Did you mark this significant turning point of the year in any way?

As we move through the days around the Summer Solstice, it’s a great time to reflect a little on the play of light in our lives.

This does not only mean the wonderful warmth and light of the sun as it reaches its yearly peak, but also the light that it mirrors which shines within each one of us.

At the end of Yoga classes, when we finish our practice as we often do with pranayama and closing prayers, I love to see – even after twenty years of teaching – the shine and sparkle in the eyes of each class member.

Sometimes I invite everyone to just take a moment and look at each other – to acknowledge this newly awakened light in each other. Immediately people smile. They too see the light in the eyes of their fellow practitioners.

In Ayurveda and Yoga, this radiance shining from the eyes is understood as a visible expression of our innate vitality.

The ancient teachings speak of Netra Tejas—the light of the eyes.

The eyes are governed by agni, the fire principle, and when our inner fire is balanced it produces its subtle essence, known as tejas. Tejas is the luminosity of body, mind and spirit. It is clarity, discernment, perception and insight. It is what gives the eyes their sparkle and the mind a brightness and capacity to keenly pierce through into the crux of a matter.

When tejas is strong, we see clearly, not only with our physical eyes but with our inner vision too.

The Summer Solstice offers a beautiful moment to reflect on this and so I’d like to explore it a little more deeply with you this evening.

At this point in the year, the sun reaches its greatest strength. Nature is flooded with light and the days are at their longest.

Ayurveda reminds us that the purpose of this light is not merely to illuminate the world around us. It is also a reminder of the light within that awaits our recognition. This inner light is supported by three subtle essences: Prana, Tejas and Ojas.

Together these three essences form the foundation of vitality, resilience, longevity and spiritual growth.

Let us first look at prana.

Prana is the vital force that animates every living thing. It is that subtle aspect of life that gives vitality to all that is, that sustains life.

Whilst we often translate pranayama as “breathwork”, its meaning is much deeper. Through the breath we influence the movement of prana itself. Prana is the intelligent life force that governs every process in body and mind. It is light, it is energy.

The ancient sages understood that we can affect this prana through the breath which carries it. As we alter the breath, we alter the nature of the flow of prana.

Modern science increasingly confirms what practitioners have known for centuries: that the breath changes physiology, nervous system function, emotional and mental state.

Prana gives our gaze an aliveness and a shine – that sparkle that we see in the eyes of others at the end of a class. It is prana or vital force that animates not only the eyes, but the heart, the mind and every cell of the body.

Without prana, agni cannot burn.

In Ayurveda, agni is often translated as “digestive fire,” but its meaning is much broader than digestion alone.

Agni is the transformative intelligence within us. It is the force that enables us to digest food, process experiences, assimilate knowledge, and make sense of life itself.

Whenever something is transformed into something else – food into energy, experience into wisdom, information into understanding – agni is at work. Agni is fire and fire penetrates a substance, transforming it into something else. Wood into ash. Ice into water.

Likewise, when agni is strong within us, we can penetrate into the heart of something and, through the light of understanding that agni enables, transform and assimilate all that life brings before us.

In fact, every time we practice conscious breathing, we are not simply taking in oxygen. We are cultivating the very force that nourishes our vitality. Through pranayama we can strengthen, refine, balance and direct the flow of prana itself.

As prana becomes steadier and more harmonious, it supports a balanced agni.

Agni is the transformative fire that governs not only digestion of food, but also the assimilation of nutrients into our tissues, also the assimilation of our experiences, and processing of our thoughts and emotions. In this way, the breath becomes a powerful bridge to vitality, clarity and wellbeing.

When prana is nurtured in a way that supports a balanced agni, the second subtle essence that we are exploring today is also nurtured. This subtle essence is called tejas in Sanskrit.

Tejas is the refined essence of agni. It allows every experience to be transformed into wisdom rather than stress. It is that inner radiance that makes people appear to shine from the inside out. It gives clarity of mind, sharp perception, discernment, insight and spiritual illumination. When tejas is strong, we see more clearly and we understand more deeply.

Tejas gives us clarity, insight, discrimination and understanding. It sharpens perception and allows us to see beyond appearances. The brilliance we see in another person’s eyes is often the visible expression of strong tejas.

It is the glow of a clear mind and an open heart.

Tejas cannot be manufactured. It emerges naturally when prana and agni are functioning optimally and when life is lived in the way that Ayurveda invites us to live – aligned with the natural rhythms of nature, and our own natural biorhythms.

Prana and tejas have a definite link to light – our inner light and the outer universal light. We cannot, however, ignore the third subtle essence – ojas.

Whilst prana gives energy and tejas gives radiance, ojas brings us resilience.

Ojas is often described as the essence of all the body’s tissues, and it is our deepest reserve of strength and resilience. When ojas is abundant, we feel strong, emotionally balanced, content and secure. We recover more quickly from stress and illness. Sleep is deep and nourishing and our immune system is resilient.

In the eyes, prana gives an aliveness. and tejas gives a sparkle, whilst ojas lends the eyes a depth, softness and warmth. Eyes with a kind and steady gaze are often so because they are rich in ojas.

These three subtle essences bring us to a beautiful remembrance.

The eyes have long been called the windows to the soul. In the yogic traditions, the radiance we see in the eyes is not considered the ultimate source of light.

Rather, they are the mediums through which a deeper and changeless light shines. This light is known as Jyoti or Atma Jyoti, the eternal light of consciousness, or we could simply say, the light of the soul itself.

It is this inner light that shines through bright eyes, a radiant face, a kind presence and a peaceful heart. Prana, tejas and ojas do not create this light; it is always there. However, they do reveal it. They become the means through which it shines forth. When these subtle essences are strong and balanced, the light of our true nature shines brightly. We can see it both in ourselves and in one another.

This is the light that is unchanged by age, circumstance, success or difficulty. It is always present. Changeless. It is simply when prana flows harmoniously, when tejas is bright and when ojas is strong, this inner light can be seen.

A Solstice Enquiry

What I’ve been noticing lately – both in myself and in others – is how easy it is to overlook the small signs that tell us something is out of balance.

A little fatigue, poor sleep, irritability, digestive discomfort, a loss of enthusiasm, and a dullness where once there was sparkle. We often push through these signals rather than listening to them.

And yet Ayurveda teaches us to pay heed to these small whispers from our body, heart and mind.

When we recognise and redress imbalances early, it is much easier to restore harmony. Left unattended, those small, niggling symptoms can spiral into full blown chronic illness.

As a different kind of Solstice reflection this year, perhaps you would like to pause and ask –

What is nourishes my prana?

What brightens my tejas?

What rebuilds my ojas?

Every choice we make either builds these precious reserves or slowly depletes them.

Sometimes life asks much of us and the symptoms of depletion are a gentle reminder to prioritise our wellbeing – in body, heart and mind. To put our own oxygen mask on first. And to remember, what I once heard a wise nutritional educator say – “If you haven’t got your body, where are you going to live.”

Yoga and Ayurveda offer us countless ways to replenish body, heart and mind in the most complete way – through the nurturing of prana, tejas and ojas with our food choices, daily rhythms, movement, breath, meditation, rest, meaningful connection and a balanced inner attitude.

The reward is more than better health in the body. We now understand that through prana, tejas and ojas, we find a greater sense of resilience, wisdom, joy and connection to the light of our own being.

And so, as we now move into the second half of the year, may we honour not only the brilliance of the summer sun but also the enduring light that shines quietly within us.

May this Summer Solstice remind us that our deepest light never fades and that we can nurture it through the choices we make each day.

May prana, tejas and ojas continue to illuminate our path with vitality, clarity and grace.

Please enjoy the guided meditation and Summer Solstice Eating Guide as steps on your way to nurturing the blessings of strong prana, tejas and ojas.

With warmth, light and solstice blessings,