter how long it takes to master it. 

Sun-Gazing Experience

The day before yesterday, the first time in my life I was able to look at the sun without discomfort for an indefinite length of time, with no afterimages at all, my eyesight profoundly improved immediately during and after sun treatment, and great flashes of improved vision during the same day.

Previously, I was only able to look at the sun without discomfort for a few seconds, then the wave of sleepiness and discomfort returned and I had to look away or close my eyes. This time it was different. By using the burning glass, doing long swing with my eyes up to the sky and getting accustomed to the sky near the sun, in about 10-15 minutes I became able to look at the sun, anywhere at the sky near the sun, and anywhere on earth and then back onto the sun, without losing the comfort and without any afterimages or color changes. I blinked at the normal rate. I even saw the edges of the sun sharp for few moments, although as a rule I see sun in blur. (so, obviously my sun gazing is still not perfect and I still have room to develop). The sun was swinging slowly and I was able to easily remember the swinging black period.

Because I was a bit bewildered with the fact that I no longer have to fight discomfort, I didn't know what to do next :) and decided this time to take a longer session of sun gazing than I normally do. The same day I had unusually sharp flashes of improved vision whenever I looked to the window. The next day the weather was overcast and I had a bad relapse, one like I haven't had for a long time already. I couldn't look even at the clouds without discomfort, and nothing seemed to give me relief. It is however known that relapses often take place the next day after sun gazing, but after they go, the eyesight improves further. Now it's the third day and the relapse is gone, and my vision feels like somewhere on the edge of a flash all the time. I am very intrigued with the power of more lengthy sun treatment, when I am comfortable with it, and look forward to try it again. To be honest, previously I was afraid to try it because of my first bad experience of sun treatment, when I did it wrong and developed a scotoma that lasted for two months.

A Long-Lasting Flash of Perfect Vision

Yesterday I had the most prominent flash of improved vision in my practice. It just blown my mind away, although I don't usually get excited at the flashes anymore. This one was crisp 20/20 and lasted very long, about 10-15 min. I could do anything (or do nothing) and it didn't go away. I thought I was actually cured until it faded away.

It was not equal in both eyes, but I believe if I stayed like this for a longer time, both eyes would sink to the equal relaxation. Also, there was a little double-image appearing and disappearing, but not making the entire image blurred. I didn't feel like my eyes suddenly relieved from muscular tension - this usually happens before the flash and is obviously due to a cruder level of strain. During the flash my eyes just felt perfectly comfortable, like they should be. No tears, stitching etc.

I have saved the relaxed and comfortable state of the mind that accompanied the flash. It reminded me of my childhood in a way, when I had perfect sight. I can now remember this state to help bring myself back to relaxation.

It looks like I have finally detected what exactly makes me relax and strain and so I can now just keep practicing without doubts. My flashes of improved vision have become oftener and deeper recently.

Improvements

I'm happy to find recently that all my Bates skills have improved.

Palming. I seem to find the way to break out of the chamber behind my closed eyelids and let my imagination take control. I have become able to remember black objects, such as black velvet. Especially vivid are the memories of childhood. I get more relaxation and satisfaction from palming now.

Sun Gazing. I no longer get scotomata and no longer fear the sun. The time to get prepared for looking directly at the sun is now shorter and I don't feel any limitation on the duration of sun gazing. It's a shame that in winter there's almost no sun. I use a 500W halogen lamp, but I come to think I should get a 1000W one. I also light my working place permanently with two 500W lamps. Looking at the bright light is the first aid when the strain returns. It's ridiculous how superstitious people are towards bright light.

Shifting & Swinging. I've found the way to shift without effort, unlike I did it before. Letting my eye drift freely and not trying to see all at once feels like a great relief immediately, and when I occasionally get back to my wrong habit, it feels like tension and pain. When I succeed to stay like this for a long time, my vision improves and I get a lot of clear flashes very easily. What is tough though is not to forget to keep permanently doing so.

By the way, Rishi recently wrote what I find a great recipe of Bates routine:
"The treatment is VERY SIMPLE. Just remove glasses, suffer the inconvenience at first, then strive to remember things moving, again and again when you forget, you just remember, everything moves, if something appears as stationary, then it is because we are staring, fixating it for more than an instant, and then, just move away the gaze, WITHOUT BEING CONCERNED ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE VISION, and that's all, just a question of time, but if you are able to PRACTICE these things consciously and intentionally in some particular period of the day, or more periods, then the better, avoid at first difficult situations where you are not able to remember to move your gaze, that's all."

The amazing thing is that it's really THAT SIMPLE. The more I advance, the simpler Bates method appears to me. But at first, everything seemed to be tough, because the eyes were clenched with strain and were not so responsive to my practice, even if and when I succeeded to do something right. Gradually, things loosen up and I gain more control.

Also, I have found it beneficial to watch the way how normal eyes act. When I watched my wife's beautiful healthy eyes, I couldn't stand exclaiming with rapture - the movements were so short and spontaneous, and the stops were so clear-cut like if it were a stepper motor. Remembering this impression makes my eyes act in a similar manner. It works like subconscious imitation of people you like. Myopia is contagious, and so is perfect sight, so the result depends on who is more immune to influences :).

Memory. As an indicator of my current relaxation, I often try to remember black dot and I find that lately I can do it more often and hold it for longer time. I also find that I can more vividly remember black letters after reading fine print at a comfortable distance.

Night Vision. I no longer feel like blind and my head doesn't get squeezed when I walk out in the night. Although I still see imperfectly, it is not worse than in daylight. I asked my wife whether she sees each light perfectly as a pin point. She said: "Yes, but I don't actually look at them". Then I realized that looking at those blurry halos was actually a big strain and I stopped doing so, and began looking at other objects lit by reflected light, then my vision improved.

Flashing. This technique previously didn't work for me, but lately I find it can bring me relaxation and clear flashes in few minutes. I practice it before I go to sleep, as an alternative to palming.


P.S. When I told my wife about my improvements she asked me whether my vision has also improved, and guess what - I realized that I didn't even know! Unlike before, I just no longer have any interest and care to check my vision all the time. Then I became interested and checked several times throughout a single day and found that my average vision has also improved slightly (not counting the clear flashes), just to tick off in my blog :)

One Year of Bates

Today is precisely one year since I set out on my Bates journey, and it's hard to keep myself from summing up.

If you ask me about my progress, you will most likely get different answers at different times. There are clear days when I feel two steps away from the complete cure and there are still days of relapse when I feel like if I were back to the start. After asking me a few questions, Rishi concluded, to my disappointment, that I'm only at the beginning. Surely, I haven't reached stable comfortable vision, but I see improvements in many aspects (that would take too long for one blog post). A good evidence of my progress for you could be that I'm positive to continue my practice.

Every time I make another step forward, I realize what a fool I've been and why I used to fail before. The right thing always appears to be very simple. I am always left wondering - if I were intelligent enough, could I have come straight to what I have found out, or is the progress only possible after I take my time coming through all the blunders?

Also, my criteria for progress have changed. Bates method has appeared to be something that is very accordant with my entire nature. I find my personality, my beliefs and my lifestyle gradually changing to something very exciting, something I have always unconsciously dreamed to be like.

You may have expected me to show numbers, such as Snellen reading, but I don't have them, sorry. It is probably the most difficult thing to stop caring about checking my vision all time to see if there's an improvement. It's only now that I come to realize that I have been doing it all the time and I now strive to cancel this habit. So you shouldn't be expecting any numbers from me in the nearest time. After all those clear flashes and relapses, all I know is that my Snellen reading is approximately between 20/200 and 20/30 :).

My case history: My eyesight grew myopic in age of 8-9 and gradually deteriorated over 10 years down to 20/200. My last glasses prescription was -4D, both eyes. Then I switched to wearing contact lenses (-3.5D) and worn them for another 10 years, without further worsening. On September 15, 2006 I forever discarded contacts and began practicing Bates method.