Welcome to this practice to honor and acknowledge the summer solstice.
I'll be guiding you through a reflective and somatic practice,
Meaning we will use the body to connect with this time,
With what needs to be met,
What needs to be held,
What needs to be moved through,
And what needs to be released.
Although centered around the summer solstice,
This practice can be done any time of year that you are yearning to harness the alchemical power of your inner fire.
I invite you to have a journal or some paper to hand so you can reflect on what arose during this practice at the end.
So get comfortable as we journey together and as we strip back the layers towards our own inner fire.
You can do this practice seated,
Standing,
Or lying down.
So begin to get comfortable,
Allow yourself to release the residues of your day,
Deepen into your breath,
And allow each exhale to signify a letting go,
A softening,
A coming back into your center.
Begin to feel the warmth of the summer months envelop you.
The summer solstice is a celebration of the deepest heart of summer.
It is also a reminder to turn inward and find the nourishment needed to grow and evolve.
It can be a time where we may need to cultivate patience,
Self-nourishment,
And trust as we pause and wait for the seeds of our own evolution,
Planted in the spring,
To reach full bloom in the late summer.
It's a time when you're invited to stand tall in the light and presence of your own existence,
To honor your own radiance and commitment.
Summer becomes a time to work on ourselves and our ability to be the light,
To be unwavering in our trust and patience in the light of uncertainty.
Worry and anxiety can easily creep in during this season.
Summer invites us to trust.
Just as the sun rises each day,
So will we,
No matter what life brings.
As the sun reaches its highest elevation in the sky,
It can bring us into connection with our internal sun,
Our internal energy,
The fire.
Take a moment now to acknowledge this fire within you,
This fire that is alchemical by nature,
That has the power to burn away the things that you've been resisting letting go of,
The power to live,
The power to forgive,
The power to change.
Connect with this energy of fire within you.
Maybe it feels like a raging wildfire or perhaps it feels like a small,
Small spark.
Just notice.
Allow it to be present and give it a light of your awareness.
If your internal fire feels very small,
Invite in some deeper,
Stronger breaths into your body to fan the spark,
To bring more life into this fire.
If your internal fire feels like a raging wildfire,
Perhaps try extending your exhalations through pursed lips just to bring a little bit of calm to this fire.
As you stay present to your own personal experience of your internal fire,
Notice how your body wants to respond.
Does it want to stay still?
Does it want to move and respond in some way?
Don't overthink this.
Just follow the impulse of your body.
Maybe it wants to sway or rock.
Maybe the movement wants to be more erratic.
Just trust that your body knows how it needs to respond to the energy of this alchemical fire.
Maybe your body wants to shake.
Maybe sound wants to be expressed.
Allow yourself to express.
How does this fire energy need to be seen?
How does it need to be expressed?
Without the desire to make it go away,
Simply giving it voice,
Giving it expression.
Stay present to how this experience wants to move through you.
How this natural force desires to be seen.
Maybe the movements in your body are subtle.
Maybe they're more exaggerated.
Just allow yourself to be a living,
Moving expression of this fire energy within you.
Knowing that with this destructive force also comes deep change and alchemy,
Paving the way for new life,
A more fertile experience.
What do you want that fire to blaze through?
What is no longer serving you that you're ready to burn down?
Now as you stay with whatever physical expression is moving through you,
I invite you to slow the movement down.
Can you still stay present and hold the container of this energy,
This expression,
This alchemical force?
Learning and unlearning through this process.
Allow this to be organic.
Allow the body to take over and the mind to surrender.
What wants to move through you?
Notice any emotions that have risen up to be felt.
Allow this to be felt,
To be expressed.
And as you stay present to this,
Notice what else is arising.
Maybe there are memories,
Words,
Sounds,
Images,
Colors or textures.
What are the messages,
If any,
That accompany this fire energy?
What wisdom is beginning to rise like a phoenix from the ashes of this practice?
Stay open and receptive.
And if nothing arises,
That too is okay.
Resist creating story and simply stay present to what is arising through this practice.
Knowing that it is exactly what needs to be seen and what needs to be experienced.
Begin to slow it down some more.
Allow your breath to flow.
Allow sound to flow.
Keep slowing it down until your movement is just a pulsation felt through the core of your being.
Barely perceptible to the human eye.
What rich new life is going to take root?
What will now grow stronger and more powerful?
And as we draw a close to this practice,
Take some time to gently transition out of this experience in a way that feels good for you.
Maybe taking a few deeper breaths.
Perhaps wrapping your arms around yourself in a deep embrace.
Perhaps you feel empowered and strong.
Maybe a little raw and vulnerable.
Do what you need to do to honor the state you're in at this moment.
I invite you to take some time to reflect in your journal what arose for you during this practice.
And know you can keep returning to this practice anytime you want to harness the alchemical power of your inner fire.
