On The Somatics of Rituals
Talking summer solstice! Rituals to support our energetic bodies + physical bodies to feel more connected to ourselves and others! Summer yoga schedule!
My first swim of the summer is a ritual, it is a marking of the start of summer to me and I often try to do it as early as I can even if the water is freezing cold. It is my personal marker of washing away the season past and entering summer - a time of freedom, exploration and endless possibility. But tomorrow is summer solstice, to many the official beginning of the summer. Lately I have been thinking a lot about ritual. About the ways we use our bodies, the elements and our intentions to shift the energy in and around us.
There are so many different types of rituals: rituals to mark important periods of time or milestones, rituals of leaving one place and entering another. Rituals to gather energy and initiate a new project, to provide care and blessings and safety. Rituals that are marking of love and commitment. Rituals for cleansing and releasing.
Rituals have existed for centuries and have been passed down within communities even if never explicitly taught. What are the rituals and practices you saw your family do consciously or unconsciously growing up? My family always made me pray before I left the house. They would have me say the exact same prayer everyday from kindergarten till my senior year of high school in Tamil that loosely translates to “Dear God I’m going to school, send your angels to protect me [insert ramblings about my worry about making friends, a test for the day, thank yous]. There were times when it was awkward for me, times where it rolled out of my mouth like a bubbling stream, and I don’t think I ever named it as ritual until later in life. My family always prayed when we came back together after I returned from school, before a vacation, when we get to India and when we leave India.
Energetic Hygiene + Creating Rituals
There are of course larger rituals in society that are prescribed by the way our systems function such as graduating from school or marriage. But we often do not have the chance to prioritize the smaller ritual practices, the ones that we are allowed to design and create - the ones that center our energetic hygiene, the rituals that become containers for our grief, or the rituals that allow us to connect to something larger than ourselves during a mundane Tuesday.
Growing up most of us are not taught about energetic hygiene. About what it means to take care of our spirits. Not in the sense that there is bad energy or good energy, but just that energy can get stuck. Energy can get old. Sometimes we need a refresh, energy shifts and changes, sometimes we are holding others energies and not very connected to our own. And I think of rituals as practices that allow us to connect to our own energy and connect to something larger and connect to one another in ways that are healthy, that are spacious. When I am feeling quite stuck and a ritual at home is not moving the energy the way I need - I get help! This might mean going to acupuncture, a yoga class or a collective art event. There is so much power in practicing ritual with the assistance and connection of others and often times a ritual is created simply by setting the intention.
I think rituals are the ultimate pathway for feeling connected, for knowing what to move towards, or for gaining clarity. Rituals are containers for when we are grieving, for when we are feeling immense emotions that feel too large for the body to hold.
We can set rituals connected to the rhythms of nature, that acknowledge that we are a part of nature and our bodies are shifting as the seasons shift. For the summer solstice I offer you this ritual.
Ritual for the Summer Solstice
Materials
Connected taper candles
Journal + Coloring Materials
Practice
Find a sunny spot either outside in your favorite park, maybe by the water or even just a patch of light inside your home. Once you’ve settled in, gently close your eyes or soften your gaze allowing yourself to bask in the sun’s warmth. Feeling the sun against your eyelids, your cheeks, your shoulders.
Bring to mind a situation, pattern, or person that you would like to shift your energy towards or with. Imagine them sitting in front of you and notice the energy between you both.
Allow yourself to notice where in your body feels activated and if it feels comfortable place your hand there. Take your time to breath into this place.
Open your palms out feeling the warmth of the sun begin to pool into your palms, almost like liquid gold.
Bring the energy of the sun into the parts of your body that feel so attached to the situation despite it no longer serving you - allow the liquid gold to clear and fill your body. Allow this liquid gold to move gently towards the situation, pattern or person clearing and filling them. Connecting them to the infinite strength of the sun rather than draining energy from you.
Stay here for as long as you would like and when you open your eyes - I invite you to draw, journal, dance, sing - simply play, to integrate this ritual.
Finally, light the wick of the two connecting candles, marking one for yourself and one for the energy you are shifting. Allow them to separate and burn for as long as they need
Continue lighting these candles throughout the next week as a marker of the energy being moved, space being cleared out, and notice what begins moving into your life with this new spaciousness + sun filled interior.
Summer Yoga Schedule
I am so beyond excited to be teaching yoga classes again! Classes will be beginning this Thursday, June 22nd. You can sign up for classes here on my website.
Use the code SOLSTICE for 25% off on group classes and individual workshops!
Reminder that there is no good or bad in yoga - all experience and curiosity levels are welcome :)
Thank you all so much for reading + I am wishing you a spacious and freedom filled summer solstice!
With love,
debs