Cosmic Summer self care
Daaarlings! Cosmic greetings to you!
How did you sleep last night?
We are moving through an intense time energetically. New moon yesterday and solar eclipse in the early hours of this morning. We are now in eclipse season! And you can think about an eclipse being a magnification of new moon energy x1000! Blimey!
Also, we are approaching summer’s full bloom, with the longest day(s) arriving around the 24th June. The summer season represents the Pitta dosha (or archetype or blueprint) in Ayurveda - the spiciest meatball of the doshas! It represents heat and the element of fire. And if you listened to my Spring Rituals podcast where i harp on about Ayurveda and the doshas, you’ll know that we each are comprised of all three doshas, some more dominant than others. And around this time, there’s surely effects of intense pitta energy on these streets! Pitta can be go-getting. Think of a type A character. Adrenaline junkie. Motivated af. Probably enjoys bungee jumping and high drama activities! But if out of balance, well, symptoms can be rage. Impatience. Jealousy. Overheating. Think about the heatwave many of us are riding out these weeks. Inflamed skin (and often emotions). Heat rash! Sunburn. That’s pitta in need of some balancing for sure. And you can use lots of different things to find balance. Foods. Herbs. Activities.
So let’s consider for a moment, astrology, if you will humour me a moment or two,
We are in Cancer season in the astrological cycle. Shoutout to my fellow water signs! (I’m a pisces). Cancer is represented by the element of water and a crab! That little hardened shell contains gooey loveliness. Oh that sounded weird…. Cancer is ruled by the moon (! hello new moon energy, i see you !). If i may quote vintage fave Homer Simpson, “I’m in a glass case of emotion!”
Cancer energy plunges deep beneath the surface. Tender. ALL the feels, babes. Fond of creature comforts. Home, family, friends. Cancer is also the alpha female of the zodiac, and as we all have feminine energy which is also lunar, and very creative.
So what kind of soup does that make?
I don’t know about you but feel like i’ve been moving through treacle all week.
IN my feelings.
SLOW despite push push pushing to get things DONE.
But in fact it feels like i resemble a planet in retrograde. Appearing to be moving backwards.
Phwor!
….That was very front page of The Sun circa 1986. Not the planet, of course. I digress….
Let’s consider for a moment, a new moon:
New moons are my JAM! Well, usually…
They are the first slice of the moon pizza pie! The beginning of the lunar cycle! A great time to plant your seeds, my friends. Charge your crystals. Clean your makeup brushes. Set your intentions, if you’re into that.
Then let us also contemplate, the energy of a solar eclipse.
It’s the moon moving between the sun and earth creating a shadow. Are my NZ and Oz mates in the house?! YOU get a partial eclipse! YOU get a partial eclipse! (let me and my terrible Oprah impressions live pls) Alas, if you weren’t able to see this one, you still get it, and can perhaps feel it.
Although we couldn’t see this eclipse up in the northern parts, the energy one tends to lingers a while (before and after). The sun represents our masculine energy and moon, feminine, right? Bear in mind i’m not talking about societal weird labeling on gender, i’m talking about the energies of yin and yang, movement and stillness, the qualities that we all have within!
And at this present time, moon is super close to earth. Supermoon. That means, EVEN MORE AMPLIFICATION OF ENERGY!
A solar eclipse not only affects the energy of the sun, but also the moon.
The moon goes in front of the sun, appearing to block it - however it doesn’t - cause it amplifies the energy of the sun which you can see by the glowing ring around it
A lot of folks talk about “the shadow” like it’s a bad thing, but it isn’t! It’s part of us! ALL the bits of ourselves that make us, us!
ALL of that new moon, solar eclipse, pitta party makes for one giant soup of emo hero in a half shell!
It’s COSMIC!
AND WE ARE IN IT RIGHT NOW MY FRIENDS!
And it’s likely to continue, cause theres a few more eclipses landing on our laps in the coming weeks.
BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN DIONNE?
Ok- no need to shout! It means my friends, that offers us an opportunity!
To check in. Tune in. To ask questions.
Like:
What do you need right now?
What do you want to invite to the party?
What’s lacking?
...can you think of anything?
Some people like to do this via a ritual, so if that’s your bag, get involved. But simply contemplating for a moment and writing your answers down in a notebook / on the back of a bus ticket / on your notes app could be useful?
Plant those seeds, babes.
So with that, i wanted to share some notes with you from on and off the mat:
Syncing with the seasons
You know how i feel about syncing with the seasons...i’m INTO it.
Lots of people ask me about what to do for particular things/ailments/times of year/times of cycles/times of life. Hence why i run workshops to go deep into explorations (shoutout to my Bergen Autumn workshops friends! See you in September!)
And in the summertime, it’s not unusual to feel a little less motivated than usual. Especially as it’s been flaming hot gallahs!
It’s a misconception that the summer equals more energy, sure, we get energy from the sun, but as we are in the fullest bloom of the year, it also gives us a chance to wallow in it. Spring and Autumn are deeply transient seasons. Lots of change. Movement. Shifts. The summer, well, it’s a chance to soak it all up my friends. So if the temptation is to keep pushing and plowing, as mentioned at the start of the mail, my friends, a reminder: when it’s only being met with resistance, it doesn’t get you places, let me tell you! Well, perhaps it does, but not without plunging you into some uncomfortable resistance and tortuous wallowings. So don’t waste your time, k?
Here’s 5 tips for managing work-life-rest balance for those that could use a tender reminder
The message i’ve been receiving repeatedly this week (and chose to ignore for a good few days tbh but here we are) is about:
Flowing not forcing.
For those who are frustrating in trying to get things done or figured out already: Find flow in what you’re doing. Ease up on yourself eh? If you keep butting up against a wall, perhaps there’s an alternative route that is more easeful.
And the same goes for emotions:
Let them flow, release them, so they don’t build up and explode. Find ways to channel your feels constructively. As it’s a good time to put that energy and emo into stuff that could serve you well right now! Stuff that supports you. That feels safe. People too. Not the time to indulge toxicity and harsh vibes. Remove them from your life (aint nobody got time for that any time of year bbs). Be kind, especially to yourself. Try not to get caught up in feeling guilty, especially if you find it hard to take a break (if you do, pls READ THIS and darling, take a damn break, cause you deserve it!)
Add some watery energy to balance out the spicy meatballs. Create more ease and space.
Tread more softly. It’s pitta season. The spiciest dosha in the ayurvedic system as spoke about above. Hot and bothered if out of balance. Likes to push just because. Type A mentality. What happens when we add fire to fire? More heat! So, make room! What can you remove from your to-dos this week? How can you make space for yourself for more self care. Start with 5 minutes if self care makes you roll your eyes. Small steps. 5 more minutes earlier to bed? 5 minute break to read that book you’ve been meaning to? (sidenote: i’m reading Grace Jones’ autobiography and recommend!) 5 minutes to clip your trotters? Here’s 15 self care ideas to shift your state.
Take a break! That might look like a holiday. Or a holistay. Here’s some tips on that.
Slow down. EnJOY yourself (the key is in the caps)
Perhaps indulge in Cancer season comforts! Make yourself a great meal! Spend time with people that you love. Nurture yourself any way that FEELS good. Yes!
Oh - was it music that you wanted?
Then here you go my friend:
Yoga tips.
In medical astrology, the sign of Cancer is represented by the chest, breasts, stomach and alimentary canal - that’s basically the column that runs through the centre of the body from the mouth to the bum hole. I’m sorry, that felt unnecessary juvenile but here we are at my big age in 2018. Hehe. It’s also known as the digestive tract (and gastrointestinal tract) and is basically the way our body takes in food, digests it, absorbs the energy we need from it and eliminates the waste that we don’t need.
In short: Bring in the good stuff. Release the things that aren’t serving you.
That’s on and off the mat darling.
But you movers out there?
Now is not the most ideal time for high intensity melodrama. Nor bootcamp yoga the cult of modern exercise. Here’s some FEELINGS i wrote about ON yoga + extreme fitness
In short, make sure it feels good. Soak my friends. Soak. Perhaps take your practice outside! Or change the time of day that you’re doing it depending on what you need. Here’s a free yoga + movement + breathwork + meditation summer series i made for you.
Get support on your journey
It’s the perfect time to start a home practice (tbh, anytime is the perfect time). And lately i’ve been supporting my coaching clients with that in my Catalyst sessions. On the call, we dive deep into what’s getting in the way of their self care, and look at what they want to create. Then, i support them to design their own real life and sustainable home practice (including custom made yoga videos).
Sound like something you’re into? I have two spots remaining for this short term offering before i head back for Norway projects next month, with space to start as soon as next week. If you’re interested, contact me!
Well, dassit for now my friends.
Here's to our cosmic journey.
And summary remember this:
Flowing not forcing.
Sync with the season.
Feeling all the feels.
I love you.
Dionne x
(self identifying)
