The Midsummer Fires

Fires, from bonfires to flaming wheels rolled down a hill, have long been a tradition and a ritual, here and around the world, as we approach the Summer Solstice. A way of marking and celebrating a point of stillness and of pause, when the solar energy and nature around us reach their height and fullness.

Nature's accumulation and completion, a sense of satisfaction and contentment.

Contentment, Santosha, is a practice in itself, one of the 5 niyamas, a limb in Patanjali's yoga. Something to be observed and practised, not just something to be passively experienced.

Perhaps as we reach the summer solstice, nature supports our practice of feeling content, in the same way that it supports a sense of letting go as we find ourselves 6 months away from here at the winter solstice.

Having revisited the concept of Santosha over the last couple of months, exploring its different aspects, it seems to me that it usually distills to a simply being able to stay present in this moment without wishing it to be any different and acknowledging and appreciating everything that we have.

Knowing it doesn't stop it happening I have come to learn. But it does serve as a reminder and stops me in my tracks when I start to escape what is presented in front of me.

Deborah Adele in her book 'Yamas and Niyamas' names several specific ways we actively move away from the practice of santosha, for example by postponing our lives and our happiness to some imaginary point in the future; "when I move house I will be happy", "when I finish this course I will be able to...", and not realising that this point will never arrive if we keep looking forwards for it. Instead what we are doing is robbing ourselves of the precious moments of the present.

So how do we return back to this moment? Accepting whatever arises, trusting that this moment presents as it should, a breath at a time. And with the slow build up to the summer solstice we can lean into the rhythms of nature to find the pace of our own breath.

A practical way of practising santosha could be through a body awareness and breath practice like this one.

Find a space you can sit comfortably in, both physically in your body, and somewhere quiet to be able to drop into the awareness of your breath in this moment, with as little disturbance as possible. Start to notice the physical sensations of the body, the contact it has with your seat, the touch of your clothes, the warmth or coolness of the air or sunrays on your skin, the temperature of the breath at the nostrils. Feel the outer skin and space around the body, and the inner space and how it responds to each breath, the movements of the ribcage, the expansion of the belly. Notice your energy levels without trying to change them or wish them to be any different but just become aware of them, are you lethargic, energised, calm and settled, agitated? Acknowledge the feelings and the thoughts that arise, the ones that you want and chase after and the ones you do not and push away. Notice the chasing and the pushing away too. Stay present with the in and out waves of the breath.

Appreciate your fullness in this moment. The life present in your body with each breath that comes and goes. The safety provided in the room that you are in, and all the people in your life that brought you in this moment. Just like nature, coming to your height and your fullness, with each breath and each moment, every moment.

So as you light your midsummer fires, ready to mark the point of stillness on this Summer's solstice, also light your own intention to stay present and in gratitude and appreciation of the fullness of life that surrounds you.