Simple Sun Rituals To Embrace Its Enriching Energy

Life on earth evolved with sunlight. It energises our body, syncs our biological rhythm and keeps us strong. Yet we shy away from it. Perhaps it’s time to face the sunshine again, if only for 20 minutes every day,

- Sneha Mankani. 

THE MOST VIVID memory I have of my grandfather—one that in hindsight shaped my own life and how I perceive nature for its healing abilities—was watching him stare at the rising sun as it painted the tall trees that surrounded our concrete building, and him, with its glorious light. His morning routine, always unhindered—an hour of meditation and yoga, followed by sun rituals—started at 4am, or brahma muhurta, the pe-dawn period where your mind is at its sharpest, the oxygen nascent. Mine may be a condensed 30-minute version of it today that starts with meditating, raw and bareskinned in cool cotton clothing in the morning sunlight, but just like him, I never let anything come in the way of my most sacred time of the day, not even the fear of the mighty U V R.

Significance of the Sun

Without the sun, earth would be a frozen, dark, lifeless planet. “Ayurvedic science considers the sun as the ultimate source of power and energy,” says Dr Manoj Kutteri, CEO and medical director of Atmantan Wellness Centre. “Being exposed to nature and its rhythmic light and dark cycles provides us with the energy and strength to lead a healthy life.” Ayurveda works on the principle of tridoshas—vata, pitta and kapha—the energies that govern the functioning of our bodies, physically and emotionally. “The sun is considered the main source of pitta, the digestive fire in the human body, responsible for every function from metabolism of food to optimum blood circulation that is mandatory to sustain human life,” adds Ayurvedic doctor Dr Dixa Bhavsar Savaliya.