summer solstice | iHanuman

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summer solstice

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Journal Post

Welcome Summer!  With the Memorial Day weekend, we officially welcome the summer season. For many of us, the start of summer means a lack of routine or a total change in schedule, especially if you are in the academic profession or have kids in school. Everything is upended in an instant! And for some of us, this is fantastic! We need a change of schedule to break up the routine, but sometimes this can feel like too much change and might be disorienting. 
We are reconciling what we have collectively witnessed with regards to racism and injustice in our society. We stand with our brothers & sisters of color in solidarity and will continue to educate ourselves and foster work that helps tear down the walls of inequality in our communities. Yoga is a gift to humanity that helps us dissolve ignorance and brings us closer to uncovering the fact that we all come from the same Divine source. We are all one race - the human race - and these horrific events have the potential to wake us up and bring us together in collective action.
The last day of school used to mark my favorite day of the year (second to my birthday, of course). On a humid mid-June afternoon, with the shrill ring of the final dismissal bell, my daily regime of studies would dissolve like a Popsicle on hot pavement. The expanse of summer vacation stretched out in front of me, beckoning with promises of suntans, starry nights, bare feet, lazy mornings, and, if I was lucky, summer loves.
As an adult, estranged from the rhythms of a school calendar, responsibilities last year-round. Now my own five senses, rather than a school bell, cue me to break out the flip-flops.
Hanging in my office's south-facing window is a prism, a flat plate of glass about four inches in diameter. For half the year, in the spring and summer, the Sun is high in the sky and the angle of its rays too steep to filter through the glass and into my room. Effectively out of sight then, as the old adage has it, it's also usually out of mind, though occasionally, when nudged by a breeze blowing through the open window, it taps against the pane ... clack, clack, clack ... and reminds me it's still hanging around. This morning though when I opened the slatted blinds that cover the window, a hint of rainbow sprawled across my floor, not nearly the full spectrum, just a long uneven smudge of red.
Summer is the Pitta or Fire Season of the Year. The time to fully blossom and express ourselves. The time when everything seems to be happening at once! Those of us who tend to run hot need to slow down and cool off. Others may use this time of year to purify by heating the body up to perspire and cool down.  Luckily the practice of Yoga Asana (poses) and Pranayama (breath awareness) offer us ample practices to chill. 

John SchumacherHappy Summer Solstice! Just as we asked you to invoke the goddess last month, the longest day of year begs us to inspire the fire inside that is masculine energy. Yang energy is strong, aggressive and passionate. It is the fiery energy of summer. Spiritually, we can practice tapas or discipline, austerity and consistency. Burn your internal fire to overcome difficulties and purify yourself to cleanse the toxins and feel your personal best level of health and vitality.
Summer SolsticeHappy Summer Solstice! This week marks the longest days of the year. A time to open your heart to the magnificence of the sun and the masculine energies of this heavenly body. In this issue, we share with you a new feature with one of our favorite male teachers, John Schumacher and his thoughts on Yoga today after 35 years in the field and how his chosen method, Iyengar Yoga, benefits the global yoga community.
National Institutes of HealthMay Day! May Day! Sorry to sound alarmist, just trying to get your attention! It seems to be what the earth is trying to tell us this month. Wake up and bloom, flowers! Wake up and smell the flowers, people. Just wake up! There is much to celebrate in May.
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