Christmas Solstice Celebration
|
Saturday 19th Dec Celebrate life, share your light. Join Kookaburra Yoga & Yoga Om at stunning Araluen Botanical Gardens for a Christmas Solstice Celebration under the setting sun and stars 4pm-8pm. This family friendly event includes yoga, meditation, an earth prayer, chanting, a joyful circle dance, a giving circle, kids activities, and then a lovely picnic with ambient music in the beautiful botanical gardens. Bring a gift for the giving circle, and a picnic dinner. Come alone, come with friends, come with kids, all are welcome.
|
|
the joy of giving and receiving
|
This year we join Puja and Moksha from Yoga Om for a shared Christmas & Summer Solstice Celebration open to students and friends of Kookaburra Yoga, Yoga Om and the wider Perth community. We celebrate teh at the beautiful, tranquil Araluen Botanical Gardens in Roleystone in the Perth hills.
2020 been a year like no other and collectively and individually we have faced unimaginable challenges. This event is our way of bringing together a community connected by yoga, compassion, kindness, joy and optimism for the future year ahead. Together we share our light and love for the earth, and take this moment in time to simply connect and be content. Over the years many wonderful people have graced our studios, attended programs and retreats, and we would love to celebrate with you all at this joyful, soulful and deeply meaningful end-of-year event. Come alone, come with family, come with friends - everyone is welcome. There is a dedicated group picnic area for those coming alone to connect and share the event with others, and lots of gorgeous spaces in the park for families and friends to gather. The program, and also the park, is family friendly - you are welcome to bring kids, grandkids, parents, friends. The more the merrier! Arrive early (anytime on Saturday) to enjoy the park. The program commences at 4pm with music, a short, fun hatha yoga session for adults, and a special program just for kids. This is followed by chanting, a solstice meditation, an earth puja (offering to the earth), followed by a giving circle where everyone receives a heart-felt gift. Following this is a yoga circle dance where we come together in a giant circle to sing the Gayatri (song/tune playing in background, can be downloaded below) and join in a solstice inspired circle dance. While there is a little hatha yoga in the program you won't need a mat or to wear yoga attire - casual clothing, a beautiful dress, whatever you like. Bring a shawl or cardigan for the evening as it may get cool. GIVING CIRCLE Everyone brings a gift for the giving circle which is something you've created from the heart. There is so much energy and beauty in the creation and sharing of gifts. Please make your gift yourself - it could be hand-drawn, handwritten, found in nature, planted, baked, edible (vegetarian) - so everyone leaves with an earth-friendly and meaningful gift from the heart (no plastic or waste). FOR THE KIDS During the program there will be yoga and mindfulness activities for kids with Rainbow Pammy. Within the main giving circle, kids will be invited to form an inner circle with Rainbow Pammy to give and receive a child-friendly present. Please help your kids to create something special to bring joy to the heart of another. PICNIC Bring your own food and drinks for a picnic in the beautiful, magical gardens once the program concludes. Enjoy ambient music and a festive atmosphere. SUMMER SOLSTICE The solstice is actually at 6pm on the 21st. We celebrate the longest day of the year early, leading up to the peak intensity of solar energy here in WA. Solstice in Latin means sun-stopping, and as we gather and pause for a moment, we feel connected to nature, each other, and to the earth itself. The ancients believed that the solstice was an important moment for meditation when the veil between this world and the spiritual grew thin. In the yogic and vedic traditions the sun is revered as a symbol of the Divine - an eternal source of light, nourishment and giver of life. Gatherings and rituals at this time are a way of harnessing the revitalising energy of the Sun, expressing our gratitude for the abundance of nature at the peak of its annual cycle and celebrating the pinnacle of our own annual cycle of growth and renewal. |
|
Program
|
3.30pm music. Arrive and set yourself up in our area which is on the main lawn by the reflective pool
4.00pm Opening & OM chanting 4.10pm Hatha Yoga Movement (no mat required) 4.30pm Guided Solstice Meditation 4.45pm Earth Puja 5.00pm Giving Circle 5.20pm Festive Chanting 5.40pm Gayatri Mantra + Yoga Circle Dance 6.00pm Ambient music and Picnic Dinner 8.00pm Please depart by 8pm. |
Song to learn for circle dance
Festive Gayatri Mantra
Have the words of this song handy for the event, or even better listen along and learn it in advance! Download the pdf for the words, music and dance details.
|
Om Bhuhr | Om Bhuvaha | Om Swaha | Om Maha | Om Janaha
Om Tapaha | Om Satyam | Oh Oh Om | Om Tat Savitur Varenyam Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi | Dhiyo Yonaha Pracho oh dayah “O Self-effulgent Light that has given birth to all the lokas (spheres of consciousness), who is worthy of worship and appears through the orbit of the Sun, Illumine our intellect.” Invoking (connecting to) the seven spiritual planes (lokas) of light and asking for spiritual assistance from all beings who have ever been enlightened.
This Sanskrit mantra is used by many yoga practitioners, Hindus and even Buddhists all over the world. 
| ||||
Event Details
|
Saturday 19th December. 4pm-8pm. Araluen Botanical Gardens
|
What to bring
|
|
|
Cost & Tickets
|
