Problems with sun

[South Dragon]

Hello, i see many people talking about how the sun gives you yang chi and energy, and that is good to meditate on sun but i don´t know why i personally feel when i get sunlight that i am getting drained, i feel dry, and cannot sense energy, like my muscles and bones are "aging" anyone here have this? or is just me, and have some solution?.

[Taomeow]

2 hours ago, South Dragon said:

Hello, i see many people talking about how the sun gives you yang chi and energy, and that is good to meditate on sun but i don´t know why i personally feel when i get sunlight that i am getting drained, i feel dry, and cannot sense energy, like my muscles and bones are "aging" anyone here have this? or is just me, and have some solution?.

 

Fire gives you yang energy too, but you don't want to sit in meditation in the middle of a campfire or inside a lit fireplace toward getting it.  With the sun, it's the same situation, and "many people talking" you refer to ought to stop talking outta where the sun don't shine.  

 

The real traditional instructions ask you to never practice in direct sunlight, and for certain practices, to avoid the time of the day when the sun is too close to its maximal yang position altogether, especially in summer.  Depending on the climate and weather it may mean from 11 am to 1 pm -- or even from 9 am to 4 pm.  

[Indiken]

10 hours ago, South Dragon said:

Hello, i see many people talking about how the sun gives you yang chi and energy, and that is good to meditate on sun but i don´t know why i personally feel when i get sunlight that i am getting drained, i feel dry, and cannot sense energy, like my muscles and bones are "aging" anyone here have this? or is just me, and have some solution?.

 

Hi, my opinion.

Maybe those people are wrong or they equate their subjective experience to be objective truth - it feels good for me to meditate in sun, therefore it is good to meditate in sun. Or you do not need yang chi and energy more than have already.

Edited June 10, 2023 by Indiken

[Nungali]

20 hours ago, South Dragon said:

Hello, i see many people talking about how the sun gives you yang chi and energy, and that is good to meditate on sun but i don´t know why i personally feel when i get sunlight that i am getting drained, i feel dry, and cannot sense energy, like my muscles and bones are "aging" anyone here have this? or is just me, and have some solution?.

 

What is your location ?

 

Thats to do with angular intensity, seasons, etc .  For example, I will be out soon sitting in the sun for my morning charge and warm up ... its still a bit cold out there at the moment , the sun only just peeked over the horizon .  We are a few weeks out from the winter solstice.   I love it, its healthy , warming and invigorating .

 

Summer ?  Nope !  Sun feels like a giant x-ray machine and its like I can feel it beaming through me to my bones . Does not feel good . Work happens in morning and afternoon - midday siesta / river hang .

 

And dry / dehydration is a risk .... not 'full blown even' but if not careful, one can get a headache and  other vague problems from a slight dehydration .

[South Dragon]

I live in Brazil and yes in the  summer the sun here are very strong, but i always try to avoid much sun time.

[C T]

Sun exposure is meant for the body to absorb vitamin D, not yang energy. If the latter is the case, those who work outdoors daily, for hours under the hot sun, must all be energetically imbalanced... they're not. No surprise if their constitution is mostly yin. So maybe you need to understand your own physical make-up first rather than drawing on generalised talk to obtain knowledge. A good place to start would be to first understand your dietary habits. If you're a yin type and your diet from young consists of mainly yin-type nutrients, then of course you'd be sun-aversed. 

[silent thunder]

I avoid direct sunlight and limit my exposure with high discretion. 

 

It is unpleasant to me to be in direct sunlight as I tend to run hot.

And as pink and pale as I am, I burn in less than half an hour.

 

Zhou Ting-Jue when teaching me Qi Gong recommended sessions in pre-dawn, or dusk, with back facing the rising or setting sun.  He also recommended working at night's zenith. 

 

 

[liminal_luke]

On 6/9/2023 at 9:15 PM, Taomeow said:

 

Fire gives you yang energy too, but you don't want to sit in meditation in the middle of a campfire or inside a lit fireplace toward getting it.  With the sun, it's the same situation, and "many people talking" you refer to ought to stop talking outta where the sun don't shine.  

 

The real traditional instructions ask you to never practice in direct sunlight, and for certain practices, to avoid the time of the day when the sun is too close to its maximal yang position altogether, especially in summer.  Depending on the climate and weather it may mean from 11 am to 1 pm -- or even from 9 am to 4 pm.  

 

Interesting.  Gilles Marin, a teacher of an (alledgedly) Taoist bodywork form called Chi Nei Tsang, taught me a sunning practice.  You sit facing the sun with eyes closed and imagine the light and warmth of the sun entering the eyes and from there penetrating different tissues of the body.  I haven't practiced it much but when I did I found it relaxing.  From a traditional Taoist point of view this practice would be ill-advised?

Edited June 15, 2023 by liminal_luke

[Taomeow]

59 minutes ago, liminal_luke said:

 

Interesting.  Gilles Marin, a teacher of an (alledgedly) Taoist bodywork form called Chi Nei Tsang, taught me a sunning practice.  You sit facing the sun with eyes closed and imagine the light and warmth of the sun entering the eyes and from there penetrating different tissues of the body.  I haven't practiced it much but when I did I found it relaxing.  From a traditional Taoist point of view this practice would be ill-advised?

 

No, not necessarily ill-advised -- except in a too generic, one-size-fits-all shape and form.  The practice itself is absolutely legit for the first 45 minutes after sunrise and the last 45 minutes before sunset, it's known as "absorbing the qi of the sun."  Not only is it traditional in many cultures (I know of similar Indian and African ones, e.g.) but recent studies apparently suggest that it's the prime time for producing vitamin D in response to solar irradiation -- has to do with the angle of the sun's rays hitting the body, apparently it's a big deal biologically and has to do with our evolution.  If true, this might partially explain, e.g., why in Southern California vitamin D deficiency is found in 50% of the population -- there's a lot of sun exposure but not enough of it during this crucial interval.  (The rampant -- and misguided -- use of sunscreens might be another factor.) 

 

Climate, weather, season, timing, individual tolerance (of which most adults would be expected to be aware), state of health at a given moment, hereditary factors, acclimatization, what not -- everything plays a part.  As always, the devil is in the details.  

[liminal_luke]

10 minutes ago, Taomeow said:

 

 recent studies apparently suggest that it's the prime time for producing vitamin D in response to solar irradiation -- has to do with the angle of the sun's rays hitting the body, apparently it's a big deal biologically and has to do with our evolution.  

 

Thanks!  If those studies are correct my brain had it exactly wrong.  I've always assumed that midday was best for vitamin D.  From a what-feels-good perspective, I much prefer the idea of spending time outdoors right before sunset, a magical part of the day.

[old3bob]

on a major tangent what about sunlight and cataracts,  a great many people suffer from those, more so in third world countries where treatment is iffy or hard to come for many, thus their lives and families may be seriously impacted!

 

I had the surgery and it wasn't bad but can be expensive if not covered by medical plans, medical plans which a great many don't have.

Edited June 15, 2023 by old3bob

[Taomeow]

1 hour ago, liminal_luke said:

 

Thanks!  If those studies are correct my brain had it exactly wrong.  I've always assumed that midday was best for vitamin D.  From a what-feels-good perspective, I much prefer the idea of spending time outdoors right before sunset, a magical part of the day.

 

Sunrise is also magical, but most urban/suburban dwellers are asleep at the time.  Last year I made a point of seeing the sunrise every day.  A good spot closest to home is where a long open street goes East downhill so nothing obstructs the view of the mountains -- although the mountains themselves obstruct the view of the sun during certain seasons -- it moves a bit every day, left to right, and might reach a position where the mountains won't let you see it until it's fully emerged.   

 

So, one fine morning I was sitting there with a cup of coffee and a car passed by, then abruptly turned around, stopped, and some young guy got out to ask if I was OK.  'cause, you know, someone who doesn't look homeless just sits on the curb circa 5:30 a.m., something might be wrong with them.  I responded, "I am, what about you?"  "Oh...  not really," he said, "had a huge fight with my girlfriend, just stormed out mad, went for a drive.  Anyway...  so, what are you doing here?"  I explained that I was sitting there waiting for the sun to rise.  What?!  I just want to see the sunrise.  He looked a bit confused for a moment -- as though he thought that something must be wrong with me after all -- then goes, ah, what the hell, I'll watch the sunrise too.  Haven't seen one in...  I dunno, maybe ten years? Fifteen?

 

Long story short, he sat down next to me and started looking at the clouds gradually changing color over the horizon, the unique play of ever-changing light and shadows, the strange pictures of fantastic landscapes emerging below, changing minute to minute, gently, getting brighter, forming animal shapes, transforming them, now here, now gone.  He was absolutely blown away.  "It's better than a movie!"  he kept raving.  Once we were done watching the sunrise, he made a solemn oath that he will try to see the sunrise as often as possible from then on.  He positively looked enlightened, LOL.   

[liminal_luke]

18 minutes ago, Taomeow said:

 

 Last year I made a point of seeing the sunrise every day.   

 

What a beautiful, inspiring practice.  Can you imagine Biden, Trump, or DeSantis doing that?  I've said it before and I'll say it again: Taomeow for president!

[Indiken]

1 minute ago, liminal_luke said:

 

What a beautiful, inspiring practice.  Can you imagine Biden, Trump, or DeSantis doing that?  I've said it before and I'll say it again: Taomeow for president!

 

god help no !!!

[dwai]

For internal cultivation, typically, I have seen teachers ask to avoid extremes - not too much sun, not too much cold, not too much wind, etc. Those who do "sun cultivation" have a different method - like at dawn or dusk, standing in water, pouring water from above and looking at the sun through the stream of water for a certain period of time. This is called "Surya Arghya" in Hinduism, and can charge us up.