Could our hairstyles and hair length impact our health and wellbeing more than we ever thought? Stay tuned as I discuss some interesting points in relation to keeping the hair long for health mental and spiritual benefits.
Most of us love the look of long hair. Many women wear their hair long because of its ability to accentuate beauty and femininity. The silky shine and the variations of colour, both straight or curly. Long hair can also look great on men, although it is the norm that men cut their hair in our modernised world. Historically, long hair for both sexes was and still remains the norm for tribal cultures around the world such as the Native American Indians.
Personally, I have never cut my hair shorter than above the shoulders and I have always loved the look of long hair, especially because it radiates health and accentuates beauty. But apparently, long hair is not just about beauty – there are also health and spiritual connections associated with keeping the hair long.
Around about the time my son was born, we came across information that encouraged us to keep all of our family’s hair long, including my young son’s. More than a decade later, he still maintains his length. Keeping hair long for a young boy can have its challenges, though; especially when he is mistaken for a girl – this has happened many a time. Also, it’s not very common to see a boy with long hair, so it’s not accepted as a normal thing to do.
Despite these challenges, why did I choose to keep his hair long? Here are some interesting pieces of information sourced from history, tribal cultures, and science that I have gathered.
I have never cut my hair shorter than above the shoulders and I have always loved the look of long hair, especially when it radiates health and accentuates beauty. But apparently, long hair is not just about beauty – there are also health and spiritual connections associated with keeping the hair long.
Around about the time my son was born, we came across information that encouraged us to keep all of our family’s hair long, including my young son’s. Almost 10 years later, he still keeps his hair long. Keeping hair long for a young boy can have its challenges, though; especially when he is mistaken for a girl – this has happened many a time. Also, it’s not very common to see a boy with long hair, so it’s not accepted as a normal thing to do.
Despite these challenges, why choose to keep his hair long? Here are some interesting pieces of information sourced from history, tribal cultures, and science that I have gathered.
For health
Yogi Bhajan is said to have brought Kundalini Yoga to the West in 1968. He spoke of hair in connection to health and spirituality. He said that when left to grow to full length, it absorbs vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus. Hair is said to be like an antenna – it gathers the energy of the sun to the frontal lobes, which is the part of the brain that we use for visualisation and meditation.
There may be a problem with having bangs covering the forehead because they block the light which should naturally be absorbed by the porous bones of the forehead. From there, it gets transmitted to the pineal gland in the brain. Without adequate light, this could have repercussions on brain activity, thyroid and sexual hormones. 1
Scientists have found that people with long hair have more energy and vitality, can handle the cold better and are less likely to be depressed. 2 Perhaps this also has something to do with an increase of vitamin D absorption? It is common for people who don’t get enough sun to develop SAD and depressive disorders.
Does history reflect certain truths through storytelling? Take Samson and Delilah, written in the Hebrew Bible, where Delilah discovered the secret to Samson’s superhuman powers was due to his long hair. So she cut it whilst he was sleeping to render him powerless, and he was quickly conquered by the enemy. 3 Long hair gave him his strength.
The hair was cut short to signify slavery or submission. Being stated as the greatest conqueror the world has ever known, Ghenghis Khan ordered the Chinese people to cut their hair and wear bangs. The people were naturally intelligent and didn’t easily give in to being controlled, so cutting their hair would have allowed for easier submission unto him.
Many tribal cultures kept their hair long as a natural way of life. Their intuition and connection to the divine came naturally, and they were known to be spiritual people. Was this because of their long hair?
It’s interesting to read about the American Indian trackers who were chosen to fight in the Vietnam war, and who were carefully selected by the Government because of their excellence in tracking and survival skills. They were able to sense the enemy before approaching. But when they were recruited, they got military haircuts. At the same time, they lost many of their abilities. Tests were done to discover the reason for their lack of abilities and the cause was found to be due to their loss of long hair. After this was discovered, the Indian recruits became exempt from cutting their hair so they could keep their special abilities. 4
Energy conservation
Every person’s hair grows to different lengths naturally. It’s said to take the body an enormous amount of energy and nutrients just to regrow hair to Its natural length. If it is cut, it usually takes a few years to regrow to full length. Apparently, it would take the body 22 meters of hair to regrow over a lifetime compared to 1.5 meters of hair for someone who keeps their natural length. 5 I think it makes sense to conserve energy for the body to use for other important functions.
Dogs, cats and other animals such as rats, walruses and seals have whiskers, or vibrissae, which are required to send sensory messages to the brain and to feel vibrations in the air and sense danger. 6 Hair on humans seems to have a similar purpose to that of animal whiskers. Hair is an extension of the nervous system, it can be correctly seen as exteriorized nerves, a type of highly evolved ‘feelers’ or ‘antennae’ that transmit vast amounts of important information to the brain stem, the limbic system, and the neocortex. 7
Although I haven’t been successful with finding information about the original experiment, it has been said by a few sources that science has shown some compelling evidence with the application of Kirlian Photography. They have been able to take a photograph of a man’s aura before and after he got a haircut. The photos are intriguing to see the aura around the body lit up in a bright ‘bioenergy’ field when the hair was long, but when it was cut short, the aura shows to be significantly dim in comparison. 8
It is stated that the human body generates an electromagnetic field that extends all around our body. Hair is also a conductor of this energy and the longer it is, the better it is able to send and receive signals from the brain to the outer environment, just like an antenna. In India, women commonly keep their hair long and wear a rishi knot on the top ofheads (also on the crown chakra) during the day to energise the aura, stimulate the pineal and channel their energy. At night they let their hair down for the reason to help the electromagnetic field balance out from the day. They couldn’t do any of these activities if their hair was short.9
Hair care
Here are some Yogi tips for hair care.
Brushing the hair routinely in the morning and at night for 5 minutes with a wooden or natural bristle brush can help to eliminate static electricity, distributes natural oils whilst also untangling the hair. They say that if you comb your hair from front to back, then back to front, then from side to side, it will refresh you. When we brush, apparently, we stimulate that scalp which energises and invigorates. It could give you added energy as well as promote relaxation. 10
For wet hair, it is best to dry naturally by the sun. Also, not to tie hair up until it is fully dried to avoid hair damage. Almond oil is said to help repair split ends, and tying up in a coil on top of the head whilst covered is said to heal the hair. 11
There could be so much more to hair than we know. Perhaps getting a cut from the hairdresser is not as harmless as it seems? Getting a new set of bangs, or cutting it short could be detrimental to our health or intuitive abilities according to the Yogis, other cultures and scientists. Although it may take the extra effort to detangle, wash and dry long hair, in the long run it may just be well worth it.
Source:
1. https://www.ancient-origins.net/human-origins-folklore/legendary-locks-can-hair-act-sixth-sense-protecting-us-danger-004844
2. https://energyiseverythingeie.com/articles-gage/long-hair-the-spiritual-benefits
3. https://www.ancient-origins.net/human-origins-folklore/legendary-locks-can-hair-act-sixth-sense-protecting-us-danger-004844
4,5. (Article by Dr. Birendra Kaur) https://energyiseverythingeie.com/articles-gage/long-hair-the-spiritual-benefits
6,7. https://www.livescience.com/44824-why-dogs-have-whiskers.html, https://www.livescience.com/44196-why-do-cats-have-whiskers.html, (article by C.Young), https://energyiseverythingeie.com/articles-gage/long-hair-the-spiritual-benefits
8,9. http://uditarora25.blogspot.com/2016/02/scientic-reason-of-long-hairs-and.html
10. https://www.3ho.org/3ho-lifestyle/daily-routine/yogic-hair-care
11. https://www.3ho.org/articles/all-about-hair-yogi-style
