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The summer solstice is the official beginning of summer and the longest day of sunlight in the year. Each time of year has its own qualities and summer solstice brings a renewed sense of optimism after coming out of long winter months and darkness. Summer solstice is a time to tap into your inner power and recommit to yourself. This empowering summer solstice yoga practice touches on all these themes and helps you connect to what’s happening beyond you.
The following summer solstice yoga practice is an energetic vinyasa class that helps you access your inner fire. The sequence emphasizes your entire body, incorporating Sun Salutations as well as standing and balancing poses that help you tap into your strength and remind you that you are your own power source.
As you focus on your strengths, look back over the last six months and become clear about how you want to harness your power and optimism going forward. What projects are needing your attention? What relationships need this nurturing energy? What do you want to do for the next six months? This summer solstice yoga practice can help you find your focus.
Summer Solstice Yoga Practice
As always, have a block or two within reach in case you need support. I also recommend keeping a journal or pen and paper close by so you can note what comes up for you, either during your summer solstice yoga flow or at the end. You may want to start by asking yourself, what are you grateful for so far this year? What projects or relationships really need to be infused with optimism and vibrancy? What do you want to honor or celebrate?
Seated Cat-Cow
Start in a comfortable seated position. It doesn’t matter the exact way that you sit—find any position that allows you to lengthen your spine. Let your hands rest on your knees. As you inhale, arch your back, lift your chest and squeeze your shoulder blades together behind you in seated Cow.
As you exhale, round your back and bring your chin to your chest in seated Cat. Keep going a few more times at your own pace, taking a big breath in to broaden across your chest and a big breath out to contract.
You’re getting any kinks out of the spine, anything that might feel uncomfortable, stiff or stagnant. Take a few more rounds, feeling every little motion.
Plank Pose
Come back to center and make your way into Plank Pose with your palms underneath your shoulders, legs extended straight or knees down on the mat. Draw your low belly toward your low back, reach the crown of your head forward, press into your fingertips and knuckles, and reach your tailbone toward your heels, squeezing in through your inner thighs.
Shoulder Taps
Inhale as you lift your right foot off the mat.
As you exhale, tap your right knee to your right shoulder. Inhale and come back to your three-legged Plank, exhale and tap two more times.
Side Plank
Come back to Plank pose. Lower both heels over to the right, lean onto your right hand and extend your left arm toward the ceiling in Side Plank. Lift your hips. You can lower your right knee to the mat if you need.
Cobra Pose
Bring your left hand back to the mat into Plank. Exhale as you lower all the way to your belly. Push into the tops of your feet as you inhale and lift your hands, chin, and chest off the mat, keeping the back of your neck long in Cobra Pose. Exhale as you lower. Repeat that to lower twice more. Inhale, lift, exhale, release. Inhale, lift, exhale, lower.
Downward-Facing Dog
Bring your hands underneath your shoulders and press into Downward-Facing Dog. Go ahead and make any little movements that feel good here. You want your hands to be shoulder-width apart, feet about hip-distance apart or so, and paddle the feet by bending one knee and straightening the other. Relax your neck, let your head be heavy.
Come back into Plank and repeat on the other side. So stay a few breaths in Plank to find your alignment, draw your shoulder blades down your back, and then come into your shoulder taps, three-legged Plank, Side Plank, Cobra, and Downward Dog.
Standing Forward Bend
Walk your feet to the top of the mat for a rag doll fold with your knees bent as you try to keep your belly in contact with your thighs in a Standing Forward Bend. This stretch is less about the hamstrings and more about decompressing the spine. You can do whatever feels good with your arms here, either letting them dangle or holding on to your elbows. You can sway a little if that feels good.
Find your breath and find the foundation in your feet, evenly distributing the weight through all four corners of both feet.
Release your fingertips to the mat, bend your knees, push into your heels, and roll all the way up to standing.
Sun Salutations
Make your way into your first Sun Salutations, saluting the sun and bowing down. You’ll do three rounds of the modified version, and then either continue with those or go into the classic version.
Begin with the modified version:
Inhale, reach your arms up, palms come together to touch.
Exhale, fold all the way down, bending your knees if you need.
Inhale lift halfway, flat back.
Exhale, fold back down.
Inhale, reverse swan dive as you come all the way back up, bring your palms together to touch. Exhale, hands come together at your heart.
Take two more rounds, just like this.
Then continue with that or move into a full Sun Salutation:.
Inhale, reach your arms up.
Exhale, fold down in a swan dive
Inhale halfway lift with a flat back.
Exhale, plant your palms, step back to your Plank. Take a full breath in here.
Exhale as you slowly lower in Chaturanga or to your belly and point your toes back.
Inhale in Cobra or Upward-Facing Dog, whichever backbend feels better for you, with your elbows bent and tucked in.
Exhale as you release to Downward-Facing Dog. Take at least 3 breaths here.
At the end of your exhale, look forward and step or hop to the top of the mat.
Inhale as you lift halfway.
Exhale to fold.
Press down as you inhale and stand, arms reaching overhead.
Exhale bring your hands at your heart.
Round two and three, exact same thing. Hold your last Downward-Facing Dog.
Three-Legged Dog Crunches
Reach your right leg up, bend your right knee, open up your hip nice and wide. Then straighten and square your right leg so your knee and hip faces the mat as you exhale, pull your knee to your nose. Inhale, three legged dog. Exhale, squeeze it in. Do that once more.
Warrior 1
Step your right foot through to Warrior 1, grounding your back heel down to the mat, with both shoulders and hips facing toward the front of the mat. You can bring your hands together at the front of your heart. If this feels challenging for your back knee, lift your back heel in a High Lunge.
As you inhale, straighten your right leg and open your arms into a circle and then exhale bend your front knee and come into prayer hands at your heart. You’re tracing the fullness of the Sun with your arms. Do 3 more circles like this. Inhale, opening up to possibility, and then exhaling, grounding them down.
Warrior 3
Come back to your Warrior 1 and then tilt your chest forward and see if you can lean onto your right foot. Lift your left leg behind you, trying to have everything parallel to the floor, and keep your right knee bent in Warrior 3 with a bent supporting leg. See if you can bend your supporting leg even more.
Chair Pose
With both knees bent, find your Chair Pose, bringing your big toes together, heels slightly apart. Shift your weight into your heels, draw the low belly toward your low back, and sit a little lower. Keep breathing.
Option to come Into Eagle Pose here and transition back into Warrior 3 and then Warrior 1 with Eagle arms. Wobbliness is totally normal.
So how do you want to harness this powerful energy that you have
Exhale as your hands come all the way to the mat. Take a vinyasa through Plank, Chaturanga, Upward Dog, and Downward Dog. Repeat on your left side.
Revolved Warrior 1
From Downward Dog, step forward into Warrior 1. Circle your arms, hands to the heart, and this time come into a prayer twist by bringing your left elbow to your right thigh. Push your palms together and draw your right shoulder down and away from your ear. Try to draw your low belly toward your low back, twisting from the mid and upper back. This is not the hips doing a twist. It’s really just the upper body. Continue to push into your left heel or lift that heel and twist from a High Lunge.
Revolved Chair Pose
Keep your twist as you come into Chair Pose with your big toes together, heels apart. Notice how your left knee wants to move forward. Shift it back and then twist so your hips stay in line with one another. One more big deep breath here.
Balancing Standing Forward Bend
Fold forward with a very generous bend in your knees. Hold your big right toe with your two peace fingers, bring your left fingertips out in front of you about a foot, and rock your weight forward. If you can, straighten your legs and see if you can lean to your left and lift your right foot an inch or two off the mat. You can stay here or you can kick and lift the right leg out to the side. Don’t be discouraged. This pose is insanely hard. It’s a big glute strengthener and IT band strengthener. Try to keep a flat back. One more big breath.
IT Band Stretch
Release your right foot, cross it behind your left, and walk your hands over to the left and fold forward. Bend your left knee here and keep your right leg straight. Relax your neck.
Then come back to center, lift halfway, and however you like, find your Downward Dog.
Repeat on your left side with Revolved Warrior 1, Revolved Chair, Balancing Standing Forward Bend, IT Band Stretch, and making you way to Downward Dog.
Child’s Pose
Take Child’s Pose with your big toes together and knees apart, sinking your hips back toward your heels and folding all the way down. Take about 5 to 10 breaths here, starting to slow down your practice.
On this summer solstice, consider what are you most proud of? How do you want to make the most of this time of high energy, of vibrancy, of optimism? What will you do with the rest of your year?
Bridge Pose
Slowly lift yourself, bring your legs in front of you, and slowly come down onto your back. So feet are hip-width apart as you hug in through your inner thighs. Keep your heels in pretty close. Start by relaxing your arms, and then as you push down into your feet, slowly lift the hips, the low back, and the mid back off the floor in Bridge Pose. Notice if your knees are opening up to the sides and try to squeeze them in as you squeeze your glutes. Relax your shoulders here. Take 2 more breaths and slowly release down, inch by inch.
Reclined Twist
With your feet flat on the mat, bring your arms straight out in the shape of a T. You can cactus your arms if you like. Shift your hips a little to the left and lower both knees to the right. You can wrap your left thigh over your right one to intensify this twist if you like. Take several breaths here.
Uncross your legs, float your knees back up, and switch sides.
Savasana
Let’s unwind, making our way into Savasana, our final resting pose. Take up some space and get as comfortable as you can here, fully settling into your body. Ask yourself one last time, how do you want to honor this summer solstice?
When you’re ready, slowly begin to deep into your breath and re-energize by moving your fingers and toes and turning the head side to side. Take a great big stretch and roll to one side before you come up to take a seat.
Seated Meditation
You’ll finish your practice the same way you started—sitting in any way that is comfortable to you. Bring your hands together as you sit up nice and tall as consider how you plan on honoring the summer solstice, knowing that your physical practice can also support your spiritual and personal practice.
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