Happy Summer Solstice and Midsummer! We have now entered the longest day in the northern hemisphere, with only a couple of hours of darkness. This our peak of daylight, is something almost a little magical to experience in the evenings, when the light still lingers and the sky still keeps its blue color. And it so happens that this event is celebrated at the same time, Sweden celebrates Midsummer. Tradition has it, that we dance around a maypole, dressed in leaves, grass and wildflowers, eat herring and potatoes, with strawberries and whipped cream for dessert. Grown-ups don’t mind taking a shot of snaps to go with it! We often make wraths for our hair, resembling the maypole. Then later in the evening, unmarried young women are supposed to go outside and pick seven different wildflowers on seven different meadows under silence and put underneath the pillow. The legend says that our husband to be, then can be seen in our dreams when we sleep. Not surprisingly, given the looks of the maypole with its adjoining two rings, Midsummer is also said to be the best day to get pregnant. It’s a celebration of fertility. 

You can let this inspire you too, also symbolically. What needs to be fertilized in your life? What projects do you need to tend to a little extra or add something to, to make them better or simply happen? One sure way, is to ask someone to join you in your making or simply for some advice or a second opinion. It can also be a good time to remake something, improve, or mend, to ensure a better growth, a better result for your ideas or projects. 

The summer solstice, teaches us our need for balance. This time of year, it’s easy to get fooled into thinking we can achieve more than we have energy for, since the sun is up longer. But our bodies still need the same amount of sleep and rest, so instead, the peak of daylight can be a call for discipline – to actually look at the time more deliberately and make sure to follow our most healthy schedule. In one way, we can greet the sun, such as with a sun salutation in yoga or qigong, and show it reverence. But, we can also look at it as a reminder of not burning out our inner fire and to not let ourselves getting burnt by the sun and its heat. How do you best look out for your health during summer? Here in the northern hemisphere, we often chase getting a suntan and many run out to get one. We even call it “fry ourselves”. Having lived both in Hawaii and in Portugal, where the amount of daylight is much more even during the year, and where the sun is more accessible for outdoor activities, I’ve learned not to get too stressed about it anymore and to enjoy the shade too. One thing I do, is to always limit the time I lay on the beach to 2 or max 3 hours and usually never the day after, so my skin and body can restore afterwards. To soothe any redness, which never happens in Sweden since this is too north, but in other countries, I use some Aloe Vera gel to put on. And drink electrolytes to ensure that I stay enough hydrated. Having some salty crackers together with your water, is another good trick. While a couple of ice-cubes in our drinks can keep them cool and fresher, drinking too cold beverages, can actually upset your stomach and make it work even harder to warm up. In really hot countries, most people drink for example mint-tea instead. Then our stomach automatically tries to cool down, and our bodies become less hot. But most of all, sunshine is to be enjoyed of course!

When it comes to our own inner sun, it’s often associated with our solar plexus. Isadora Duncan liked her dance motions to emanate from solar plexus. This means that we should aim to let it lead us. It’s the seat of the soul, yearning to be acknowledged and expressed. We can think of it as our inner sun, our source of wellbeing and wisdom, of inspiration and divine connection. You can practice this too if you want. Next time you go for a walk, let it lead your steps. And next time you watch a good speaker on a stage, look to see if it isn’t someone who has a very open body language where his or her solar plexus is both grounded and open. Are yours? 

And just like with the actual sun, we must also protect our solar plexus at times, when we’re around people we can’t trust or that are harming us. Sometimes, placing a hand on it, makes a difference. Try doing that the next time you read, hear or see something upsetting. Wouldn’t the world be more lovely, if we all could shine like the sun towards each other?

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