The techniques given under this heading, besides improving the remaining functions of the extrinsic muscles (tracking, searching, and scanning), also counteract the various tendencies which are part and parcel of the habit of “trying” to see. As already noted, this “trying” is commonly accompanied by some degree of immobility of the eyes and body. The rate of blinking decreases; breathing becomes shallower and may, for a while, even stop. The muscles of the head, neck, shoulders, and perhaps other parts of the body too, may be unnaturally tensed, and all the time the eyes are fixed with increasing intentness on their target. As the eyes become fixed so too does the attention, which only encourages the eyes to become yet more fixed, with a resulting impairment of both vision and perception.
If you suspect yourself of staring in this way (and nearly everyone is prone to it), the first thing to do is to give thought to your blinking. Frequent, relaxed, and easy blinking is a requisite of good vision. The passage of the lids across the eyes lubricates the sclera where it is exposed to the air; the lachrymal fluid keeps the cornea clean; and, for several milliseconds at a time, light is excluded and the retina is rested. The lids also of course protect the eyes from injury, with a rapid reflex reaction to danger.
If proof were needed that there is a direct, demonstrable and intimate connection between the emotions and the physical workings of the eyes, it has been found that the rate of blinking varies with one’s mental state. Blink-rate is used by behavioural scientists as a measure of attentiveness.
Practise giving half a dozen rapid and very light blinks, shut the eyes lightly for the space of two whole breaths, and repeat four times. This little routine, practised regularly, twice or more a day, will, especially if followed by a brief spell of palming, help to establish the correct tone in the muscles of the eyelids and develop better habits of blinking. No more than a few seconds should pass between one blink and the next. As a very rough guide, between two and four blinks in each period often seconds is about right.
Now and then throughout the day, whenever the idea occurs to you, take a moment to become aware of how often and how easily you are blinking. If you feel you are not blinking enough, deliberately increase your blink-rate a fraction and maintain this rate for as long as you can remember to.
Likewise, develop the art of occasional self-observation in your breathing. Whenever you catch yourself holding your breath as part of an attempt to see or to concentrate, issue a definite instruction to yourself to breathe freely. Do not try to interfere with your breathing mechanism, but simply take a few seconds in which to breathe easily and at the same time look about you, proving that there is after all no need to hold the breath in order to see.
The fovea is that minute central region of the macula where the cones are most densely packed and resolution is best. At the centre of the fovea is a region smaller still, the foveola, where resolution reaches its limits. Correct use of the fovea relies on accurate scanning by the extrinsic muscles. When scanning is clumsy, the functional size of the foveola increases and its capacity to resolve the finest detail is lost. When scanning becomes yet worse, the differentiation in function between the fovea and the surrounding area of the macula is also lost.
The fovea is so small that only a tiny area of the visual field can be seen best at any given moment. The smaller the size of this area, the more precise the vision. It seems strange to think that we see best only when we see a tiny part of the visual field perfectly and the rest imperfectly; but that is exactly the case. In order for the brain to build up a detailed appreciation of any particular object in the visual field, this point of foveal vision must be scanned rapidly back and forth across the object, staying in one place for no more than a fraction of a second.
It is easy to discover whether your own scanning is working properly. Looking, for example, at the letter which begins this paragraph, if the uppermost tip is being regarded, then the rest of the letter should not be seen so well, and the bottom tip should be seen worst. If, at an ordinary reading distance, you find that you can see all parts of the letter, or even surrounding letters, equally well, then your scanning is poor: it is faulty in proportion to the size of the area on the page that you can see equally well all at once.
Scanning is an involuntary function of the extrinsic muscles, and so is quite unconscious and automatic. By consciously mimicking it, however, we can encourage, refine, and, if necessary, develop the mechanism whereby it is brought about, and this procedure is called “shifting”.
For your preliminary exercise in shifting, place any one of the three test charts (Charts A, B, and C) where you can see it most clearly. Look first at the big C, and then shift your regard to the bottom line. You should now be aware that the C is not as clear as it was when you were looking straight at it. Shift back to the C, and then shift to the second line from the bottom, again acknowledging to yourself that the C has become less clear. Move up the chart in this way as far as you can. If you reach the second line down and the C still seems less clear, you are ready to move on to the next stage.
Start by shifting between the E and the L on the second line. Rather than thinking of the letter being regarded as the one seen better, think instead of the other one as being seen worse. This backwards sort of approach will help to prevent you from spoiling your vision by “trying” to see. Now move to the next line down, and shift between the O and the F and between the F and the S. Repeat with each line, shifting between each pair of letters. Remember to keep breathing normally. Rest the eyes at intervals with a little palming, and, as you palm, try shifting mentally between pairs of memorised letters.
The next stage is to shift between opposite corners of individual letters. E is a good one to begin with; L, H, F and V are also suitable. When you can shift between opposite corners on the letters of the bottom line, try shifting between, say, the middle and upper or the middle and lower bars of the letter E, or between the points of the letter U.
In future work, make your shifts as small and rapid as you can. Attempting shifts that are unnecessarily large or slow can cause strain. On the other hand, do not hurry to build up speed. Let it come gradually, of its own accord. Bear constantly in mind the fact that you have no targets to meet or opponents to overcome. Your progress will be very much an individual, idiosyncratic affair, and a competitive, striving attitude, in this as in all the practices of the Bates method, will only prove self-defeating.
During shifting, the point of attention — the point where the two visual axes coincide — is constantly on the move, darting from point to point on the object being observed. The point of attention lies at the centre of the visual field, for it corresponds to the area perceived with the fovea. When the point of attention shifts, the whole visual field shifts with it, and the objects in view appear to shift accordingly.
If you now look away to the left of the page, the book should seem to move to the right, and if you look from side to side of, say, a picture on the far wall, it should appear to move back and forth in the opposite direction. The apparent movement of the book or picture, which is of course entirely illusory and relative, is called “swinging”.
Swinging is the constant and natural accompaniment of foveal vision. When the eyesight is good, the swing is free and fluid, and is so much a part of normal perception that it is not usually remarked upon or even noticed. When viewed continuously, an object as small as a full stop on a page should appear to be making tiny pulsating swings corresponding to the scanning action of the eyes. The more rapid these movements and the smaller their range, the better the eyesight; as foveal vision deteriorates, so does the swing.
The swing can be encouraged, just as the scanning action can. However bad the eyesight, it should always be possible to produce some sort of swing, provided no undue effort is made to do so. By turning the head through 90 degrees or more, everyone should be able to recognise that the view seems to be moving past in the opposite direction. Practise making smaller and smaller swings, using the head at first and then the eyes alone.
Hold out your hand in front of you, palm downwards, at the distance where you see it best. Glance lightly at the outer edge of your thumb, and then glance immediately at the outer edge of your little finger. If your hand has swung, tuck your thumb out of sight, and glance from the edge of the little finger to the edge of the index finger. Repeat, reducing the number of fingers, until you can make your little finger swing on its own. Next, swing a pencil, a drinking straw, a darning needle, a pin.
Try also swinging individual letters on the test charts, beginning with the large letters and progressing to the smaller ones. Shift from side to side, from top to bottom, or from corner to corner, of each letter; or shift from a point a little way beyond the letter itself to the corresponding point on the opposite side, bringing the points closer until you can shift between points on the letter itself and still be aware of the swing.
Rest the eyes at intervals with palming, and as you do so visualise the letter you have just been looking at and continue to swing it mentally. When you open your eyes again, you may find that the swing of the real letter has become looser and freer.
There is another type of mobility swinging in the Bates method, sometimes called “long swinging”, which has a rather different purpose. It is simple to do, and consists essentially of turning from side to side. Stand with the feet about 30 centimetres (12 inches) apart, the arms hanging loosely, and, lifting the right heel as you do so, turn to the left. When you have reached the limit of comfortable travel, turn to the right, letting the left heel rise and the right one return to the floor. Go on like this until you have performed 20 complete swings. The turning should involve your hips as well as your waist. Keep your arms relaxed so that they rise slightly as you swing. Do not go too fast: try to make the swings smooth, level, and rhythmical.
Keep your eyes open and allow the image of your surroundings to rush past without trying to focus on anything in particular. Nearby objects will naturally seem to move faster than distant ones, and will probably be no more than a blur. Make no attempt to hold on to or fix any part of the image; notice only that everything seems to be moving in the direction opposite to that of your swing.
Long swinging is very effective in breaking the habit of staring. It also promotes looseness and relaxation in the upper part of the body. According to Dr Bates, 50 swings performed at bedtime and again on rising will help to prevent or alleviate eyestrain during sleep.
Should you find yourself becoming dizzy, begin with just a few swings and each day add one or two to the total. Eventually any feeling of nausea should disappear and you will be able to do as many swings as you please.
Once you are proficient at full-travel swings, gradually reduce the travel until you are moving no more than 30 centimetres (one foot) from side to side. Stand in front of a window with an upright glazing bar, and find some vertical object in the view outside (a lamp-post, a tree, the side of a building). Now as you swing, notice that the glazing bar and the lamp-post or whatever seem to be moving in opposite directions. Observe this movement half a dozen times and then, still swinging, close the eyes. Visualise the movement during a few swings, and on opening your eyes see how your visualisation compared with the real thing. Close the eyes again and repeat. (If you do not have a window with a vertical glazing bar, hang a length of string from the frame or ceiling.)
In all swinging, continue to remember not to fix your eyes on any one part of the image. Become aware of the freedom and fluidity of your movement and the corresponding freedom and fluidity of the world beyond. As the head or eyes move, you will realise that your normal relationship with objects in view has been subtly changed. Now that you have been relieved, as it were, of the necessity of fixing your eyes on the world in order to give it existence, you will find that it continues to exist none the less.
Carry the awareness of this over into everyday life. As you move about indoors, walk along the street or through the woods, ride a bike, travel about by bus, train, or car, try to become conscious of the constant movement in the view, and of the relative speed of objects both far and near. Notice how the speed of movement imparts a greater sense of depth and reality to the scene. Our visual system has evolved in a world of three dimensions, a world of constant movement and change. An appreciation of this is one of the most important steps towards restoring the mobility of attention on which good eyesight depends.