“When I stopped trying to see better, I started seeing clearly.”
— JD Meier
What follows isn’t a medical prescription. It’s a playbook for seeing differently, inside and out.
A book in an attic changed my eyesight and my mindset.
In 7th grade, I failed my eye test at school. It surprised me.
It was heart wrenching because I was into martial arts and wrestling and played sports in my neighborhood.
I couldn’t imagine my life with glasses.
I remembered seeing a book in my grandparent’s attic called The Bates Method for Better Eyesight Without Glasses, by Dr. William Bates.
I intercepted the note from the school to my parents and decided I would fix my eyes myself.
I applied the techniques in the book and fixed my eyes. Not just that, I learned so many useful ideas for life. A few things in particular that stuck with me for life:
- a surgeon will always recommend surgery
- when you adopt a crutch, like glasses, your muscles get weaker not stronger
- the idea that stress can instantly impact your vision
- you have 6 eye muscles (4 voluntary and 2 involuntary, but those 2 are key to better eyesight)
- the quality of your vision can be radically different at one time in the day vs. another.
What I learned from Bates turned out to be the start of a Growth Mindset for life. I learned that you can get better at something if you try, and if you have the right strategies and instructions, and practice well.
Nothing beats a great coach — but sometimes all you have is a book and ambition.
Key Takeaways
- Vision improves when you stop forcing and start allowing. Vision improves through relaxation, not effort. Trying harder makes your vision worse. Letting go makes it clearer.
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Your eyesight can be highly influenced by habits, tension, and stress, not just optics.
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The Bates Method is less about “fixing vision” and more about training relaxation and awareness.
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The two practices that make the biggest difference:
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Even if your eyesight doesn’t change, these practices reset your nervous system, reduce eye strain, and improve clarity of mind.
Start Here (90 seconds)
If you only try one thing:
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Palm (20s) → warm hands, cover closed eyes without pressure.
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Remember Black (20s) → imagine deep velvet black.
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Central Fixation (30s) → pick a tiny part of one letter; shift to another tiny part.
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Near–Far (20s) → fingertip → distant object.
Rule of thumb: don’t force clarity — let it arrive.
Here’s the philosophy that made the practices work for me:
Overview Summary
When I failed my school eye test in 7th grade, it crushed me.
I was deep into martial arts, wrestling, and playing sports every day with my neighborhood crew. Glasses felt like a prison sentence. I couldn’t imagine competing with frames sliding off my face.
So I secretly picked up a dusty book from my grandparent’s attic — The Bates Method for Better Eyesight Without Glasses, by Dr. William Bates — and tried it on myself.
What I discovered changed far more than my eyesight.
The Bates Method is built on a simple idea:
Most vision problems are not caused by weak eyes — they are caused by tense eyes.
Instead of forcing clarity, Bates teaches:
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Relaxation instead of strain.
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Movement instead of staring.
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Seeing one detail instead of trying to see the entire object.
That became one of the first “aha moments” in my life:
Effort is the enemy of clarity.
These exercises are not a medical substitute for eye care, nor are they scientifically proven to correct refractive errors, but they are powerful practices for reducing strain and learning how your visual system responds to stress, focus, and awareness.
Bates never “cured blindness,” but he did help people who were considered blind perceive light again.
And he helped thousands reduce strain and see more clearly — not by forcing vision, but by relaxing into it.
Ironically, that journey was my earliest growth mindset moment.
It taught me that:
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Problems aren’t fixed by accepting limitations.
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They’re transformed with better strategies, experimentation, and practice.
About the Book: Better Eyesight Without Glasses (The Bates Method)
The Bates Method comes from The Bates Method for Better Eyesight Without Glasses, a book written in 1920 by Dr. William H. Bates, an ophthalmologist who challenged the mainstream belief that bad eyesight was purely mechanical.
Bates observed something radical for his time:
Eyesight changes based on tension, attention, and emotional state.
He noticed that people saw better when relaxed and worse when stressed, and that clarity flickered — sometimes instantly — based on how much strain a person applied.
Instead of prescribing stronger lenses, he developed a set of practices to:
Bates never claimed to cure blindness or reverse every vision issue.
But he did achieve something undeniable:
He even documented cases where people considered legally blind regained:
Not a cure.
But a dramatic improvement in visual function and quality of life.
The heart of his method is simple:
Vision improves when you stop forcing and start allowing.
Important Caveats & Summary Thoughts
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These exercises are not scientifically validated in the sense of reliably reversing refractive errors (myopia/hyperopia/astigmatism).
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They may help with visual comfort, reducing eye-strain, promoting better awareness of seeing.
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If you have vision changes, a significant prescription, or conditions like glaucoma, cataracts, etc., traditional care (optometrist/ophthalmologist) is essential.
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If you try these, do so alongside conventional eye-health care, not instead of it.
With expectations clear, here’s what I actually practiced:
Summary of Key Exercises for Better Eyesight Without Glasses
Here’s a list and summary of key exercises from the William H. Bates Method (as presented in The Bates Method for Better Eyesight Without Glasses / Better Eyesight Without Glasses and related sources).
Note:
These are ideas from the book/technique — they are not proven to reliably correct refractive errors.
Use them as gentle practices (if you choose) rather than medical solutions.
1. Palming
What it is: Cover your closed eyes with your palms (without pressing the eyeballs) in a relaxed, darkened space.
Why it’s used: To relax the eyes and mind, reduce tension, and theoretically relieve “strain” that Bates believed contributes to poor vision.
How to do it (summary): Sit comfortably, rub your hands to warm them, gently cup them over your closed eyes so no light comes through, breathe deeply for a few minutes, allow your mind to rest.
Key notes: Works as a relaxation/break exercise; it doesn’t require focusing on anything.
2. Sunning
What it is: Expose the closed (or semi-closed) eyes to sunlight (with caution).
Why it’s used: Bates believed that light helps stimulate the eyes, increase circulation and reduce strain.
How to do it (summary): Face toward sunlight (not direct glare into open eyes), eyes closed or softly covered, allow light to reach the lids; maybe shift head slowly to let light move across closed eyelids.
Key notes & cautions: Modern sources highlight potential risks (skin/eye damage from direct sunlight) and lack of evidence of benefit.
In my experience, I found sunning to be super helpful for relaxing my eyes and learning the feeling of relaxed eyes. I also remembered all the people at the beach near where I lived who sunbathed and enjoyed the gentle sun relaxing their face.
3. Swinging / Swaying (Eye Movement Exercises)
What it is: Gentle movement of the eyes (and sometimes head/neck) — side to side, up and down, or in gentle arcs — often combined with observing objects or backgrounds.
Why it’s used: Bates believed that vision problems relate to the eyes “fixating” too much; movement helps “let go” of strain and allows clearer seeing.
How to do it (summary): E.g., hold a finger/pencil at arm’s length, slowly move it left to right (or your head) and allow your eyes to follow with ease; or imagine things moving from near → far → near. For example, the “basic exercise” in one site: hold pencil ~15 cm from your nose and swing your head while observing the pencil against a distant background.
Key notes: The movement is meant to be relaxed and comfortable; avoid forcing clarity or straining to “see”.
This is one of those exercises I had the most challenge understanding what exactly I was supposed to do.
Once I got the idea of avoiding straining to “see”, I started to understand the exercise much better.
What really hit home for me is how I could turn to see something, see it perfectly clearly, but then if I tried to see it better, actually see it worse. That’s when I realized it’s about letting the right muscles to relax to see more clearly.
4. Visualization / Imagination Exercises
What it is: Closing your eyes (or relaxing them) and imagining objects moving away/near, forming shapes, patterns, etc.
Why it’s used: Bates proposed that mental imagery of clear seeing helps “train” the mind-eye relationship and relieve tension that blocks clarity.
How to do it (summary): For example, imagine a large ship near you, then gradually sailing away until it becomes a dot at the horizon, then imagine it returning; repeat. (From one site’s “Ship visualization” exercise.) Or imagine drawing mandalas with your nose, head gently moving.
Key notes: These tend to be low-stress and more about relaxing and letting vision settle rather than forcing improvement.
5. Central Fixation / Peripheral Awareness
What it is: Technique of consciously shifting your focus to the “center” of what you’re looking at (a part of a letter, object) and also being aware of the broader peripheral field (background, movement).
Why it’s used: Bates taught that most people hold onto a narrow “fixation” and ignore broader peripheral vision; by expanding awareness, the eyes relax and clarity may improve.
How to do it (summary): Look at a scene or an object; pick a small area (maybe the centre of the object), allow your gaze there for a moment, then widen your awareness to include everything around it (background, movement, colours). Practice shifting back and forth.
Key notes: This is more about seeing in context rather than only close-up staring at one point.
6. Colour Days / Colour Awareness
What it is: Exercises focused on perceiving colour vividly and cleanly, often by looking at coloured objects or tracking colours in the environment.
Why it’s used: Bates believed that clear perception of colour is a sign of relaxed, healthy vision. Awareness of pure colour (vs “muddy” blur) is used as feedback for reducing strain.
How to do it (summary): Choose a brightly coloured object (say a red flower, green leaf) in good light; look at it briefly, relax gaze, take in background colour, then shift to another. Take breaks rather than staring continuously.
Key notes: This is less about “fixing” vision and more about training awareness and comfort of vision.
7. Eye Chart Work (Relaxed Seeing at a Distance)
What it is: Using an eye-chart or distant letters/objects as a tool to observe clarity without straining.
Why it’s used: To practice seeing at a distance in a relaxed way, avoiding tension that often arises when trying to “make” things clear forcibly.
How to do it (summary): Place an eye chart (or pick a distant object) and look at a letter/dot you can comfortably see; don’t force yourself to read the tiny ones if they cause strain. Instead, allow yourself to “see the blur” and then let it settle rather than push to make it sharp. Take breaks, let the eyes shift.
Key notes: The goal is relaxation of the eye system rather than pushing for maximum acuity at every session.
8. General Habit & Relaxation Practices
What it is: A set of lifestyle/habit changes and ongoing relaxation practices: avoiding prolonged rigid staring, taking visual breaks, paying attention to posture, mind-state, and reducing stress.
Why it’s used: Bates held that much of poor vision arises from habitual tension (physical + mental), so changing habits is as important as exercises.
How to do it (summary): For example: every 20-30 minutes of near work, look into the distance for a minute; consciously blink rather than lock gaze; shift focus; ensure good lighting; comfortable posture; reduce background stress.
Key notes: These are foundational: even if specific exercises are skipped, improving visual habit may help comfort.
The Two Exercises I Found Especially Helpful
1. “See One Letter at a Time” → Central Fixation
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Bates believed the eye sees best when attention is on a tiny point.
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Instead of staring at a whole letter or word, you shift tiny points inside it.
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The shifting reduces strain → clarity emerges.
Rule of thumb:
Notice, don’t force.
2. “Make Black Blacker” → Memory of Black
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Bates noticed that when people can imagine deep black vividly, their visual system relaxes.
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The better they “see black,” the better they see everything else.
Rule of thumb:
When the mind is relaxed, the eyes follow.
A Short “Micro-Routine” (2 minutes)
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Palm (20–30 seconds)
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Remember black (10–20 seconds)
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Central fixation on a word (10–20 seconds)
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Blink + shift + breathe (30–60 seconds)
This feels surprisingly soothing and helps reduce digital-eye fatigue.
How Central Fixation Works (simple)
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Pick a letter on a chart (example: E).
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Instead of staring at the whole letter, choose one tiny part — like the edge of a line.
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Let your eyes shift naturally from point to point.
Clarity happens when attention is tiny + relaxed, not when you try harder.
The Micro-Routine (10 seconds)
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Look at the tiny point on the letter.
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Blink gently.
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Shift to the next tiny point.
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Don’t force clarity — notice and move.
The movement is what relaxes the eye.
Pro tip: pair with “make black blacker”
After palming (relaxing with closed eyes), imagine the letter blacker than black, like ink on velvet.
When mental imagery is vivid, eyesight relaxes → clarity improves.
The clearer you imagine black, the clearer you can see.
Putting it together, this is the simple day plan I still use:
Daily Flow Routine to Practice Bates Exercises
Morning (5–7 minutes)
Goal: Wake the visual system gently and build relaxed habits for the day.
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Sunning (1–2 min)
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Eyes closed, face toward a window or outside light.
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Slowly turn head L ⇆ R.
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Let warmth wash over closed lids.
Feel: warmth + ease, not intensity.
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Blink + Breathe (30 sec)
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Central Fixation on a letter / object (2–3 min)
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Pick one tiny detail (corner of a letter, a leaf’s edge).
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Shift attention lightly from detail → detail.
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Let clarity emerge, don’t force focus.
Practice “seeing one tiny spot, then another.”
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Near–Far Play (30 sec)
Midday (2–3 minutes)
Goal: Interrupt visual tension from screens.
Use the 20/20/20 Reset Rule:
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Every 20 minutes
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Look 20 feet away
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For 20 seconds
Then add one of these mini exercises:
Optional add-on (30 sec):
Night (5 minutes)
Goal: Release strain and restore softness.
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Palming (2–3 min)
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Memory of Black (1 min)
The darker the black, the more relaxed your eyes.
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Central Fixation (1 min)
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Use very soft lamp light.
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Look at a letter on a page.
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Notice one part at a time, not the whole letter.
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Slow breath downshift (30 sec)
Weekly Focus with Themes
This keeps your brain from overanalyzing and lets habits form naturally.
| Week | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Relaxation → palming + memory of black |
| 2 | Movement → sunning + swinging + shifting |
| 3 | Clarity → central fixation + near–far |
| 4 | Integration → blend exercises, less thinking |
The ONLY rules that matter
Vision improves through relaxation, not effort.
For quick reference, here’s the whole method at a glance:
Summary Table of Bates Method Exercises
| Exercise | Goal / Benefit | How to Do It (Summary) | Notes / What to Feel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palming (Relaxation Reset) | Relax the visual system and reduce strain | Rub hands warm → gently cup palms over closed eyes → allow complete darkness → breathe slow + soft | Eyes should feel like they’re sinking into rest; zero pressure on the eyeballs. |
| Sunning (Light Comfort) | Reduce light sensitivity, teach eyes to relax | Closed eyes face sunlight or bright lamp → slowly rotate head L↔R so light sweeps across lids | Keep eyes closed. Never stare directly at sun. Warmth + relaxation. |
| Swinging / Swaying (Let the eyes move naturally) | Prevent staring (Bates considered staring the root of strain) | Stand and gently sway your body L↔R while letting the world appear to “move” opposite direction | The scene should drift past effortlessly — no fixed staring. |
| Shifting (Micro-movements) | Teach eyes to scan, not freeze | Look at object A → shift to object B → back and forth, lightly | Small, rhythmic shifts. Never try to “lock” your vision. |
| Central Fixation (“Seeing one letter at a time”) | Sharper focus by noticing a tiny part of something clearly | Look at a word/letter → instead of trying to see it all at once, pick ONE spot (like the bottom-left corner of a letter) → notice that part clearly → then let eyes drift to the next part | Don’t try to see better — just notice contrast and detail. Clarity flows from relaxation. |
| Memory of Black (“Make black blacker”) | Deep relaxation through imagination | Close eyes → imagine deep, velvety black (a tunnel, black velvet cloth, etc.) → the clearer the black, the more relaxed the mind/eyes become | If black fades/gets gray → reset with palming → return to imagining deeper black. |
| Blinking (Lubrication + Reset) | Prevent dry, frozen gaze | Blink softly every few seconds while reading/screens | Soft blinks = relaxed vision habits. |
| Long Swing (Whole-body relaxation + peripheral awareness) | Loosen neck + eye coordination | Stand; hold a relaxed stance; swing whole torso L↔R, eyes not tracking anything specific | Let the world blur. Don’t try to look at anything. |
| Near–Far Focus (“Distance play”) | Train eyes to relax on distance | Hold finger near (nose-level) → focus → then look at distant object → switch back → repeat | Use as screen-break routine: 20s near → 20s far. |
| Blink + Breathe Cycle | Relax autonomic nervous system | Blink (gentle) → slow exhale → let vision settle instead of forcing clarity | Use when you catch yourself “trying too hard.” |
| Letter Chart Play (90% relaxation, 10% reading) | Practice relaxed clarity without strain | Look at a line you can read comfortably. Look at a letter below your limit only long enough to notice shape, not to force reading. Shift focus often. | If you feel strain, go back up a line and relax. |
| Color / Contrast Awareness | Improve natural seeing | Look at something with strong contrast (black/white, red/green). Let your eyes wander over shape and edges. | This trains “letting detail emerge,” not forcing focus. |
Frequently Asked Questions (Q&A)
Still wondering if this fits your situation?
These are the questions I get most:
Q: Can the Bates Method actually fix my eyesight?
A: There is no scientific proof that it reverses refractive errors like myopia or astigmatism.
But it can improve visual comfort, relaxation, and reduce strain — especially if you spend hours on screens.
Think of it as physical therapy for your visual habits, not a cure.
Q: If there’s no proof, why do some people say it works?
A: Because stress and tension instantly impact vision.
When you learn to relax your eyes, clarity fluctuates — sometimes dramatically.
Bates simply taught people to notice something modern eye care ignores:
Seeing is not just optical. Seeing is neurological.
Q: Isn’t sunning dangerous for your eyes?
A: You never stare at the sun.
Eyes are always closed.
It’s more like warming your eyelids — the same feeling as sitting in the morning sun at the beach.
Q: How long until I notice a difference?
A: Most people feel the relaxation immediately.
Clarity emerges gradually, the same way meditation improves calmness:
through consistency, not force.
Q: So what’s the real point of all this?
A: Not “perfect eyesight.”
But better visual habits.
More awareness.
Less strain.
More clarity — in every sense of the word.
Q: At what age does this help? Is it just for kids?
A: It can help at any age.
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Kids benefit because their visual habits are not formed yet.
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Adults benefit because stress, screens, and tension drive most visual strain.
You don’t “age out” of learning how to relax your vision.
Your eyes don’t stop adapting. Your habits just stop changing.
Q: What if I’ve worn glasses my entire life? Is it too late?
A: Not at all.
Wearing glasses doesn’t damage your eyes.
But glasses do train one dominant habit:
Stare → strain → freeze your focus.
The Bates Method trains the opposite:
Relax → move → see one detail at a time.
People who have worn glasses for decades are often more amazed — because they’ve never experienced what relaxed seeing feels like.
Q: Can this cure blindness or reverse eye disease?
A: No — and we shouldn’t pretend it does.
However…
Dr. Bates documented cases where people who were considered “blind” (legally blind or near blind) regained:
That’s not curing blindness.
But that is the brain re-establishing visual connection.
Even light perception changes quality of life.
Q: So if it can’t cure blindness or guarantee vision improvement… why do it?
A: Because eyesight isn’t just mechanical.
Seeing is:
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physical,
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neurological,
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emotional.
When tension drops, clarity rises.
Vision improves when the mind stops trying so hard.
Even if your prescription doesn’t change, these practices:
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reduce eye strain,
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improve focus,
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calm your nervous system,
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build visual awareness,
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and give you a new relationship with clarity.
Q: What if I try this and nothing changes?
A: Something will change.
You will learn to notice tension, then release it.
You will see the direct link between:
how you feel and how you see.
Eyesight becomes a mirror of your internal state.
That alone is worth the practice.
If you want to experience it, try the 90-second routine from the top of this article tonight.
Notice what shifts.
Not in your vision, but in your nervous system.
Final Thoughts
Most people think seeing is automatic.
But vision isn’t passive — it’s a habit.
Whether your eyesight changes or not, Bates teaches something bigger:
These exercises are a gentle daily reminder:
Relaxation isn’t what happens when you’re done.
Relaxation is what makes everything else work.
Even now — decades later — I still use central fixation and memory of black when I’m stressed or spending too much time on screens. They don’t just relax my eyes — they reset my mind.
Your eyes aren’t just lenses.
They’re part of your nervous system.
When the mind softens, the world comes into focus.
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