As we welcome June and the Summer Solstice we are reminded to BE flexible: go with the flow. This is a time of rebirth & rejuvenation, a time to reflect on the intentions we've set for our year and take charge to create new ones for the coming months.
The Summer Solstice on June 20th marks the longest day of the year and the shortest night. It is the beginning of Dakshinayana as the sun reaches its most northern point and begins its southern journey. The days get warmer as the heat accumulates in the earth and in our bodies. It is our time to celebrate our connection to the sun and the earth. Our time to shine brightly! We reflect on the intentions we've set for our year and invite the fire into our lives to burn away what we have outgrown and that which no longer serves us. We take vacations to cultivate our own unique gifts and special abilities as they ripen. We may complain about the heat, but soon enough it will be gone. Enjoy the season as it is. Relish this moment. Be aware of this moment. Surrender to this moment. Pause to seek quiet stillness and be aware of how it changes and manifests in YOU. What is it asking you to do? Think about flexibility and change being the only constant you know. What do I need to let go of to fulfill my best SELF? And go with the flow.
June is a time of natural abundance. The fruits & vegetables ripen and the flowers blossom to their fullness with no effort or striving on your part. It is the natural order of things, slow, but sure. You cannot hurry it, so we relax and let go. We get the message. We too slow down. We go with the flow. It is the season of Pitta, of heat, fire & water. The fire element brings passion, creativity, renewal, clarity, and action. We cultivate our flexibility, as fighting with reality causes friction and in turn causes more heat! We nurture ourselves with foods and spices to cool the body. No surprise it is National Cucumber Month and National Iced Tea Month! Add spinach, celery and coconuts to your diet. Fresh apples, cantaloupes, berries and limes. And season with cilantro, dill and mint. When the heat is high it is important to find ways to slow down and maintain balance. Ancient China reminds us to celebrate the Yin qualities in our asana with breath work and calming forward folds.
The Chinese Tao Te Ching has a principle called Wei Wu Wei, Do Without Doing -
"Tao does not do, but nothing is not done." It means that Tao does not force or interfere with things, but lets them work in their own way, to produce results naturally. Then whatever needs to be done is done. Things happen by themselves, spontaneously. When we work with the natural order of things, we can operate on the principal of minimal effort. You put the round peg in the round hole and the square peg in the square hole. No stress. No struggle. Wei Wu Wei doesn't try. It doesn't think about it. It just does. And when it does, it doesn't appear to do much of anything. But Things Get Done. You don't have to try very hard to make things work, you just let them. You work with circumstances and listen to your own intuition. You remain flexible. You Go With The Flow. (exerted and paraphrased from The Tao of Pooh)