Island Vibes + Fireflies
Summer Seasonal Yoga Nidra
It’s officially summer🏝️! You’ve made it through the winter sun’s hibernation, Mother Nature’s spring awakening, and now we’re here. Smack dab in the middle of the year, equal parts darkness and light.
Every year I eagerly anticipate the official start of summer—the beach, the pool, the lazy days. The reading for fun, the cool summer drinks, the collective acceptance that it’s finally okay to relax a little. And then mid-June rolls around; the heat and humidity announce themselves uninvited. My kids scream and whine and kick and hit each other all day long without the comforting structure of the school day routine so that by the time 4:00 rolls around I’m desperate for bedtime. The mosquitos arrive hungry for blood.
Last Wednesday, my husband interrupted my writing time with an urgent question. Holding his phone face-up in one hand he pressed mute and asked me urgently if I was interested in going to see the U.S. Open golf tournament on Sunday at Oakmont. I needed to let him know right then because he was on the phone with AMEX concierge to buy the tickets that very moment.
“Uhhh…”
In moments like these, I can’t help but default to mom-brain, though to be fair, my brain functioned in this way pre-kids too. I don’t know if it’s a mom thing, a woman thing, an anxiety thing, or just an Ashley thing. Probably some combo of all of it. Are we going with the kids? How is that going to happen? Oakmont is four hours away. When are we going to leave? When are we coming home? Do we need a hotel? What about the dog? What about the baby? And so on.
But there wasn’t time for the details. He just needed a yes or a no. Now.
Leaning hard into the prescribed astrology of the season (Gemini is all about adventuring), I did something I normally never do.
“Yes, let’s do it.” We’ll figure out the details later. 😳
We went. It was fun. But as my friend later pointed out, it was Type 2 fun. As a mom with young children, I’ve decided that summer is just that: Type 2 fun. It’s hot. It’s humid. It’s a lot of work. But it’s also fun.
I keep thinking back to the first week of our summer vacation when we were sitting on the beach listening to the waves, rubbing our feet in the warm sand, enjoying the ocean breeze. Or the evenings just before bed when it’s finally dark and the fireflies start lighting up the woods out our back window. It’s magical. These are the summer vibes I want to float on all through this season.
But the reality is often much different. I’m holding on to those feelings of beachy peace and magical presence in an effort to make my way through the long, hot summer days (and nights) with less push, less pressure, less stress. But sometimes I’m overcome with overwhelm, annoyance, exhaustion.
That feeling you get sitting on the beach right as the waves crash into your feet. The tickle of joy and whimsy that slowly unfurls when you’re standing at your back window staring out at the woods all lit up like fairy lights. Those are the feelings I wish for you this season. That’s what I was conjuring when I recorded this season’s summer nidra practice. May you rest up and chill out to your own island vibes and fireflies.
Island Vibes & Fireflies Summer Seasonal Yoga Nidra
Yoga rituals for cyclical living
Create space in your life to find your inner peace. Paid subscribers get access to monthly full moon yoga classes (live or recorded replays), monthly new moon nidra rituals with journal prompts, and special seasonal practices to honor the natural transitions of Mother Nature and our cyclical lives.