"Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark"

- Rabindranath Tagore

Turning Point

The winter solstice is nearly here, bringing with it the shortest and darkest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The darkness has a strange effect. The sky appears to press down on us, amplifying the cold.

While Christmas is always one of my favourite times of the year, with all its sparkle and festivity, I know all too well that it’s a notorious time when joy is magnified, as is sorrow.

Defined by the darkest day, this astronomical solstice is also where we meet a turning point. It illustrates what cannot be denied - change is coming, and the winter solstice, in particular, marks the eventual return of the light.

Solstice in the Breath

Whenever there is a turning point like this, I’m reminded of the breath cycle - a microcosm of all of the rhythms of nature. If you don’t pay much heed to breathing, you might think there’s just an inhale and exhale. But there’s a yoga practice that allows us to experience the breath intimately in four parts rather than two.

Two of these parts are the liminal spaces between each inhale and exhale. Existing in these spaces is a hiatus or a turning point. When you become aware of them, you start to feel them keenly. They mark the moment where one thing ends and another begins, and the cycle continues, on and on.

We experience a whole world within each breath cycle—seasons that come and go, a process of rejuvenation and release, of birth and death. In the spaces between breaths, we find a ‘solstice’, the turning point where lies an opportunity for pause and the realisation and acceptance of the inevitable transition.

The Coming of the Light

I found this lovely poem which speaks to this sweet point of transition.

The Coming of the Light, by Mark Strand

Even this late it happens:
the coming of love, the coming of light.
You wake and the candles are lit as if by themselves,
stars gather, dreams pour into your pillows,
sending up warm bouquets of air.
Even this late the bones of the body shine
and tomorrow’s dust flares into breath.

This year, the solstice is particularly poignant for me. I have heard many so stories of grief, loss, and loneliness from those around me, as well as the personal difficulties some of you have faced and still endure. Thank you for sharing your experiences, especially the ways in which yoga continues to support you during these times; it heartens me.

Reflecting on the solstice reminds me that there is always hope and renewal, no matter the shape or depth of our struggle. Life continues to deliver challenges in its many forms; at one time or another, we can all feel trapped in a seemingly never-ending darkness.

I want to remind those who find themselves in that darkness right now to take solace. Call upon nature’s truth, the solstice, or even your next breath cycle to know that the turn will arise and the time will come to ride the wave of the growing light.

Wishing you peace, joy, and blessings for a wonderful Christmas week.

(Two classes remain for 2024, pre and post-Christmas)

Let’s practise.