Here in the northern hemisphere, the days are getting short and the nights long. The natural environment seems to be drawing into itself and shedding excess leaves and growth until a more opportune time to grow and bloom. We about to pass the Winter Solstice.
I love the idea of the Winter Solstice as it relates to light. The actual day in 2014 is Sunday December 21 representing the shortest day of the year as it relates to the number of daylight hours that we see. From December 22 the daylight hours begin to lengthen.
We step from darkness into light.
Isn’t that what our own personal growth is about? Gaining clarity about our own life path and purpose? Moving from ignorance towards greater wisdom? Turning inward to see our own inner light’s radiance? We acknowledging the darkest moments of our soul as we step into our own light and expanding consciousness. Another way to look at it is as we awaken consciousness, we bring what is lying in our own shadows into full view. We take a look at that which we’ve pushed away or tamped down and bring it into the light. When we do so, the power it has over us begins to diminish and we start the process of making peace with our shadow selves.
One of the fundamental teachings in yoga is that we are all born divine. This divinity possesses a radiance that is often referred to as residing in the heart center. Just look at a healthy newborn and you can’t help but see that they are divinely perfect beings. And the thing is, that never changes…it never leaves us. What happens is that we simply forget. We travel through our lives and begin to disconnect from this notion of being whole and beautifully complete. Ways that we learn to cope on a day to day basis, often in the form of defense mechanisms, often leave a layer that takes us further away from knowing our deepest selves.
What our yoga practice does, is help us to remember. It helps us to still the distracting chatter of our mind, to peel away the layers and to celebrate the magnificence of our physical body so that we can connect once again to the light that dwells within.
Let’s take a moment on as the Winter Solstice passes to connect to our inner radiance and all the potential that is sitting within us.
The word Namaste’ describes this precisely.
“The light in me, sees and honors the light in you. When we are both in this place, we are one.”
Peaceful Solstice.
