Sunning Interview with Gilles
- CNTI/TaoTouch
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Podcast by Ania Draus – sunforlife.info
Can light change our chemistry, and with it, our entire life?
In the sixth episode of the Sunny Podcast, we welcome Gilles Marin, a teacher of the Taoist tradition and founder of the TaoTouch/Chi Nei Tsang Institute. We talk about adrenaline, circadian rhythm, and why just a few minutes of daily light exposure can become the beginning of true regulation. We explore sleep, digestion, emotions, and what healing means from a Taoist perspective. It’s a conversation about biology, but also about returning to our natural rhythm.
It is a conversation about biology, sleep, and Spirit, and about why just a few minutes of daily light exposure may become the beginning of a profound shift. We invite you to listen.
Listen Here:
From the Sunny Podcast on sunforlife.com:
Healing as a Return to “The way things are”
Gilles begins the conversation with a simple explanation: Tao means “the way things are.”
Healing is not about fighting disease. It is about returning to natural order.
In this perspective, illness is not an enemy. It is information. A signal that something in our relationship with ourselves has been lost. However, to restore that relationship, the body requires the right chemistry.
Light as the Beginning of Chemical Change
One of the strongest threads in our conversation was the idea that healing begins with a shift in chemistry.
Modern life, as Gilles observes, keeps us in a state of excess adrenaline. Even when we stop physically, our system remains activated.
In that state:
digestion slows down
sleep becomes shallow
the body stays on alert
emotions are not fully processed
To enter a healing mode, we need serotonin. And this is where light comes in.
As Gilles emphasises, serotonin develops through exposure to light. Light stimulates the pineal gland, initiating a hormonal cascade that influences mood, sleep, and overall bodily regulation.
This is not a metaphor. It is biochemistry.
Light and Circadian Rhythm – The Foundation of Regulation
Human beings are rhythmic organisms. The 24-hour cycle of light and darkness regulates:
cortisol levels
serotonin production
nighttime melatonin synthesis
body temperature
metabolism
immune function
Gilles highlights that, especially in winter, when nights are longer, we need more sleep. It is during sleep that the body processes emotions we were unable to “digest” during the day.
But without sufficient light during the day, we do not produce enough melatonin at night.
Daylight is not a luxury. It is a biological prerequisite for regulation.
Sunning: A Simple Practice of Restoring Balance
Gilles recommends the practice of sunning to everyone.
Not as an alternative therapy.Not as a spiritual ritual.But as a foundation for regulating body chemistry.
A few minutes daily in natural light — ideally in the morning — facing the sun, with closed eyes.
“If you stay in the sun for more than three minutes, the body remembers that you are here,” Gilles says.
Light exposure:
reduces excess adrenaline
increases serotonin
improves sleep
supports melatonin and melanin production
Importantly, Gilles stresses that this is not about extremes. It is about relationships and progression. If the body feels discomfort, we move into the shade. We learn to listen to signals.
Light Through the Eyes – A Signal to the Brain
Another key point in our conversation was the role of light entering through the eyes.
The retina sends information to the brain that it is daytime. In the morning, even through closed eyelids, light activates hormonal regulation. As adrenaline levels decrease over time, pupils naturally constrict, and the eyes tolerate brightness more easily.
Light works through regulation, not force.
Light, Digestion, and Metabolism
Gilles clearly connects light with digestive function.
In adrenaline mode, the body shuts down digestion. We do not feel true hunger or satiety.
When serotonin levels increase:
peristalsis improves
appetite stabilizes
natural satiety returns
In Taoist understanding, digestion is not only about food, but also about emotions. Light supports our ability to digest experience.
Spirit and Light In Taoist Tradition
In Taoist tradition, light is connected with Spirit. Spirit, in this sense, is the capacity to be attracted by life. It is the inner fire of the heart. Gilles describes Spirit as that part of the mind that cannot be rationally dismissed, the part that truly moves us.
When body chemistry returns to balance, we regain contact with what draws us forward.
Light not only regulates hormones. It restores orientation.
Fear of the Sun
Modern discussions about sunlight often focus on risk.Gilles suggests that the problem is not the sun itself, but the state of the nervous system. When the body lives in chronic adrenaline, it becomes hypersensitive. Without gradual exposure and adaptation, light feels overwhelming. The issue is not light, but dysregulation.
Regular, moderate exposure helps the body produce melanin – its natural protective response.
Healing as Developing Self-Respect
At the end of our conversation, Gilles says that what he trusts most today in healing is the development of self-respect.
Respect means:
respecting one’s own rhythm
respecting appetite
respecting boundaries
respecting what genuinely attracts us
Healing is not about eliminating symptoms. It is about maturing. And maturation requires light – both literally and metaphorically.
Key Insights
• Light is a biological signal that regulates the circadian rhythm.
• Exposure to light supports serotonin production.
• Melatonin enables deep sleep and the processing of emotional experience.
• Chronic excess adrenaline blocks regeneration and recovery.
• Sunning can be a simple daily practice that supports regulation.
• In the Taoist tradition, healing means developing a relationship with oneself and returning to natural rhythm.
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