Summer: A Soft Opening into Skillful Action

Tenderness does not choose its own uses.
It goes out to everything equally.
~Jane Hirshfield

The season of summer is a time of joy, celebration, vitality and expansion as it's the most "yang" or peak time of the seasonal cycle of a year and relates to the element of fire. Fire has two distinct transformational purposes: it releases or purifies (think of heat creating sweat that eliminates toxins) and it creates new possibilities and gathers together (consider how a stove cooks food or a campfire draws people into more intimate conversations).

Summer solstice falls on June 20/21 this year and marks the longest, lightest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It's often the time of year when we might feel the most active and outgoing as we make plans to travel or spend more time outside in nature. However, this year isn't like others that have come before. Just a year ago we were in "lockdown" and living under vastly altered conditions. Many have been temporarily separated from or permanently lost loved ones, navigated dramatic economic and familial changes that have necessitated career transitions, moving households, or shifting schedules to account for virtual/homeschooling and the list goes on.

Every single human being on this planet has been, in some deep way, changed forever. As the world begins to open up many will feel the breath of fresh air as masks are dropped and restrictions are lifted. You may feel like dancing in the streets inviting the neighbors to celebrate the return to living. Others will feel tentative, protective of their 6 foot space, a bit disoriented and unsure of how to have a normal conversation. Where do we even begin? Perhaps you feel a little of both. Or something entirely different. Whatever the case, I vote for a soft opening back into the world where we do our best to meet and greet ourselves and others with equal tenderness, big hugs and plenty of emotional space to discover and create, together, what's next.

Summer is the season of action. I'd like to offer the distinction between action and motion that we make in yoga. The practice of yoga is the science of action and action is movement with intelligence. In a yoga pose, for example, here is the difference: I might say "Step your left foot open wide and turn toward the long edge of your mat." That cue signals a movement that you will make to come into the pose. Once you are in, let's say Warrior 2 pose, I might add: "From the core of your pelvis, root down evenly through both feet. Sense the tailbone and crown of your head lengthen away from each other in space. Inhale and gather energy into your center and exhale, extend energy from the center of your body to the edges of your skin." Those particular cues suggest a quality of attention that will deepen your awareness. That is what makes it Yoga: skillfulness in action. 

Let's take that wisdom with us upon our re-entry this month and beyond. What actions will support you in defining the new opportunities and possibilities that are available to you? How will you use the skills you have developed over the last year to explore how you will more articulately and purposefully move through the world? Consider what the fruits of your particular  actions might yield? 

To support your transition into summer, please enjoy this 25 minute Yoga Nidra Meditation practice for shifting from Spring to Summer. Yoga Nidra is most commonly understood at "yogic sleep." The word Nidra comes from two words: "​Ni" means "void" and "dru" means "to draw forth from or reveal." It's a beautiful practice that invites us to move through the various states of consciousness with effortless awareness. Learning to use technology to share my voice and heart with you this last year has been its own kind of drawing forth of my own deep desire to serve the personal and collective awakening of our greatest human potential. It has proved to be a challenging, yet rewarding growth edge! I truly appreciate your engagement with my offerings. May it bless you in the highest and best ways. 
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Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti. Peace, Peace, Peace 💜 

I'll be taking some time off for my annual summer sabbatical at the end of this month and will return to teaching in August. I look forward to continuing the journey of growth and expansion with you in the second half of 2021! 

*Nidra script from Tamara Verma