YULE: RETURN OF THE LIGHT
Yule, or Winter Solstice, marks both the shortest day and the returning of the light. At the darkest point in the yearly cycle, when the sun is at its most southerly point and the days are shorter than the nights, we gather to celebrate the sun’s return. Because once the solstice has passed the days begin to lengthen again. Imperceptibly at first. First the sun will appear to stand still – rising and setting at the same time for three days during the solstice period (solstice comes from the Latin for ‘sun still’) – and then the imperceptible lengthening of the daylight will begin. Following Samhain’s death and entry into the great void, Yule brings rebirth and renewal.
Now is the time to gather with friends, in gratitude for all that has been accomplished and achieved through the turning of this cycle. One of the greatest gifts of Yule is the opportunity to look back on the previous cycle with a sense of completion and fulfilment whilst also looking forward to the coming cycle with intention and anticipation.
Exchanging gifts with one another; enjoying feasts and dancing; drinking mead, mulled wine, or warm spiced cider helps to bring warmth to this winter festival. Traditionally people would have gathered now before the snow set in to block the ways, or made their journey to sacred sites such as Stonehenge or New Grange in Ireland, which is aligned with the Winter Solstice sunrise.
You can create a sense of warmth by lighting a fire or candles. Candles bring a warm light to the darkness and winter is the perfect time to enjoy warm, scented baths with candlelight. Candlelight can create a meditative setting for your yoga practice, and by lighting a candle you are signalling your intention to attune to the light within.
Yule can be a challenging time for many people, and the Luna Rhythms Yoga practices for this season are designed to support the cultivation of internal light, playfulness and inner joy.
Trataka, or candle-gazing, is a practice that can be used to cleanse your physical and spiritual eyes and turn your gaze within for meditation. Placing a candle at eye level, a little way away from you (about arm’s length) gaze at the candle with open, unblinking, eyes for as long as possible (or about one to three minutes). This will make your eyes water a little, bringing cleansing tears to wash them clean. When you are ready to close your eyes, focus your gaze – or drishti – inwardly on the inner flame that you will see at your eyebrow centre. Hold your attention on this inner flame for as long as you can, then open your eyes and repeat from the beginning. The whole practice can be done for three rounds. On completing the practice, sit quietly in meditation with inner awareness for a while.
Benefits of trataka may include bringing clarity and brightness to your eyes, balancing your nervous system, and improving memory, concentration and willpower. It activates your third eye, or ajna chakra, and is a great preparation for meditation.
Trataka connects you to your own inner light at the centre of your being, the core of your heart, and can remind you to shine your light in the darkness.
How Luna Rhythms Yoga can support you through the season of Yule
At Luna Rhythms, our unique system of yoga integrated with the lunar cycles and solar seasons teaches techniques from the ancient yogic practices of asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha and mantra in alignment with the energies of the day, season and cycle. Yule can provide you with opportunities to cultivate your inner light to guide you through the winter darkness.
Your inner light is the light of love.
You can connect with the light of love by calling the energy of Krishna into your heart. Chanting Krishna’s invocational mantra, Om Klim Krishnaya Nahama, energises the vibration of love, devotion and magnetic attraction at the root of your heart: the centre of your being. Dark blue like the solstice sky at night, Krishna in this manifestation is experienced as the all-loving force of attraction at the root of your own heart. Krishna embodies the spirit of playfulness as a reminder to soften your hard edges, guided by the magnetic joy that is always alive within you.
Krishna’s dark blue aspect, the colour of the night sky, is also a reminder to go within while the earth and sun are in stillness – pausing at the end of their dance before it is time to begin again.
Akasha Mudra – or, the gesture of infinite space – is a simple hand position that can connect you to the limitless emptiness of the void. Dwelling within the void of winter’s darkness, this mudra helps to connect you with a sense of inner spaciousness, vastness, openness and non-grasping. Benefits may include assisting inner balance, calming emotions, inducing a light trance and harmonizing brain activity.
Practising Akasha Mudra can help to create an experience of connection between the individual and the whole, and enable you to embody feelings of wholeness and fulfilment from within.
To practice this mudra, simply join the tip of your middle finger with the tip of your thumb on each hand. To make this a meditation, rest the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth just behind your front teeth and turn your gaze inward to ajna chakra, your third eye centre. Observe the flow of your breath.
Cultivating internal light, playfulness and inner joy during Yule can support you through this season’s long dark nights, serving as a reminder that these qualities are always present within you.
Asanas that open your chest and expand your heart, including Indudalasana (Crescent Moon side bend), Tarasana (Starlight pose with arms and legs extended), Virabhadrasana II (Warrior 2), and Trikonasana (Triangle pose), can also help to connect you with your inner light and joy. Try Natavarasana (Krishna’s Flute pose) to find your inner playfulness!
Each season at Luna Rhythms Yoga we practice a range of different techniques from the yogic tradition that enable us to embody and integrate the energies of that season in powerful and positive ways. We work with the monthly and daily rhythms of the moon cycle to give subtle nuance to those techniques, ensuring that our practice is always in alignment with exactly what we need when we need it.
To find out more about these practices and how you can get involved check out our Classes, Retreats and the Luna Rhythms Yoga Foundation Course. Feeling the call? The inaugural Luna Rhythms Yoga Teacher Training Course will run in March 2020, in Orgiva, Spain. Join us!