Summer Solstice and Anais's Birthday

My daughter Anais’s due date was Summer Solstice five years ago. We were living in Mexico at our first Sagrada Wellness Yoga Retreat center at the time and the weather was very hot and dry and the days were long. My parents flew down from Los Angeles a few days before her due date to welcome and celebrate the arrival of Anais. The long days around the Solstice were filled with activity, love, joy and exciting anticipation for her birth. They consisted of planting rows and rows of heirloom corn, painting our new home, afternoon picnics and late night dinners out. I will always remember that time as being filled with such exuberance and bliss, so fitting for the Summer Solstice.

The Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, is the sun’s most yang expression. It represents the peak, the zenith of light and summer fun. We know that the few months that follow will be the hottest, but the Solstice is a turning point. The days gradually get shorter as we begin to anticipate the winter. So capture it while it’s ripe and here now! It’s the summertime. An interesting duality exists before us, another example of Yang turning into Yin and the continuum of change proceeds.

So Anais waited to introduce herself. She watched the Solstice come and go in my womb. We all waited another 8 days! She milked all the pleasures of being in Mama’s belly enjoying all that exuberance and bliss through me. After her celebratory birth 8 days later, we shifted gears, and all retreated into that cozy and nurturing cocoon of babyhood.