Summer Solstice in Manhattan (no need to pack the bikini)

Oh how lovely, the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, is tomorrow. Many thanks to the sun for allowing us to bask in its glorious light for just a few extra moments tomorrow.

This is my first solstice. I've lived through others, but this is the first one I will notice and celebrate. So, what will I do with my extra moments of daylight? Dig my bathing suit out from the bottom of the drawer, plop a big straw hat on my head and make my way to the beach? That's how I would have celebrated if I still lived in Virginia Beach.  I might have made a pit stop at the yoga studio on the way, but I would have felt the sand between my toes and the cool breeze from the water touching my face before noon. I would have closed my eyes, lifted my face toward the sky and thanked the sun for its kindness (and hoped my sunscreen was going to do as the label promised!).

But, that's not a Manhattan solstice. Like most things in NYC, solstice here is much bigger and louder than a day at the beach. Its thousands of people gathered together in the most chaotic and flashy part of the city. It's a scheduled day filled with big yoga classes in the middle of Times Square. 

Yoga in Times Square?! 

Last March I ran the NYC half-marathon right through Times Square. I was in awe during that entire stretch of the race. I was mesmerized by the fact that we were running right down the middle of Times Square. There were no cabs, tourists or statues of liberty on stilts. All that could be heard were our shoes hitting the pavement, our steady breath and encouraging cheers from the crowd. I'd lace up my running shoes in a heartbeat to do that again.

But solstice in Times Square? A quick review of the history of the solstice will tell you that solstice celebrations have been colorful, vibrant and likely loud in the past. So it isn't completely insane to spend your solstice in Times Square. In fact if you wear a costume, it might just be perfect.

But, it doesn't feel quite right to me. The solstice is about renewal. Its about taking a few extra moments of daylight to refresh our intentions with the change of the season. I was grateful to Times Square for distracting me from the pains and toil of running a half-marathon. But I don't want to be distracted from the reflection, peace and quite that I hope my yoga practice will bring to me on the solstice.

So, I'll settle for imagining the "Om" vibrating throughout Times Square as I flow through my practice in a more intimate, quite and distraction-free yoga studio. I'll also have to settle for imagining the sounds of the ocean and children playing in the sand. All of those sounds mixed together might just make for my perfect solstice celebration.

Happy Solstice to you! May you be find happiness and joy in whatever Solstice celebration you choose. Namaste.