UV detector watch and misc notes.

[Yoda]

Sungazing at UV of 2 or less is, in my opinion, a very conservative guideline insuring complete safety. Sungazing within an hour of sunrise or sunset insures this, but lots of people can't see the sun during those times. Also, cloudgazing during the middle of the day can be dangerous as the built in pain reflex might not kick in allowing too much UV exposure.

 

Leave it to Yoda to find the $35 UV watch at Target! Or a bit more if you google search uv watch online. While I have good access to the horizon, I'm still going to pick one up for kicks.

 

Here's a quote from a study on sunlight and serotonin: "the rate of production of serotonin by the brain was directly related to the prevailing duration of bright sunlight and rose rapidly with increased luminosity." Just google sunlight serotonin and you'll bump into the pubmed abstract.

 

Whatever practice you do might get a nice boost by doing it in sunshine.

 

-Yoda 8)

[RedKooga]

I've heard it said that Qi Gong without natural light is impossible. Not sure what to make of that, but I'm getting sidetracked. The question I wanted to ask was, is there a way of doing this practice without looking at the sun? The sun's light is pretty universal after all. I burnt my retinas slightly from looking at the sun as a kid and has been a slight colour variance between my eyes ever since. I just feel a little wary.

[Yoda]

I'm sorry to hear that!

 

Also, that nukes my theory that one's pain sensors are good protection on non-cloudy days.

 

There are a ton of variations from normal sunbathing, looking at the sun with the eyes closed, watching the pre-sunrise/post-sunset radiance, just looking at the sky in a direction away from the sun, etc. One of the most popular is walking around in the sunshine without wearing shoes. I'd imagine just do whatever practices you enjoy but just do it outside without shoes on as often as possible would do the trick.

 

I've been through lots of practices and, in retrospect, my best experiences with them whether kettlebells, yoga, standing, meditation, etc were when done outside.

 

Also, my happiest periods of life seem to correlate with higher sun exposure, so sunlight is worth considering as a potential secret ingredient for the good life.

 

Another study that I read about is that you really can 'store up' sunlight exposure, that a lot of exposure in the summer will see you through in the winter. There's a vitamin D precursor (cholecalciferol) that builds up with increased sunlight and the speculation is that keeps the vitamin D stocked up and thus the serotonin strong through the dark months.

 

-Yoda

[Max]

The cheapest one is here: http://www.dynadirect.com/sg-ul100.html

$23

[Yoda]

Doh! I JUST got it handed to me on shipping charges! You beat me by $6! :evil:

 

I've been checking the UV index website for the day's prediction, but I look forward to having more input on an hour-to-hour basis. Plus, it's nice to have little techie toys around the house. Mrs Yoda totally throws away anything that arrives in discrete packaging.

 

-Yoda 8)