Yoga in the Sun?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

googling for this question wasn’t very fruitful. “yoga in the sun” made me end up with thousands of sun salutations :smiley:

in light on yoga by Iyengar he wrote that one shouldn’t do yoga when one has been outside in the sun shortly before. now I’m wondering why, and what about doing yoga in the sun?
three days ago I went outside to the river to do yoga there, going for a swim before and after, which I love very dearly. the cold water shock really gets your circulatory system running and I feel very awake immediately. after that I did some poses in the sun, which felt quite good, it felt a bit like I was burning, in a good way.

now I wonder, is there something wrong with doing yoga in the sun? if Iyengar writes that it is not good to do so, surely he must have had some reason in mind as to why.

#2

Dear Viktor,
welcome to the forum!

I dont know where you live… but in some parts of india sun is very harsh and afternoon can overheat one’s system very quick. This might be the reason.

#3

If the sun is very strong you could get too hot, dehydrated or get sun burn …just take care…doing yoga outside on a warm sunny day is great but having a little shade is more comfortable.

#4

Hello Viktor,

I’ve read that pranayama should’nt be practiced in exposure to a strong electromagnetic field. In this way, we should avoid sunlight, fans, screens, etc…

In pranayama we work on our pranic/energetic body. Asanas do it to some extent as well, but I don’t know if we should do asanas in the sun or not. As others have said, it could depend on the strength of the sun you expose to.

Regards

#5

The sun has healing rays and destructive rays (actinic and others).

The healing rays of the sun are quite powerful.

Yogis advise that under no circumstances you look in the sun, except the first hour after sunrise and one hour before the sunset. Then the earth atmosphere overbalances the
destructive rays of the sun.

Yogis practised the heliotropic method of healing, by looking in the sun either in the morning or in the evening. The method does not consist just in looking at the sun, but
I am not at liberty to disclose the method.

#6

As ironic as it sounds, I wouldn’t do sun salutations in the sun.
I’ve done static poses in the sun for years. Just use common sense.

#7

It is not only yogis which strictly forbid to look into the sun. It is also the medical science. Even if you wear sun glasses, looking directly into the sun might blind you:

Please note that you need triple protection: against UV (ultraviolets), high energy light
(not visible) and high energy light visible (blue).

#8

[QUOTE=oak333;61378]The sun has healing rays and destructive rays (actinic and others).

The healing rays of the sun are quite powerful.

Yogis advise that under no circumstances you look in the sun, except the first hour after sunrise and one hour before the sunset. Then the earth atmosphere overbalances the
destructive rays of the sun.

Yogis practised the heliotropic method of healing, by looking in the sun either in the morning or in the evening. The method does not consist just in looking at the sun, but
I am not at liberty to disclose the method.[/QUOTE]

We use a special mudra during Sandhyavandana to make a tiny hole between the fingers to look at the sun.

#9

[QUOTE=Sarvamaṅgalamaṅgalā;61923]We use a special mudra during Sandhyavandana to make a tiny hole between the fingers to look at the sun.[/QUOTE]

Check with your doctor.