In honor of the Summer Solstice yesterday, June 21, I was happy to share a beautiful yoga practice with my niece, step-sister, and mom, and together we completed 108 sun salutations.
The day of the summer solstice is the longest day of the year. It is the day of our beautiful Earth’s Northern Hemisphere’s furthest tilt toward the sun. On this day that the Earth’s gradual tilt on its axis stands still, is our greatest opportunity to salute the sun with an asana and breathing practice, sending immense gratitude and thanks for the universe and its workings to sustain our human society, where life is so vibrant and abundant.
The number 108 is a sacred number in yoga and dharma based practices. With endless meaning and interpretation, 108 is the number of beads found on mala bracelets. These 108 beads are counted during the practice and repetition of a mantra (sounds, vibrations or words, believed to be capable of leading to self transformation). The diameter of the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the Earth, and the distance from the sun to the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the sun.
The subtle lines of energy that run through the body intersect at 7 points along the midline of the body; these intersection points are known as chakras. The heart chakra is believed to be a total of 108 energy lines joining at one center, the heart.
The number 108 appears countless times through history, in mathematics, astrology, psychology, religion and arts, literature and the list goes on…..
The day of the summer solstice is the ideal opportunity to express our most vivacious form of creativity and use our body as expression. In my 108 rounds of sun salutes (Surya Namaskara), on the inhale, the Sun’s generous energy brought my body to life, and on the exhale I returned the breath of energy in gratefulness for the life I have been honored to live under the guidance of our mystical universe.
On this day I was able to come back and reflect on how grateful and appreciative I am for this very Earth we stand, live and breathe on. In all of the love that it has shown for our global society, just taking a moment out of each day is the very least I can do to offer my warm, heart-felt thank you, even if that’s all that I’m capable of giving back in that very moment.
Namaste to the Sun, our Earth, and Moon too.
