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Summer Solstice is the time to give thanks for the sun. Solstice means ‘sun stands still’ because it’s the moment when it stops at its full force and is about to grow weaker again, as the days get darker, shorter and colder into winter, but it will come back!
We need the moon too, but we know how important the light is. Sunshine is the active life force, that makes everything grow.
In ancient times, lots of people worshipped the sun as one of the Gods, or as the one God.
There’s no doubt that lots of us feel an energetic or spiritual shift at the Solstices.
Lying in the sun gives us a feeling of well-being and puts us in a natural meditative state.
Sunshine activates the production and absorption of vitamin D in the body which makes us feel happy, and a lot of people get more depressed in the winter without the sunshine
Maybe it’s having more challenges with the weather and having Christmas and Winter Solstice at the same time too. But all these things go together!
Here are 3 cool happy hippy ideas for Summer Solstice!
NUMBER ONE: WORSHIP THE SUN WITH YOGA
On the Summer Solstice in Times Square, New York, it’s also National Yoga Day! Thousands of people come to do yoga together to celebrate! Watch the video!
I usually do some yoga at solstice too! I think the most appropriate and easy yoga to celebrate Summer Solstice, that most people know, is ‘Sun Salutations’ or ‘Surya Namaskar’,
Doing sun salutations energizes and balances our whole bodies and energy systems, just as it offers appreciation to the active life force that’s in our bodies, and in all of life on earth.
If you don’t know the Sun Salutations exercise at the moment, you can learn it right now!
Just get on the floor and copy the postures in the diagram here, going clockwise from the top, and watch the video below, and practice until you know it! It’s very easy to learn! You can do it over and over.
I’ve picked a simple video for kids or anyone. Kids can do it too! But there’s lots more videos like this on You Tube about how to do Surya Namaskar.
Learn Yoga – Surya Namaskar
If you want to learn and practice Yoga at home, here are two cool sites that you can sign up with and watch their classes. Check them out and see which one you like the best! YogaDownload and Gaia Yoga.
Yoga Download offers world class online yoga training. Click here to preview the classes and add to cart!
Gaia also provides Spiritual and Conscious Films/Movies and Documentaries! Check out the post I did all about Gaia right here! and you can see my post about Online Yoga right here!
NUMBER TWO: GO SOLAR! SOLAR POWER, SOLAR COOKERS, LIGHTS AND TOYS
We can appreciate the sun by making use of its endless, abundant supply of free energy to power our appliances! Solar Power saves us TONS of money long term, and it makes us much more independent. Sunshine is free to use and the other forms of energy we use are certainly not!
OFF GRID SOLAR ENERGY is for motor homes, caravans, boats, sheds and other mobile vehicles or remote buildings. If you are in the United Kingdom, you can get the cheapest DO IT YOURSELF, OFF GRID Solar Panels, Kits in Europe, as well as on grid and more at Bimble Solar here. Read their Beginners Guide.
If you want to get ON GRID Solar Panels or a Solar Boiler installed IN YOUR HOME on the roof of your house, in most cases you would need to get trained and qualified solar installers to do it for you.
Unless you do know what you’re doing, as well as maybe making a mess of it and causing serious damage, it can be more dangerous to do it yourself because it’s a different type of electricity in the house that is attached to the main electrical grid.
If you live in the UK and you’ve thought about getting solar power in your home by approved solar installers, you can find out more right now here and get some free quotes from Solar Guide!
Outdoor Solar Cookers!
How cool would a Solar Cooking Stove be to use for summer! Food cooked outside, quickly and entirely by the sun! Check out GoSun Solar Ovens! Watch this inspiring GoSun Solar Cooking Stoves video below! Check out my Blog Post about GoSun here!
GoSun Stove Solar Cooker: Welcome to the Fuel-Free Frontier
Solar Outside Lights and Solar Kids Toys!
You can get cool solar gadgets! Solar Garden Lights for outside! Check these out at Ethical Superstore, shipped only within the U.K.
And look, they also have cool Solar Powered Kids Toys too! How much would you like playing with those those if you were a kid!
Click here to have a look at the other things, and if you want them for your for you kids or for your garden get them!
NUMBER THREE: CELEBRATE INTI RAYMI, PERUVIAN FESTIVAL OF THE SUN AND PERUVIAN CRAFTS
In Peru, and the rest of the southern hemisphere, it’s now their WINTER Solstice, so the sun’s strength is coming back, and June 22 is ‘Inti Raymi’, The Festival of the Sun, in Peru. It’s the ancient festival of ‘Inti’, the Inca Sun God. In ancient times the Inti Raymi final ceremony involved the sacrifice of animals and even children!
Though it was abolished by the Spanish Conquistadors, it’s now, for a long time practised again, without the brutal elements! It’s still revered as an amazing spiritual cultural ceremony, or more of a reenactment, and a great big party that bonds the community and shows gratitude for life.
The Ancient Inca civilization was one of the of the greatest. Although the Inca only lasted 300 years, and they never invented and used wheels, or a written language, they were a lot more advanced in general than the Mayans, Aztecs, and others, and all natural Peruvians are their descendants. Inti Raymi is mainly for Peruvians, but tourists can go, and it’s very popular! The end ceremony on June 24th looks amazing and reminds you of the Olympics! Here’s a video about it below!
Inti Raymi 2016 in Cusco, Peru
So you can celebrate Summer Solstice with Yoga and surya namaskar. Or you can take the plunge and Go Solar in your house or vehicle, or with solar toys and appliances. or you can learn about and Celebrate Inti Raymi The Festival of the Sun, and help preserve world artisans traditional crafts by buying something you really like from NOVICA Peruvian Artisans Andes Collection! Check out the jewelry, the clothes and home decor.
I hope you find something you wanted here and on my partner’s websites. Please pass this on if you liked any of it or learned anything and have a golden Summer Solstice!
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