Sunning Meditations by Gilles Marin, Founder and Director of the Chi Nei Tsang Institute and School of Taoist Healing Energetics.
Our endocrine system is perfectly programmed to provide us with the right amount of sleeping hormones during nighttime, but only when we spend enough time outdoors in daylight. This is the melatonin-serotonin factor, our waking-sleeping hormones: during daytime solar light stimulates our pineal gland into manufacturing and releasing serotonin, a hormone that gives us vitality during the day.
A lack of serotonin makes us tired and depressed. It is the reason why health advocates recommend full spectrum lights in offices, especially during winter time when working people have very little chance to enjoy the sun. When the body is able to manufacture a good, healthy amount of serotonin, then at nighttime the body can produce melatonin which puts one into a deep, healthy sleep.
The production of melatonin at night is directly proportional to the production of serotonin during daytime. So make sure you spend some time in the sun during daytime, and at night turn off all lights, pull down the shades on the windows and stay away from the TV or computer monitor. It is even recommended to cover your windows with thick curtains. You need to be able to sleep in complete darkness for best results.
In five themed segments, Gilles takes us through step-by-step instructions for using the sun’s documented effect on our seratonin-melatonin cycle, in combination with powerful meditation practices, to regulate and enhance our normal body functions that may have become disrupted by lifestyle factors or other stressors. Recently, mainstream medical research is confirming that a lack of sun is a significant factor in the disruption of our body’s uptake of Vitamin D, another critical health factor that plays a part in many modern disease processes. Learning to use the sun to awaken our inherent ability to heal ourselves is a universal prescription for enhanced wellness and vitality.
