The golden healer - The beginning of the light therapy.
Solarium /səˈlɛːrɪəm/ — noun: a room fitted with extensive areas of glass to admit sunlight.
Some of the logic related to solariums began in China around 6,000 BC. At that time, Chinese architects began building homes to face south so that the sun would heat the interior, a practice that continues even today. While windows were likely no more than a gap in the wall at the time, you can still imagine families gathering around to soak up the light and heat. Finally, the trend of solar-heated homes began to catch on in Greece and even Rome.
According to Socrates, the ideal house should be cool in summer and warm in winter and nowadays we still believe that. But, 2,500 years ago, in Greece, accomplish this was hard. No heating systems or any type of AC.
At that time, they ravaged the forest for wood to heat their homes and cook. Trees were also needed to fuel operations and build homes and ships. But, this was destroying the timberlands. Plato once compared the hills of Attica to the bones of a wasted body. Plato said:
“ All the richer and softer parts have fallen away…..and the mere skeleton of the land remains.”
With wood scarring and the supply sources getting farther and farther away, the fuel prices most likely went up. Fortunately, an alternative source of energy was available, the sun, whose energy is vast and free.
With time, the Greeks learned to build their houses to take advantage of the sun’s ray during winter and to avoid the sun’s heat during the hot summer. Individual homes were oriented towards the south and then entire cities were planned to allow citizens access to the winter sun. Citizens were saving money and resources.
Greeks venerated the sun so they were happy to create their solar-friendly houses. Theophrastus, a naturalist commented that Greeks believed that —
the sun provides life-sustaining heat in animals and plants. It also probably supplies the heat of earthly flames. They believed they were catching the sun when making fire.
It was commonly known that exposure to the sun nurtured good health. Oribasius, an ancient medical authority, wrote that south-facing areas were healthy places because of their exposure to the sun.
Moving back to China, solar city planning reached greater heights compared to Greece. Gabriel Magalhaes, a seventeenth-century Portuguese priest and one of the first Europeans to visit China, praised Peking and other cities that were not built like Europe. Homes were designed according to the cosmology that preceded all aspects of the cultures and the south was associated with summer and warmth, therefore, that was the direction of health.
Another Frenchman, Tony Garnier, envisioned an ideal sun city based on health and harmony. Like these, they are multiples stories all over the world about the benefits of the light and the sun.
In Kaiyan medical, we keep the tradition of light in our work. We believe in healing without chemicals. With our lights, we want you to have the best version of yourself.
For more information, please visit our website.
References
- Solar energy — History. 2. Architecture and solar radiation — History. I. Perlin, JohnJoint author. II. Title.
- A GOLDEN THREAD- 2500 YEARS OF SOLAR ARCHITECTURE AND TECHNOLOGY by KEN BUTTI, JOHN PERLIN
