Yoga Through the Year
  • Home
  • About
  • Seasons
    • Spring
    • Spring to Summer
    • Summer
    • Summer to Autumn
    • Autumn
    • Autumn to Winter
    • Winter
    • Winter to Spring
  • Praise for...
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Celtic Connections
    • Wheel of the Year
    • Samhain
    • Winter Solstice
    • Imbolc
    • Spring Equinox
    • Beltane
    • Summer Solstice
    • Lammas
    • Autumn Equinox
    • Celtic Trees
  • Contact

Yoga Through the Year Blog

Recognise Your Losses and Celebrate Your Achievements

6/11/2020

1 Comment

 
Picture
​The light half of the year, between the winter solstice and the summer solstice, is energising, expansive, and supports activity. It's associated with sunlight, fire, radiating, expansion, waxing, pushing, effort, action, extroversion, and outer activities. During this time, the sun’s energy is waxing, the light is expanding, and the days are getting longer and warmer.

Generally speaking, this light half of the year favours an outward focus, with an emphasis on action and outward achievements. We use the season’s fiery, expansive energy to make things happen and to get things done. But…things are different this year… and getting things done and making things happen has been a challenge for all of us as we've wrestled with the restrictions put in place because of the global pandemic. The virus has swept away the dreams of many, leaving in its wake both bigger and smaller losses. Let's bear this in mind when we come to use the Summer Solstice seasonal meditation questions that focus on the theme of celebrating and assessing our achievements. You will get the maximum healing and self-knowledge from the following meditation questions if you approach them  with kindness, compassion, and curiosity.

Summer Solstice Meditation Questions: Celebrating Achievements

  • Looking back over the past half year, what have I achieved? (This might include achievements at work, home, or study).
    •  What has gone well and has come to fruition? How will I celebrate my success?  
    • Which seeds failed to germinate and how would I do things differently next time to ensure success?
    •  Who has helped me realise my dreams and how will I thank them?
The above meditation questions can provide you with an opportunity to get in touch with feelings such as disappointment at projects that didn't happen due to the pandemic. Be gentle with yourself. Acknowledge that this has been a truly tough time to live through. Also, congratulate yourself for what you have achieved despite the pandemic. Perhaps you have mastered new technologies to keep in touch with colleagues, friends, and loved ones. Or maybe you were resilient and versatile enough to redirect your skills into new, unexpected avenues. Or you've been working full-time from home and somehow managing also to tutor your kids who are off school. If depression is a problem for you, then congratulate yourself that somehow day after day you got up, got dressed, showered and faced each day, one day at a time, and somehow got through it. Remember, yoga teaches us not to compare ourselves with others (a tough call in these airbrushed social media days!). Recognise what you have achieved, be it big or small, and treat yourself with kindness and love. You deserve it! 

It's worth approaching the meditation questions with a sense of humour. During a writing meditation yesterday, in answer to the question, “Which seeds failed to germinate and how would I do things differently next time to ensure success?”, I wrote (tongue in cheek), "I would do things differently next time by arranging for there not to be a global pandemic!" 

In my next post I will share with you a variety of ways that you can work with the meditation questions.
​See also my previous post: Seasonal Meditation Questions Summer
A full set of meditation questions and guidance about how to work with them can be found in my Yoga Through the Year book.
1 Comment
Dlead link
1/6/2023 06:41:22 am

Thanks for sharing this piece, such a great point made there.
It is important to celebrate success not just for yourself but for showing how you value the work of other people who worked alongside you

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Jilly Shipway, sharing seasonal yoga ideas and inspiration with you through the year...

    Categories

    All
    Autumn Yoga
    Breathing Practices
    Coronavirus Posts
    Lammas
    Mindfulness Meditation
    Peace In Troubled Times
    Seasonal Meditation Questions Summer
    Seasonal Yoga Practice
    Spring Equinox
    Summer To Autumn Yoga
    Visualisation
    Winter Solstice
    Winter To Spring Yoga

    Archives

    December 2022
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018

    RSS Feed

    Please feel free to share ideas and resources that you find in my blog, but please do acknowledge me and my website as their source. Thanks!
    Disclaimer: if you have any concerns about your health or suitability to do yoga, please consult a medical professional before attempting any of the yoga routines in this blog.
The Yoga Through the Year Book is  available online from Amazon USA, Amazon UK,  Barnes and Noble, Indiebound,
Waterstones (UK) or from my publishers Llewellyn Worldwide 
Also available as an ebook. 
​
To get updates on the book, blog post notifications, and Seasonal Yoga news please subscribe to our mailing list.

Subscribe to Yoga Through the Year newsletters

* indicates required
Copyright © 2015
  • Home
  • About
  • Seasons
    • Spring
    • Spring to Summer
    • Summer
    • Summer to Autumn
    • Autumn
    • Autumn to Winter
    • Winter
    • Winter to Spring
  • Praise for...
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Celtic Connections
    • Wheel of the Year
    • Samhain
    • Winter Solstice
    • Imbolc
    • Spring Equinox
    • Beltane
    • Summer Solstice
    • Lammas
    • Autumn Equinox
    • Celtic Trees
  • Contact