The Bates method, Krishnamurti, Huxley and Glasses

Changeling

After a recent visit to the UK it was noted that I was having trouble reading things in the distance that others were easily able to make out. I decided to have my eyesight tested and it was revealed that I have a degree of nearsightedness. This made me recall something I once heard in a Jiddu Krishnamurti lecture about there being no need to wear glasses and that a good level of eyesight can be maintained without them... I've done a little research on this and found this website in which John V Christianson describes how Krishnamurti was a follower of the Bates method of eyesight maintenance, along with Aldous Huxley:

Basically I'm reaching out and asking if anyone knows anything about the Bates method/have used it and experienced any benefits from it? I also know a colleague who had laser eye surgery a couple of weeks ago (6000usd per eye, in which part of the process involves the eyeballs being minutely slashed) and I'm not sure I would want to go through with that. Lastly, glasses can be expensive and cumbersome .

unenlightened

I tried it in a rather desultory way many years ago with no noticeable effect. Eyes are complicated and can be affected by many things - stress is one to consider. It has the ring of wishful thinking to me, though it seems to work in some cases. I guess if you stay away from the more extreme magnifying glass and sun type exercises, it might be worth a go. I had to get glasses to drive, and found I hated the clarity they gave. I find the blurry world much more comfortable.

To be honest, Bates has had enough time to prove himself and totally hasn't, and that puts him on a par with homeopathy, really. Get some specs for when you need clarity, spend time in the country or by the sea where there is a long way to see, (it's good for you anyway) and avoid too much close work. That's my advice. And don't stress.

Baden

↪Evil

It's pseudoscience. No amount of faffing about with visualisation and movement is going to match redirecting light through external lenses or burning an excess off your cornea to reshape your own. I've had LASIK done. It works great in most cases, and that's what I'd recommend unless the degree is very minor, in which case, do what un said.

Changeling

Thank you both for the advice, I will assess my options

0 thru 9

It's pseudoscience. — Baden

Not so fast there, Herr Doktor! :nerd: The human eye, with its flexible lens and intricate system of muscles, is by nature adaptable. If someone if locked in a small space without the ability to view large distances, their eyes will become near-sighted, as you know. The reverse process (overcoming myopia) might take longer and involve much effort. And perhaps beyond a certain age, the eye becomes less flexible. But it is at least possible to re-focus the lens without surgery or glasses. YMMV.

Baden

↪0 thru 9

There are literally millions of verified cases of LASIK and glasses correcting short-sightedness, which is evidence that those solutions can be effective. You saying a couple of vague sentences about the mechanics of eyesight isn't. For example, there are other parts of our bodies that are "flexible" but resist permanent changes to shape. Plus, have a look at the diagram below and there's no reason what you said, even in theory, should have enough effect in changing the shape of the eyeball or the lens in such a way as to cure any significant level of myopia.

Anyhow, the main point is if you want to argue for this method working, show the evidence. If you can't, consider that you might be misleading people and potentially wasting their time on an important issue for them.

Baden

(The issue of why and how eyes become near-sighted is an interesting one but maybe a digression).

0 thru 9

Anyhow, the main point is if you want to argue for this method working, show the evidence. If you can't, consider that you might be misleading people and potentially wasting their time on an important issue for them. — Baden

Duuuude! Misleading people? Dr. Zero? Methinks that’s a little overkill. I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV. It was just my opinion in a Lounge thread about this very topic. C’mon... :rofl: You called it pseudoscience. That seemed to me a tad premature, just pooh poohing without really giving it a thought. I don’t have to prove anything. If someone doesn’t want to try this free and natural exercise, fine... no skin off my eyeballs. :eyes:

Baden

↪0 thru 9

Yeah, probably was a bit overkill there. :smile:

0 thru 9

Yeah, probably was a bit overkill there. :smile: — Baden

:up: Lol! No problem. (I’m a little biased and predisposed to trying “natural” remedies and herbs when possible.) Glad your laser surgery has helped. It is the surefire cure, no doubt.

Changeling

My colleague who had laser eye surgery (who's been off sick) returned to work today and has a number of health problems. I'm not being endeared to that route to be honest

Changeling

@unenlightened agree?

unenlightened

↪Changeling

3 years have passed and I am 70, and I am now having difficulty reading small print as well as road signs. It might be because I have neglected my eye yoga, or too much masturbation, but I suspect it is just slow onset rigor-mortis. I have also had to give up roof work and rock climbing because my sense of balance has gone.

Changeling

↪unenlightened

I think at any age it's possible to do eye yoga for reading and normal yoga for roofing.

unenlightened

↪Changeling

Sure it is. Whether it does any good aside from passing the time is another matter.

Changeling

↪unenlightened

I've started doing :eyes: yoga every day so will see how it's going after a month...

jgill

↪unenlightened

Persist living. When my mother reached her 80s her eyesight came back after a lifetime of needing glasses. I was sure this was not the case, but the same thing happened to me. :smile:

Agent Smith

The so-called Bates method has been debunked as per the Wiki link provided. Nevertheless, from what (little) I know, I can see, very fuzzily, a possible mechanism how refractive errors can be corrected via unconventional methods like what Bates recommends.

A word of warning though:

Moreover, certain aspects of the Bates method can put its followers at risk: They may damage their eyes through overexposure to sunlight, not wear their corrective lenses while driving, or neglect conventional eye care, possibly allowing serious conditions to develop. — Wikipedia

The Bates method, Krishnamurti, Huxley and Glasses

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