Staying Grounded this Summer: A Yin Approach to Summer’s Yang
The Summer Solstice has come and gone, a tipping point of light. Slowly, gently, the days are getting shorter.
Summer carries a strong yang energy, outward, active, social, and bright. It’s easy to get swept up in the long days and to do lists, trips and social gatherings. But what if we made space for a little yin within the yang? A quiet pause, a breath of stillness, a soft landing place for the senses.
One of my most treasured summer practices is simply noticing. Slowing down, getting present and noticing all the beautiful details of summer. Tiny, glimmering moments of beauty and peace. It could be the warmth of sun on my skin, the smell of the earth after the rain, golden light through leaves in the trees or a heart shaped stone on the beach. These glimmers are always there, waiting to be seen we just have to slow down long enough to find them.
Storing Joyful Memories
I’ve been exploring ‘Joy Conditioning,’ a term used by neuroscientist Dr Wendy Suzuki in a podcast episode with Jay Shetty (episode link below). The idea is based on using all of the senses to soak in a joyful moment and make a mental photograph of it, the taste, smell, sound, sight, and feeling. Remembering it in detail to be used later to recall the beauty, joy, feelings of the occasion as if you were still there. When we do this consciously we strengthen the memory. Building a memory bank of these joyful moments builds resilience and helps counteract the negative memories our brains are naturally biased towards. Currently on holiday in one of my favourite places I’m working on my joy conditioning intentionally this summer.
This idea is not new to me and it brought me right back to my childhood. I remembered how I would do this naturally, imagining myself in a place or situation that brought me great joy to get through a painful dentist trip or a sad day. (this usually involved galloping across the fields on my beloved pony, wind in hair, pure joy and presence in every part of my being!) I would visualise it, see myself there and feel all the positive feelings and it would help me through tough times. I still do this today, but now I have a name for it!
We can train ourselves to do this. The meditation technique below is a great place to start to get into the habit of tapping into your senses regularly and using them to help you get more present and to store memories.
🌿 The 5-4-3-2-1 Senses Meditation
This simple technique is one of my favourites for grounding into the moment and waking up the senses.
- 5 things you can see – look around, notice the colours, the shapes, the small things.
- 4 things you can feel – the breeze on your skin, your feet on the earth, the texture of your clothes.
- 3 things you can hear – birdsong, distant voices, wind in the trees.
- 2 things you can smell – flowers, the air, your morning tea.
- 1 thing you can taste – the coffee you had for breakfast…..
This simple meditation takes less than two minutes but can shift your state of being.The meditation can be further simplified to noticing one thing for each of the senses.
Nature, Yoga & Your Summer Practice
If your regular yoga practice feels harder to maintain during summer, try letting it evolve and not be rigid about how it should look. Go with how it feels, take your mat outside. Practice barefoot on the grass. Lie down in Savasana with your hand on your belly and your eyes on the sky.Watch the clouds. Gaze at the stars. Breathe in and out with the waves or the winds.
Or skip the mat altogether and take a mindful walk, dance in the kitchen, meditate by a river, all of it counts.
Do One Small Thing To Stay On Your Yoga Journey
This summer, I invite you to do just one small thing every day that connects you to your body, your breath, and your joy.
🎧 Podcast Episode with Jay Shetty and Dr Wendy Suzuki To The Episode
For ideas and suggestions to make the most of your yoga in summer check out my previous blog ‘Your Guide To Summer Yoga: How To Bring Some Yin Into The Yang Of Summer’ Read It
Don’t forget to get your Midlife Reset Guide, a little gift from me to help you find some yin moments in an often yang period of life.
