Summer Solstice Rituals
aligning with the rhythm of the season
It’s officially summmerrrr!!!! Happy summer solstice you beautiful being.
I am so excited for summer….the time of year when we have the maximum amount of sunshine & daylight, and with that comes more energy, more zest, more time for playfulness. Summer is a season of release, rejuvenation, a time to let go and be free, to take life less seriously and reconnect with your inner child—frolick in the grass, roll in the sand, play mermaids in the ocean, stargaze, gather with community, belly laugh and spend hours giggling.
I saw this quote from Vitally Melanie that beautifully encapsulated my thoughts, “The truth is most people don’t need to chase the next trendy biohack. They don’t need excessive supplement stacks or fancy health tools. Most people can find profound joy and healing by going back to doing the things they loved when they were younger.” For some reason to me, summer is the season where I can most easily reconnect with my younger self and the magic of life.
Our bodies flow with the seasons, and just like nature they go through phases too. Officially today, nature is in summer & during summer nature operates at peak growth & energy. Longer days filled with sunshine and humidity that allow for blooming flowers, flourishing gardens, ripening fruits & full dense green trees. Wildlife is out and about foraging, pollinator activity is peaking, the fireflies are out, butterflies, bumblebees, and everything is bustling. When nature awakens like this, so do we.
For me, I notice I am waking up earlier, desiring more movement and sunshine, craving lighter foods, feeling more awake and grounded and free. The more we align ourselves with nature, the more in tune with our own bodies we become. It’s time to pay attention to those signals our bodies are sending us.
Now that it’s officially SUMMER (YAY!), these are all of my rituals and habits I love that allow my mind and body to fall even more into rhythm with the new season.
Let’s get into it….
Rise with the Sun
The sun is now rising at 6am (and setting past 8pm it’s the best everrrr hehehehehe) and I am definitely not telling you to start waking up at 6am, but I do notice that my body naturally starts waking up a lot earlier during summer time when I find my rhythm. I have been on the dot waking up without an alarm at 7:20am this whole week, which was not the norm for me a month ago. This alertness has lined up exactly with me getting more sunshine in the morning and throughout the day, so my circadian rhythm has completely reset & found balance with the season. Very cool.
I also notice that when I am waking up, it’s not a dreadful and drowsy wakeup, I naturally wake up with so much more energy. Maybe because it’s actually warm outside and doesn’t feel scary leaving warm covers to shiver in the freeezing cold. It’s very rewarding to walk outside early with the sun shining and the birds chirping and warmth so early in the morning. It’s why I love maxxing out my sunlight time during the summer and getting outside as much as possible.
Create vs Consume
It’s time to unplug and literally touch grass, touch the salty sea and sand. Spending more time in nature, exploring more, putting pen to paper, reading, learning something new, using our hands, cooking, baking, gardening, basking in the grass, sand and sun. Creating just to create! Not for any other reason than just because. It doesn’t have to be something you are talented at, it’s for the fun of it. Self expression and creation is healing and you don’t have to be “good” at it for it to be valuable.
Creating vs consuming is a habit & ritual I carry with me throughout the whole year, but I find practicing it in the summer so seamless because I am naturally creating more, being outside more, spending more time with friends, and disconnecting from the noise.
The more time we spend reconnecting with the earth and nature away from technology and screens, the more we are able to silence our mind and tune into our unique creative voice. Nature & creation resets you on a cellular level. It is healing!!!
Eat Fruit in the Sun
Eating fruit in the sun on the beach is a spiritual experience. Thisss right here is natures medicine. Cherries, watermelon, mango, peaches, berries, eating it with your hands and basking in the sunshine. The fruit is so juicy and delicious right now, filled with incredibly hydrating nutrients and vitamins and minerals that hydrate us and also provide us with antioxidants we need. Eating in the sunshine also can help our bodies digest fruits and our foods better. Best feeling ever.
Expansive & Outdoor Movement
Moving my body feels soooo good right now. It doesn’t feel like a chore, it feels therapeutic and flowing and expansive. Long walks on the beach, deep stretches, engaging my deep core. Dancing, surfing, swimming, playing and finding movements that invigorate my inner child. I just feel flowing and free, movement that energizes and replenishes and releases versus restricts. Movement can be such a wonderful way to shake out negative energy and regulate our nervous systems. Continuing to intuitively move all summer long.
Walk around Barefoot
I definitely don’t do this in the city, but on vacation or on the beach I am constantly barefoot. Grounding my feet into the earth, stretching out my toes. Walking around barefoot feels so freeing.
Have Fun, Be Bored
Summer is the perfect time to be bored. Moments of silence, peace without noise, regulates our brains and our bodies and creates space for the most creative and fulfilling ideas.
Consciously creating space to reduce noise and be quiet and still with ourselves is so important. Each of us has our own unique creative voice but we spend so much time getting caught up with everyone else’s. Our brains are soooo overstimulated and it has become a privilege to step away from that.
Embrace the boredom, the moments of silence, the listening to the wind and the birds and the waves. Feel the creativity and inspiration and ideas flowing through you.
Read Outside
Something just feels right to bring my book outside. Go for a walk, and just plant myself in a park or on the beach, wherever I am, and open up my book and read. Pause, listen to the nature, stroll, plant and read.
Eat Seasonally
The food right now is abundant, the farmers markets flourishing!! This is such a good time to connect with your local farmers and see what the local land around you is providing! Get in touch with nature, find creative ways to cook with all the produce and fruits. Grill & eat outside!! Host friends and bring together community.
Eating seasonally & locally is such an important pillar in my life and has done so much to help me find my rhythm with the seasons. Nature knows best, and it provides us with exactly what we need to thrive.
Sunrise & Sunset Walks
Sunrise and sunset are some of the most healing times of day, most of the harmful UV rays are filtered out and the sun provides healing infrared and red light. These are the rays that enhance cellular repair, can reduce inflammation, regulate circadian rhythm and even help to repair and replenish skin.
These times of day are so important for us, especially as we are spending more time basking in the sun.
Time with Friends & Family
Summer is the best time to gather and find community. I think of bonfires on the beach, camping, roasting smores, grilling corn & burgers outside, having drinks and playing games. We have more energy to do more things socially at this time, and it feels so energizing spending more time with friends & loved ones.
Hydrate Hydrate Hydrate
More time in the sun means more sweating which means we gotta remineralize honeys. Wet foods & bevs are essential for proper hydration internally and externally for plump and radiant.
Remineralization and hydration doesn’t mean just chugging waters, we can hydrate through all of the amazing seasonal fruits, salts, teas, milk, bone broth, fruit juices, infusing with herbs & spices, coconut water & spring water.
Craving a big fat juicy watermelon with some flakey sea salt right about now.
Don’t Take Life too Seriously
Summer is a reminder to not take life to seriously. There’s a lightness in the air, a sense of freedom. It’s time to adventure, say yes, reconnect with what brings you true fulfilling joy.
Releasing stagnant negative energy makes room for joy, and the more we allow ourselves to really feel that joy and enjoy our lives, the more magnetic, confident and lighthearted we become. Spending my days with people who bring me energy, make me laugh, nature and sunshine, fills my cup instead of draining it.
I think a lot of us get too serious as we age, we lose that sense of magic and whimsy. We find structure and routine to the point where we forget what life is all about. I truly believe that seeking to find that sense of playfulness, curiosity and spontaneity is life-changing. Being creative and silly for no reason makes life magical. It allows us to let go and find the beauty in the mundane.
Health is about leaning into life, laughing, and truly living, not cutting everything out in order to be perfect. We want to be healthy so we can enjoy our lives, health is no longer health when it is stopping enjoying our lives for the sake of “health”. Let’s embrace this mindset with SUMMER!!!!!!
I feel like the key and theme to all of these is I am trying to be outside as much as possible, spending as much time in the sun & in nature, adventuring, laughing with friends, choosing natural light over blue light, napping outside, picnicking, laying in the grass & the sand, dancing, creating, and not taking life so seriously. It’s the season of yes. & that’s my summer mantra. I want to hear yours as well.
Happy summer honeys!!!!! Love you. XO - Ella
There’s something about strawberry picking that brings back the joy of childhood. It makes my soul sing.