Invigorate Your Body with this 30-Minute Summer Solstice Practice

Summer solstice – in the Northern Hemisphere – comes around every June, and is considered the start of summer. It’s the longest day of the year as the Earth’s tilt toward the sun is at its peak. 

As our bodies tune into the natural world around us, we can feel this shift within our bodies and our energy. There’s a stronger desire to find movement, to spend more time outdoors, and connect with nature. You may find you even have a big burst of energy and motivation as the sun shines bright and its light permeates all of our cells. 

The summer solstice is an optimum time for creation.

Manifestation. 

And putting into action all of the seeds that were planted last season.

Your Body is a Vessel for Manifestation

Your body is a vessel of manifestation as well. Moving the energy throughout your body – out of your muscles, tissues, and cells – allows for space and movement, clarity, and insight. Which in turn allows for creativity to thrive. 

Your Inner Agni 🔥

Traditionally, summer solstice is practiced with 108 sun salutations – similar to the winter solstice. It is said that during summer solstice there is an inner agni, or fire, that builds within us, and ultimately needs to be released, or cooled. The intention behind 108 sun salutations is to warm up the body and give gratitude for its ability to move, while also dispelling some of that building heat – or agni – within.

Magic of the Solar Plexus

In direct correlation with this inner fire burning and building within, comes the connection with the solar plexus chakra. This chakra sits at the center of your stomach, right above the belly button. 

This chakra drives motivation, confidence, stamina, strength, willpower – just to name a few. Its color is yellow, making it an easy way to remember its connection with the summer solstice as the sun shines brightly above. 

The solar plexus chakra thrives on twisting poses and heart-opening poses as they encourage the wringing out of residual or excess energy, and bring you back into your heart center – where your inner knowing and truth reside. 

Allow Your Body to Guide Your Practice

With this in mind, if you’re seeking a yoga sequence that creates space for your manifestations to come to life, explore the sequence here – while also allowing space for any variations that feel best within your body. 

These poses can be practiced in the same order as provided, or you can always pick and choose poses to incorporate into your personal practice in whichever way you choose. 

You can also choose the timing and tempo of your practice – a little faster pace for more heat building, or a slower, breath-focused tempo to guide your pace.

Yoga only asks that you listen to your unique body and breath, and allow only that to be your true guidance. 

Invigorating Summer Solstice Sequence

In any yoga practice, it’s beneficial to incorporate breathwork – or pranayama. By beginning with the breath, it sets the tone for your entire practice as it helps you to find your center and your grounding. And naturally, it warms up the breath and your control of it as you begin moving your body with quicker movements. 

Breathwork to Set the Tone

For a summer solstice practice, begin with a Kapalabhati Pranayama. This form of breathwork calls for quick inhales and forceful exhales. As you exhale, really focus on drawing your stomach in toward your spine. As you begin, maybe start off at a slower pace so you can really articulate the abdominal muscles and feel as they contract. Then begin to speed up the breath. 

This breathwork is considered cleansing as it activates your internal organs and abdominal muscles. Practice Kapalabhati for a few minutes to begin, and then see how you can elongate this practice. 

From Breath to Movement

Once you’ve completed your pranayama, allow a few moments of stillness to feel its effects on your body. Then ease into your physical practice…

1. Gentle Head & Neck Rolls

Begin in a comfortable seated position. With your eyes closed, begin to roll your head down toward your chest, over to one shoulder, down your back, and over to the other shoulder. Repeat as many times as you wish, moving slowly to articulate and feel the muscles lengthening in your neck. When you’re ready, reverse the direction.

2. Seated Side Stretch 

Bring your head back to center. Inhale and raise your arms overhead. As you exhale, bring your right hand down alongside you as you lean into your right side and arch your left hand over your head. Keep your chest lifting as you feel the side-body stretch on your left. When you’re ready, move to the other side. 

3. Seated Spinal Twist

Inhale your arms overhead again. As you exhale, twist to the right and bring your right hand behind your hips and your left hand to your right knee. As you inhale straighten and lengthen your spine as you reach your crown up. As you exhale, twist deeper to the right, turning your gaze toward your right shoulder. When you’re ready, repeat on your left side.

4. Seated Forward Fold

Come back to center and out of the twist. Bring the soles of your feet together and lengthen your spine. Inhale to lengthen your spine, exhale to fold forward, making sure to keep your back flat. Use each exhale to bring your chest down a little further. Hold here for a few breaths. 

5. Creative Cat-Cow

Make your way to tabletop – shoulders over wrists, hips in line with knees. As you inhale, arch your back and bring your gaze up toward the sky. As you exhale, round your back and tuck your chin toward your chest. Really press into your palms to allow space between your shoulder blades. 

You can even get more creative and fun with your cat-cow movement. You can imagine rolling your torso over a barrel as you move from cat to cow. You can create a circular motion with your body to loosen the wrists. And you can sink your hips back toward your heels as you transition in cat-cow as well. Get creative!

6. Downward Dog to Sun Salutations

From cat-cow, find your way to downward-facing dog. Take a few moments here to find your alignment. Fingertips spread wide. Shoulders roll down your back. Hips are reaching for the sky as your belly button draws in toward your spine. Your knees can be bent or straight as your heels reach down toward the mat. 

Then begin your sun salutations. There are many variations of sun salutations and you can find a good layout for each here. Whichever one you choose, complete a minimum of 3 rounds.

7. Crescent Lunge Heart Opener to Revolved Lunge

Complete your sun salutations and come back to mountain pose. From here, step your left foot back and into a high lunge – or crescent pose. Bring your arms into a cactus posture as you arch your back, opening the heart center. Exhale and bring your hands to your heart center into prayer. On your next exhale, twist your torso to the right for a spinal twist. Your left elbow and come to your knee with your hands still in prayer, or your can extend your left hand toward the top of your mat and the right toward the back of your mat. When it feels right, move to the other side.

8. Pyramid to Revolved Pyramid

From the crescent lunge series, complete a vinyasa as you come back to downward-facing dog. Inhale and bring your right foot forward as your back foot lays flat on the mat with your toes pointing out at an angle. Lift your chest and bring your hands behind you. Inhale to lift the chest and exhale to fold forward into pyramid pose. Work to keep your back flat and your forehead comes down toward your front leg. From here you can choose to release your left hand down to the inside of your right foot and then rotate your torso to the right – into revolved pyramid. When you’re ready, move to the other side.

9. Wild Thing to Pigeon

Once your pyramid series is complete, vinyasa again, bringing you to downward-facing dog. Inhale, lift your right leg to the sky. Exhale, open your hips and cross your right foot over to the left, bringing it down to the ground as you lift your chest to the sky. Wild Thing. Your right hand is reaching over your head, your gaze following. Hold for a few breaths and release back to down dog. Repeat the other side.

Once both sides are complete and you’re once again in downward-facing dog, bring your right foot forward into pigeon. Hold here for a few breaths before moving to the other side.

10. Reverse Tabletop to Boat Pose with Alternating Leg Lowers

From pigeon on your left side, sit back onto your left hip as you swing your feet in front of you, planting your feet on the mat hip-distance apart. Bring your hands behind you, fingertips toward your hips. Inhale and lift your hips up into reverse tabletop. Keep your chest lifting to the sky. Hold for a few moments. Exhale and bring your hips down to the mat. 

From seated, engage your core and lift both legs, balancing on your sits bone, and into boat pose. You can hold boat pose, or you can alternate slow leg lowers with a bent knee to heat up your solar plexus a little more.

On your last round, hold in boat pose for a couple breaths, and on the exhale, release your entire body down to lie flat on your back.

11. Supine Twist to Savasana

Allow your spine to rest for a moment and then draw your knees into your chest. Bring your arms to rest into a T position on the floor. As you exhale, rotate your knees down to the right into a supine twist. This delicious pose deserves a few extra moments, so hold here for at least 5 full breaths – or longer – before moving to the other side. 

When you’re ready, close out your practice in savasana. Allow yourself the time to really get comfortable in savansana. Place a blanket under your knees, an eye pillow over your eyes. Allow stillness in this pose for at least 5 minutes and just notice how your body feels. 

Celebrate Summer Solstice Together

You may find yourself seeking community to celebrate summer solstice, or prefer more guidance during your yoga practice. Check out our weekly classes, during summer solstice or any other time of year!