Yoga of the Season: Summer Solstice 2025

Generous light, abundant water. The days warm swiftly, but when I bend to touch the river, it is icy cold. Water has a long memory — on the longest day, it remembers the chill of the dark. 

Last December, I wrote about steam rising from the Arkansas on the shortest day of the year, still holding the warmth of summer sun. When I wade gratefully in now, I feel the crystalline winter in the high country.If you celebrate the pulsation of opposites, the cool of the water on the longest day of the year is a festival for the senses.

The world is in full bloom from drinking in sun and rain. Lavender is ready for harvest in my garden and wild roses are dropping petals on the north bank of the river. Both are cooling, balancing plants for this time of year. 

Our bodies also bloom in this season, invigorated by spring and not yet faded from long heat. It is a good time for pushing your physical practice, whatever that may mean for you. Heat makes us more flexible, abundant daylight makes us more energetic. Big, heart-opening poses may be more available than other times of year, so I invite you to practice up to poses like ustrasana (camel), setu bandha sarvangasana (bridge), or even urdhva dhanurasana (wheel). Working up to these poses can help you feel what it is like to truly bloom toward the summer sun.

Join me at our Yoga on the River class on Saturday, June 21st to experience some of these poses for yourself.