It is no surprise that the sun’s rays are incredibly healing to the human body, and that the mighty Helios was worshiped for millennia, as the saviour of humanity.

But did you know that there are sun gazing benefits as well?

What is Sun Gazing?

Sun gazing is an ancient therapy and a technique whereby a person gazes at the sun at sunrise or sunset (either the first or last hour)

The sun can be bright at first, so until your eyes adjust try:

• You can start with your eyes closed., as the sun penetrates about three inches through your skin.
• As you learn the art, next you can narrow your eyes and gradually allow the light to enter.
• Next gaze at the sun through the branches of a tree
• Start with about 5 seconds with your eyes fully open and as both you and your eyes grow accustomed to Sun Gazing, you can increase this, to anything up to 60 minutes.

The practice has been revered for millennia by the Egyptians, Tibetans, Greeks, Mayans and Aztecs and is a well-established practice in India, Thailand, and other eastern cultures. 

What these cultures innerstood is that the eyes are the windows to the soul and the sun is the source of life force; therefore, by mentally and physically connecting to the sun, they would be able to assimilate its life force energy more readily. 

The Physical and Spiritual benefits of Sun Gazing

The benefits of sunshine for health were much more purported back in the 19th and early 20th century when photobiology, the study of the benefits and harm of light on living organisms, and heliotherapy, the method of healing the body of disease through sunlight, were at their heyday

This was a time when hospitals all over Europe and North America built solariums where patients could comfortably utilize the sun’s healing radiation for various conditions, including rickets, tuberculosis, and psoriasis.

Sunshine also increases levels of serotonin, boosts our moods, improves mental health, increases metabolism, helps with sleep quality, and promotes a sense of well-being!

Sun gazing is also known to improve eyesight and promote intense dreaming. According to many stories shared by sun-gazers online, there is a consensus of attaining holistic health benefits and the opinion that sun gazing dangers are overblown and that sticking to gazing within one hour of sunrise and sunset is very safe. 

Overall, sun gazing is meant to liberate its practitioners from threefold sufferings of humanity – mental illnesses, physical illnesses, and spiritual ignorance. 

Another benefit of sun gazing is that it decreases hunger. Vina Parmar, the author of Living on Sunlight, states that after eight months of sun gazing, you can experience hunger to cease completely.

If you suffer from weight issues and food cravings, sun gazing can help you regulate your metabolism by providing the energy surge to your body that it is looking to assimilate through food. 

Sun gazing also provides a calming effect on the whole body, ensuring that we feel more connected to ourselves, our environment, and the cosmos. 

It strengthens our spiritual connection with all life around us, which feeds the function of the energy center governed by the crown chakra, or the 7th chakra of the body.

Indeed, there is vast spiritual literature on the importance of walking barefoot, especially while sun-gazing. It is said that the power of the earth also protects the eye. 

While the sun activates the brain’s power centers, the toes are activated by the Earth’s energy and stimulate the glandular centers in the body:

How to Sungaze for the Best Health Benefits

How to Sun Gaze effectively

1. Stand upright barefooted and steady on the earth. The ground can be sand-like ocean or riverfront or dirt, but it shouldn’t be concrete, tile, a grassy lawn (supposedly, grass and plants can absorb a lot of the energy circulating through the body), or on top of the building.

According to Vina Parmar, this is very important because the earth element is strengthened and the five elements of sky, sun, water (internal body fluids), and earth will complement each other and help in the process. 

Standing barefoot, sun gazing, is also an extremely effective way to GROUND YOURSELF.

2. Start gently gazing at the rising or setting sun for 5 to 10 seconds on the first day. Then, prolong sun gazing by 5 to 10 seconds every day after. 

3. Sun gazing has to be done during the first hour of sunrise to avoid damage to the eye retina. One should not look at the sun after one hour or it may be too bright. 

4. Sun gazing can also be done during the last hour of sunset. However, morning sun purportedly stimulates greater Vitamin A and D production. 

5. While praying or in a meditative state, evoke the feeling that the solar energy is entering through your eyes and is nourishing your body and soul. Be of the mindset that you are being healed and that only good things will result as a part of the practice. This is very important because what you believe will reinforce that reality .

Some other tips for a safe and healthy sun gazing routine:

• Sun-gaze at either at sunrise or at sunset, but never later than 60 minutes after sunrise or 60 minutes before sun set
• You can start with closed eyes, for the first week, then start to sun gaze through very small slits as you partially open your eyes for the second week, in the third week, sun gaze through the branches of a tree, in the fourth week, start slowly with open eyes.
• Leave the timer at the time that you sun gazed, the previous day, but note that as you move toward summer, from winter, the days get longer, so you will need to adjust your sun gazing time, accordingly. As you approach winter, you will need to reverse this. This way, you can easily keep track of how much time you have been sun gazing daily, weekly and monthly. 
• Being barefoot is highly recommended, standing on sand or earth is always best for grounding. 
• Choose either the morning or the evening, as a standard time when you sun gaze. We operate best with a routine.
• Sunscreens must never to be used., under any circumstances as these are toxic.
• The sun promotes sweating, which is how the skin breathes, detoxifies the body, and regenerates. Also, chemicals that are placed on the skin and heated are even more dangerous to the body, being more readily absorbed and becoming more activated in the blood system. 
• Avoid spending too much time in the midday sun between 11am and 2pm.
• Try to warm yourself in the sun every day, and even in the winter on sunny days or from the window of your home. 
• Expose a piece of skin the size of your chest and stomach to direct sunlight for 30m minutes daily, if possible

The General Benefits of Vitamin D and Sunshine 

Final Thoughts

As you see, sun gazing benefits outweigh any concerns bar none!

Connecting with the sun visually is an ancient method of energizing the body with the vital life force in order to promote mental, physical, and emotional benefits and eventual healing of disease. It’s a practice that spans cultures and that has proven to help those that practice it safely and wisely. 

Many pre-Christian pagan cultures worshiped the sun, and in fact, the sun was the main deity in most cultures before Abrahamic religions came onto the scene. Vedic India had a vast tradition of worshiping the sun, with different Vedic sun gods representing the various aspects of the sun; likewise, in Vedic Astrology, the sun symbolizes one’s soul. 

Inevitably, sun gazing is one method that infuses essential vitality into the body to help it self-heal, and it is a wonderful practice that should be a part of everyone’s healing journey!

Sunshine also increases levels of serotonin, boosts our moods, improves mental health, increases metabolism, helps with sleep quality, and promotes a sense of well-being!