the Winter Solstice

December 22nd 0328: is the Winter Solstice. It is the shortest day of the year. The longest night. You might not celebrate the solstices or maybe you don’t even recognize them because of their pagan connotation. That’s fair, but you can’t deny that they exist. Four times per year the hours in the day and hours in the night shift.

With the Winter solstice being the longest night of the year, it’s kind of like the Earth is saying “you need a nap.” It is perfect timing, every single year. It’s cool how that works. Right smack dab in the middle of the busiest week of the year. If you are feeling crazy and harried; and just stressed to the max, here is your permission to take a rest. Cop a squat. Take a long Winter’s nap. Find the stillness and calm in the darkness.

I drew this picture a year ago when I was going to teach a candle-lit yoga class to celebrate the winter solstice. That class was so soothing. Not because of anything I taught, but it was soothing because it was an hour of slow gentle movement and stillness in semi-darkness, acknowledging the change of season and appreciating the much-needed calm.

Give yourself at least a moment to breathe deeply and appreciate the change in the air. Recognize that rest is medicine.

Happy Winter…only three months until Spring.