Benefits of Sungazing
Solar energy is the world’s most promising resource. The sun emits abundant energy that can be used for various purposes, from growing food to generating electricity. In addition to these uses, scientists believe that exposure to sunlight has a number of health benefits as well.
Sungazing (or solar gazing) refers to staring directly at the sun (during daylight hours), which is something that many people claim to derive benefits from. Many of the proposed benefits are similar to those of other photobiomodulation therapies, including improved mood and cognitive function.
In this article, we take a look at human sun gazing practices throughout history and how it affects our biology – whether or not there’s any science to back up these claims.
What is sun gazing?
Sungazing, also called solar therapy or heliotherapy refers to the act of staring directly at the sun during daylight hours. This practice has been done by various groups throughout history as part of both spiritual and medical practices.
The first recorded example comes from ancient times in India, where it was referred to as “Surya-kevala”. Lord Shiva has often depicted with his eyes encircled by the glow of the solar disc. Some believe that the tradition of placing statues in chariots with large spoked wheels derives from the need to transport idols representing Lord Surya.
Surya-kevlar, or sun gazing is a powerful practice that can bring balance and peace to the body and soul.
Sungazing is currently practiced throughout India, particularly in its Himalayan regions, where many individuals will spend minutes at sunrise and sunset engaging their solar gaze. Some spend hours exposed to the sun every day, while others do it on a regular basis.
In modern times, sun gazing is also practiced by individuals from other countries who have been inspired by these ancient practices. Sungazing has crossed religious, cultural, and geographical boundaries to become popular in the United States and Europe.
During the period of Surya-kevlar or sun gazing, the eyes are exposed to ultraviolet radiation that stimulates the brain, nervous system, and pineal gland.
One of these practices is called HRM or “Hara Ra Ma” which revolves around meditational gazing. It was created by Yogi Bhyrappa in the early ’80s after he’d spent over 20 years studying ancient texts and documents written about Surya-kevlar.
HRM is a synthesis of ancient teachings from many cultures, including the Rig Veda, Bhagavad Gita, and Yoga Sutras. The practice involves sitting with the back straight and gazing at the rising sun for various periods each day – starting off slowly and building up the duration depending on the practitioner’s experience.
Sungazing is practiced multiple times throughout the day, including sunrise, midday, and sunset. It can also be done in four stages, with each stage being held for a longer period of time.
The HRM technique is claimed to provide relief from various ailments. For example, it is said to purify the blood, improve circulation and reduce headaches.
In addition to these benefits, HRM also claims that sun gazing is able to treat a number of both physical and psychological conditions. These include addictions, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, cataracts, and glaucoma.
While HRM is perhaps the most popular form of sungazing, sun gazing is practiced by many individuals throughout the world. The methods and benefits may be slightly different depending on your location and culture.
Is there any science to back up these claims?
Most people instinctively know that sunlight is important – we feel better when we’re exposed to it and our mood tends to be worse when we avoid being outside for too long.
Sunlight has been shown to have an effect on mood, cognition, memory, immunity, and sleep patterns.
Light therapy is often used to treat the seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a form of depression that occurs during certain seasons, usually winter. If you find yourself feeling more tired and irritable during the colder, darker months, it might be a good idea to get some sun in your life.
The precise mechanism by which sunlight has its effects on mood is still being studied, but there are two possible explanations. The first is that sunshine can help to regulate our circadian rhythm or “body clock”.
Sungazing benefits Reddit:
1. The Sun Gazing technique is something that I stumbled upon accidentally over 15 years ago. I was doing a mild version of sun gazing with success but I had occasional episodes of dizziness and headaches caused due to sensitive eyes at the end of each session (last for approx 10 min). But still with a little benefit gained during brief episodes(less than 15 min). Then I realized the technique to be harmful.
2. After reading comments from many people, I finally understood that sun gazing shouldn’t be done regularly every day, unless you are ready for it and want the majority of physical problems related to eyes, like eyesight loss, etc (which is very rare). It’s not like all your problems will be solved and you’ll feel like Superman or something. If it were so, people would have done a lot more sun gazing for longer periods rather than bad-mouthing the technique I think.
3. By doing so, if you suffer from a normal minor headache it will disappear within 10 mins of gazing and this is what happened to me every time I did a sun gazing session in the past (after each long episode).
4. From my point of view (and experience), sun gazing along with ‘earth hugging’ can speed up spiritual progress by almost 100% (the numbers may vary, depending on the person). I experienced this when I was doing it (sun gazing and earth hugging) but then gave up because of fear that I might lose my eyesight.
5. The way to avoid sun-gazing-related unpleasant side effects is to do it every day only for a few seconds or minutes.
6. I think this is a new way of meditation and I’m not saying to do sun gazing every day for hours as the first step of your spiritual journey…
7. Trust me, there are guys who stare at the Sun for hours and they see everything as a big joke and make fun of those who don’t do it. Maybe I was not patient enough to achieve what they did (even though it is said that with time you’ll be able to gaze directly into the sun).
8. The mind-blowing benefits of Sungazing just cannot be ignored. It helped me quit alcohol, improve my eyesight, lose weight, get over depression and anxiety in a matter of 2 weeks after starting sun gazing!
9. I remember there was this one time when I forgot to practice sun gazing for almost 3 days because of over-enthusiasm and I was feeling the withdrawal symptoms (sleepiness, laziness, etc).
10. Basically, don’t do sun gazing unless you’re interested in it. Do it for 10 minutes or so each day, with breaks if you need to.
11. I never thought that practicing sun gazing every day for short periods would be helpful. I just knew that if you stare at the sun for too long, it will hurt your eyes.
12. Now, even though I only do the sun gazing every other day for less than 10 minutes, I can notice a difference in my overall mood and energy levels throughout the days.
13. For me Sungazing was like meditation and it helped me get answers to all my problems especially about love (girls).
14. Sun Gazing has been beneficial for my hair and nails, skin tone, digestion, and sleep patterns.
Sungazing benefits for the brain:
1. I have started my sun gazing practice one month ago. I am really excited to find this wonderful technique that can heal all diseases/ailments.
2. Not only has the sun cured ALL of my physical ailments, but it has also cured my mental issues including anxiety and depression. And now, after 10 minutes of sun gazing every day, I am finally in peace with myself.
Sungazing benefits for hair:
1. the First week- My hairs are really shiny.
2. Second week- my hair is growing much faster than before, also the gray hair has reduced a lot. I have little white hair in their place now
3. the Third week- My hairs are healthier, shinier, and even curlier.
Sungazing benefits for eyes:
1. After practicing the sun gazing technique, my eyesight, and astigmatism both have improved (my eyesight has improved from -4.75 to -1)
2. I started gazing at the Sun for 10 – 15 minutes daily, and after 40 – 50 days I literally could not recognize myself. The dark rings around my eyes were almost gone and not only that, but my hair also became very shiny and radiant.
sungazing benefits for skin: The sun’s rays increase blood circulation to your skin making it softer, smoother, and suppler. My whole body feels healthy and energetic after doing Sun Gazing.
Sungazing benefits for the whole body:
1. The Sun energy (in the form of sun rays) coming from the Sun is supposed to be the purest form of energy in the universe.
2. On a spiritual or soul level, Sungazing has helped me a lot in terms of being more confident and patient.
3. After practicing Sun Gazing I feel very energetic.
Sungazing benefits for spiritual growth:
1. Pointing the third eye towards the sun helps ground root chakra energy, which helps you release your fears and expand your awareness of life’s possibilities. This is the first step to being more attuned with yourself, others, and the universe. There is nothing more powerful than connecting with nature (and ourselves) in this way with eyes wide open, allowing our souls to expand beyond our human bodies and limitations.
2. Sun gazing connects you with your soul, the most authentic part of yourself; it allows you to experience all that is within you including love, joy, peace, empathy & compassion.
3. Every day I feel more connected to the sun and all its energy—energized when I wake up after just 10 minutes of sun gazing in the morning, grounded throughout the day! My aura is getting stronger too.
4. Sun Gazing lifted my depression within 45 days. That was over 5 years ago, and it has helped me be happy especially in the mornings.
5. I’ve been practicing Sun Gazing for 2 weeks now… It works! My friends tell me that my eyes are getting white, but I feel that my heart is becoming stronger too.
6. After about 30 days of sun gazing you should be able to look directly at the sun without hurting your eyes.
7. 1 month of sun gazing I can feel the heat coming from my body and radiating around me too.
8. After a month into it, I felt a noticeable increase in energy during the day, and better sleep at night! … I began intuitively knowing things without knowing how I knew.