In this episode of The Naked Eye Podcast, Certified Bates Method Teacher, Nathan Oxenfeld is joined by Dr. Ray Gottlieb as they review some key parts of his Bates Fundamentals & Procedures document, which you can download here:
Click Here to Download Dr. Ray Gottlieb’s Bates Fundamentals and Procedures document that we refer to in this podcast episode.
0:00 – 13:00 – Nathan’s Introduction
14:14 – Find the PDF on Ray’s website www.raygottlieb.com
14:56 – Dr. Ray Gottlieb’s introduction
15:35 – Ray’s vision history
16:00 – Yoga, Tai Chi, Meditation, and Bates in 1970
17:00 – Self-Taught Bates System leads to first clear flash
18:00 – Central Fixation at an optometry meeting
19:00 – Comparing learning eyesight improvement to learning piano
20:00 – On-demand clarity
21:00 – Curiosity and dedication help get through plateaus
23:00 – Using self-massage techniques on face and neck to relax eyes
24:00 – Being patient with the process to fizzle out frustration
26:00 – Any form of relaxation counts
27:00 – Everything in the Bates Method is about relaxing the eyes
28:00 – Story of the Presbyopia Reduction Chart
30:00 – Vision habits showing up in everyday life, practicing all the time
32:00 – Make an appointment with yourself, and show up
33:00 – Palming without the palms, maintaining visualization
34:00 – Become aware, remember to be aware, prolong attention span for the awareness, maintain awareness in demanding situations
37:00 – Blink and Breathe Now! Signs
39:00 – Breathing well changes pH of blood and increases threshold of when fight/flight response takes place
40:30 – Current research backs up Bates’ practice of “Dodging”
44:00 – Bates wants us to maintain good vision habits for life
45:00 – Palming Visualization Practices
46:00 – Extending attention span for breathing
47:00 – Five Finger Exercise
51:00 – The Big Squeeze
56:00 – The Light Touch
58:00 – The Alexander Technique
59:00 – Visualizing Letters and Numbers
1:00:00 – Body Posture and Vision
1:02:00 – Love Trust and Gratitude
1:08:00 – Visualizing the Color Black
1:09:00 – Using the Star Charts for Central Fixation
1:16:00 – Convergence and Divergence on the Star Charts
1:18:00 – Building depth perception by touching the tip of a pointer to the center of a star one eye at a time
1:20:00 – Deepening the breath with breathing games
1:25:00 – The Bates Method is about the eye-mind connection, bringing more attention to where you are looking
1:28:00 – What is your #1 tip for getting started?
1:29:00 – Toning and vibration cleans your brain
1:32:00 – Brahmari Pranayama
1:33:00 – Don’t try too hard to visualize
1:35:00 – Breathe 100 times, Call for the letters
1:39:00 – Go to https://raygottlieb.com/ for more information
Click Here to Download Dr. Ray Gottlieb’s The Psychophysiology of Nearsightedness PhD dissertation.
Click Here to Rent or Purchase the documentary film Vision 2020: From Eyesight To Insight featuring Dr. Ray Gottlieb, Dr. Jacob Liberman, Dr. Roberto Kaplan, Meir Schneider, and many more.
For more information, visit Dr. Ray Gottlieb’s website https://www.raygottlieb.com/