KARACHI, Aug 9: Majority of eye diseases are caused by physical and mental stress and tension but their effects are reversible, no matter in what age and circumstances the patient is, through Dr Bates Method without using medicines or glasses.

This was stated by Azeem Sarwar, holistic healer who has introduced Dr Bates Method to improve eyesight without glasses in Pakistan, while addressing a workshop on the unique eye therapy in a local hotel. About 100 patients attended the workshop which, besides introduction and theory, also involved practical exercises.

Dr William Horatio Bates, born in the USA, received his medical degree in 1885 and practised both privately and in various hospitals. However, before the turn of the century he became increasingly dissatisfied with conventional ophthalmologic practice when he observed that patients with short or long sight were sometimes to the point of a complete reversal of symptoms. This led him to question one of the most basic assumptions of the accepted practice of ophthalmology that once symptoms of refractive error were present in a particular patient, nothing could be done other than prescribing glasses. He began research into eyesight disorders and developed ‘the Bates Method’.

Azeem Sarwar said common vision problems such as near-sight, far-sight, astigmatism, and a need for reading glasses were to a large extent influenced by external factors and effective mind-body connection was capable of producing amazing results, including natural clear eyesight.

He said vision training through Bates Method was based on a presupposition that clear vision was a natural state. He said that it aimed at restoring complete natural clear vision via exercises.

He said that when they wear glasses their eyes automatically adjust to the lenses. “In other words, your eyes are forced to be the way they were at the time you had your eyes tested. The lenses do virtually all the focusing leading to loss of strength in your eye-muscles,” he added.

Mr Sarwar said that natural clear eyesight was effortless. Many problems related to eyesight were due to functional factors such as constant focus on near work. Looking at a computer screen for 10 hours, for instance, could lead to chronic tension in the visual system. “To regain natural clear vision, one needs to learn to relax his eyes,” he added.

He said with high degree of myopia there was an apparent lack of energy in the eyes. Myopic eyes are like a car with a low battery, it can barely function without energy.

He said the main objective of the Bates Method was to secure relaxation of the mind and then the eyes. “Rest always improve vision, effort always lowers it,” he added. He said the therapy devised by Dr Bates involved palming the eyes to relax them, sun treatment that energized the eyes, movement of the body while looking at something, improving eyesight by using memory, flashing and blinking of eyes and expanding visual field.

Azeem Sarwar said that myopia was primarily caused by tension held in the oblique muscles around the eyes and the origin of this tension was mental. The close connection of body and mind was very much important in healing, he said.