Healing with Light — Phototherapy in the Reimagined Community

So much of our medical care focuses on pharmaceuticals. There seems to be a pill for everything. But drugs are artificial and alien ways of affecting our bodies. And many drugs are, essentially, poisons taken in small enough doses that they can have a beneficial result.

But the body has many systems to heal itself, to make nutrients from raw materials, to repair and restore itself. And those systems can be triggered by the right nutrients in our food, by our breath, by sleep, by movement, or by a combination of all the above. And like all living creatures, our bodies respond to light, sometimes in surprising ways.

We are all familiar with the benefits of sunshine. Being outside in the sun prompts our bodies to make vitamin D that helps us absorb calcium and keep our bones strong. But our body’s response to light is subtle and profound. Replacing fluorescent lights in a home with light that reflects natural sunlight affects our mood. Circadian lighting that changes the intensity of light throughout the day helps to restore our body’s natural rhythms.