Summer Solstice - how will you celebrate?

The official start of summer, according to the stars, is Sunday, June 21. This marks the longest day of the year, with approximately 12 hours of sunlight. Since we’ve been enjoying the heat of the sun since the end of April, meteorologically, the summer solstice can be thought of as the middle of summer.

Whichever way you look at it, the Summer Solstice is a great time to revisit intentions and set new ones for July, August, and the beginning of September before Autumn make another appearance.

In fact, in ancient Greece the summer solstice was actually celebrated as the first day of the year! Wouldn’t it be nice if New Year’s was in June and not January?

In ancient China, the summer solstice was a time to celebrate yin qualities. At the height of summer when the heat is greatest, it’s important to find ways slow down to maintain balance.

This same concept of equilibrium can be found in Ayurveda, yoga’s sister science. In Ayurveda, summer is categorized as a pitta season, represented by fire and water. If you add heat to heat, you naturally get more heat, which is why it’s so important to stay cool in the summer months if you follow Ayurvedic principles. Excess heat can present itself as rashes, burns (sunburn, anyone?), anger, and irritability. Cooling exercises, such as breathing practices and forward folds (or any yoga pose that down-regulates the nervous system) are great options in the heat of the summer.

Over in the Nordic seas, midsummer meant mediation for the Vikings – they used the summer solstice as a time to come together to settle disputes and set new rules. This is a perfect combination of celebrating both a new beginning and recommitting to past intentions, or making updates to those intentions as needed.

All over the world, in many cultures across the continents, the summer solstice was celebrated with celebrations and festivals with different meanings. No matter what one person believed, most of the human beings in ancient times agreed that the summer solstice marked an important day of the year.

In our modern life, the solstice has less significance than other holidays, but we can still view it as a time to check in and reflect.

Coincidentally or not, the end of June marks the end of the second quarter in the business world, which for most businesses also represents the mid-year point. You may already have to do some business analysis of goals as a quarterly or mid-year review.

On a more personal level, the summer solstice marks the perfect time to check in on those New Year’s Resolutions, reflect on the first half of the year, and set new intentions or recommit to existing ones for the last 6 months.

In yoga culture, the number 108 is considered a sacred number. Astronomically, the sun and the moon each measure 108 times their respective diameters to the earth. There are also 108 beads in a mala, a necklace similar to a rosary from Catholicism. The malas can be used to chant mantras as part of a meditation practice.

Yogis can perform 108 sun salutations as a ritual practice to help inspire discipline, devotion, commitment, and focus.

The mandala represents the infinite nature of the universe. Just as we celebrate the middle of the year or the beginning of the summer, we must move also knowing that the universe is infinite and our life continues on despite the symbolic starts and stops of the seasons.

Happy Summer Solstice - how will you celebrate it?