The word 'solstice' combines the Latin words sol for 'Sun' and sistere for 'to stand still'. Today, yoga is widely known as a movement discipline, but these simple experiences of stillness have always been the goal. Without stillness there is no samādhi.
I'm learning through my practice of 'being in the cycles' that many of our outer seasonal customs mirror beautifully our inner experiences should we care to pay attention to them. So, as we prepare to light bonfires and send fireworks into the sky I figure it makes perfect sense that once in a while I might have an inner bonfire, or festival of sparks, that forms a perfectly normal and natural part of my own inner seasons and cycles.
Most of us begin our yoga practice with an interest in āsana (pronounced ah-sana) - otherwise known as postures. Practicing āsana allows us to develop a better relationship with our body, to really feel our body and learn how to use it and move it wisely. For many of us this deepening relationship with our body begins an enquiry into other aspects of ourselves, like our breath, our thoughts, our feelings and our spirituality. Whether or not that's what we intended, we find ourselves on the path of yoga and we might start to seek for a map of the territory.
