On the solstice

Let's check in with the cosmos

Image: a handwritten note reads “Hellooooooo, yang!” Below it is a taiji symbol depicting the dynamic forces of yin and yang. The symbol is supposed to be round, but drawing isn’t really the author’s forte.

Dear Patient,

Happy summer solstice, my fellow inhabitants of the northern hemisphere. Today the fullness of yang expresses itself on the longest day of the year.

Yang is sun. Yang is day. Yang is heat and expansiveness. Yang is fullness, radiance, effulgence, brilliance. The summer solstice is Yang at its Yang-iest.

If you are feeling hot, or agitated, or anxious or manic or sweaty or excitable, that is very good news. It means you are in tune with the natural rhythms of the universe. Your body’s energy is aligned with that of your position in the cosmos, absorbing the full yang radiance of the very yang sun into the active, yang expression of your being.

But denizens of the northern hemisphere might conversely find themselves a bit low, a bit melancholy, a bit sedate on this most yang of days. If this is you, my dear, take heart. For within the fullness of yang is contained the seed of yin. From this day forward, until the next solstice, the contracting, descending, cooling, slow nature of yin only grows in strength. Your body’s yin energy honors this natural way of things.

Wherever you are in life, on whichever side of the equator you reside, it’s a good day to go outside. Plant your feet on the earth and turn your face toward the sky. Claim your place as the conduit between heaven and earth.

Happy solstice.

Love and gratitude,

Your Acupuncturist