Last Thursday, on the longest day of the year, we celebrated the celestial entrance into the summer season with the summer solstice. This Thursday, on the brightest night of the month (thanks Strawberry Moon), I'm sending you an illuminating guide on how best to align with the sweetness of summertime.
Summer coincides with the element of fire, after all! So gather 'round the virtual campfire as I light up your summertime senses and inspire simple ways in which you can participate and align with the summer season.
Nature Adventures
At the peak of Little Huckleberry Mountain, WA with Mt. Adams & Mt. Rainer in the background
Get out and go explore! If you don't know where to start, I suggest consulting with All Trails as a launching pad for your outdoor adventures. Pair spurts of intense physicality with plenty of relaxation. Say, a challenging hike to a pristine swimming hole. Summer is a supportive time to ignite your physical fire, while allowing the time and space to slow down, cool down, and recover.
Flutter Your Social Butterfly Wings
For a tried and true introvert, I absolutely love making the most of the summer's buzzing energy to put myself out there and socialize! It's a time to gather, celebrate, and relish in the abundance of the season, together. The long-shining sun is encouraging an overall sense of extroversion, especially compared to the inward draw of the quieter counter months of winter. However you fancy, flutter those wings and fly free into connection with others in the spirit of the season.
Kick Back & Relax
One of my favorite summertime asanas is legs up the wall (Viparita Karani). Warmer weather can leave us feeling a little burnt out, not to mention tired and swollen in our lower extremities. Inverting your legs assists in a flushing of your lymphatic and circulatory systems, while calming down the central nervous system. Take slow, deep breaths, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth to create a cooling response in the body. This pose is exceptional as a daily recovery aide, but there's something super sweet about, quite literally, kicking back and relaxing with the support of a wall.
Cool Down
Cold showers, ice baths, river stream dips & alpine lake plunges. Whatever suits your style, soothe hot temperatures, and all that comes with them - think inflammation, both physically and emotionally...ever notice how irritability and anger rises with the temperatures? I've shared my personal experience with 21-day cold shower challenges before and still stand by them to this day, although I definitely prefer dippin' into natural bodies of water to get my cold exposure on. Stack those nature adventures with a cold plunge
Essential Oil Ally
German Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)
Cooling, sweet herbaceous, with fruity undertones - German Chamomile essential oil is one of my favorites to diffuse during the hotter summer months. This oil is deeply calming and supportive for alleviating inflammation, again, both on the physical spectrum (allergies, joint inflammation, skin irritation) and the emotional/mental spectrum (sedative without depressive effects, soothes "heated" emotions). And no doubt, you can find it in my Luminous Elixirs Summer Essence blend, which will be available to order (very soon!) and support you through the summer months to come.
Take a few of these seasonally inspired, wellness oriented rides for a spin and let me know how it goes! Share this luminous guide to sweet summertime with anyone who would dig a fluid and fun lovin' approach to holistically inclined wellness this summer season. Shine on, baby!
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