Inside This Lotus Letter 🪷

🌺 Join our Summer Solstice Celebrations

🎶 NEW KIRTAN ALBUM!!!

📿 Private Sessions with Angie: Reiki, Breath, and MORE

😻 Cat Corner: Send me your pet pictures

📖 Book: Summer Solstice

Hello Reader,

Some of my friends here just love winter. They revel in the snow and love to ski and snowshoe, and probably they like to make snowpeople too. ☃️

Living in Vermont, it's certainly a good idea to love the winter because we have about 10 months of it!

But I am a summer-sunshine-loving human. I need the solar energy, the sound of birds, and the blooming flowers to feel fully alive and abundant. It makes me want to sing! Let's prepare and align with the sacred turning point of the Summer Solstice by raising our collective voices in sacred song and joy.

The summer solstice marks the peak of solar energy, illumination, and spiritual growth. It's not only our first day of summer, but also our day of greatest radiant light. It happens this year on Sunday, Jun 21, at 4:24 AM, but we can celebrate and be in the energy of the solstice a week before and after the actual moment.

If you have been to yoga classes, you know I love the study of language! The word solstice comes from the Latin solstitium, meaning "Sun stands still," and is related to stithi in Sanskrit, which means to stand still. The sun appears to "stand still" in the sky, and is the exact astronomical moment when a hemisphere reaches its maximum tilt toward the Sun.

We warmly invite you to join us for our two upcoming events of community, devotion, and healing vibrations.

Whether you are brand new to kirtan or a seasoned chanter, your voice is an essential part of the harmony. Kirtan—the ancient practice of call-and-response devotional chanting—opens the heart and grounds the spirit.

✨✨ Experience The Magic of Solstice Chanting

• Uplifting Energy: High-vibrational kirtan to match the sun's peak intensity.
• Sun Bija Mantras: Group chanting to honor the light within and around us.
• Heart Openings: Call-and-response devotion to ignite deep joy (bhava).
• Community Connection: Sharing space, breath, and intention with fellow seekers.
• A Time of Renewal: Leaving grounded, peaceful, and ready to embrace the magic of the new season.

We have two opportunities you won't want to miss.

1. 🐉 Sacred Music at Dragon Mountain, Vershire, VT. ​

Join us for an ecstatic kirtan, drumming, and dancing on Saturday, June 20, in Vershire, VT, for a beautiful gathering as we welcome the longest day with ancient and new mantras to connect with the sun. We will offer the Gayatri Mantra and the Lakshmi mantras in a sacred circle as we sing together outdoors on the mountain top. Bring a drum or rattle to play along!

This event is offered by donation, but you can sign up in advance HERE.​

2. 💖 Wisdom of the Heart: A Half-Day Retreat in the White Mountains. ​

How do we strengthen our heart and cultivate the inner wisdom and compassion that aligns our spirit with right action in the world? Through discussion, embodied movement, meditation, and mantra, you will begin to cultivate a wise heart that helps you navigate life's challenges with greater balance, peace, and compassionate action. This is a unique opportunity to step away from it all and be in the beauty of the White Mountains at Awakening to the Heart Sanctuary in Thornton, NH. Walk the magical Labyrinth and join us for yoga, mantra, and creativity as you connect to your heart. Saturday, June 27. 2:30-8:30 PM.

Offered at a sliding scale rate: $40-$60 for the whole day! See the full schedule below. You can also attend just the workshop or evening kirtan. Learn more HERE.​

These are our only scheduled Kirtan events this summer, so don't miss this opportunity.

We cannot wait to celebrate with you. Let’s step into this new season together.

A Lotus For You 🪷

Angie

Summer Quotes

“I have only to break into the tightness of a strawberry, and I see summer—its dust and lowering skies.” — Toni Morrison

“It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.” — Maud Hart Lovelace

“Green was the silence, wet was the light, the month of June trembled like a butterfly.” — Pablo Neruda

“June has never looked more beautiful than she does now, unadorned and honest, vulnerable yet invincible.” — Marie Lu

“…This is the solstice, the still point of the sun, its cusp and midnight,
the year’s threshold and unlocking, where the past lets go of and becomes the future; the place of caught breath, the door of a vanished house left ajar…” — Margaret Atwood

“Smell the sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly.” — Van Morrison

Reiki Sessions

Are you feeling the need to gather your reserves and rest? Reiki may be just your antidote to the constant rushing of our world.

I have made time available for private Reiki Sessions: 50 minutes for $75.00. Sign up here. ​

Reiki Energy Sessions with Angie 50 minutes: $75, or Sliding Scale. Weekly sessions are offered at a discount. Contact Angie for more info.

Drop in for Yin & Meditation.

Moving Into Stillness Join us for a drop-in yoga class with our new Yin & Meditation Series: June 18, 25, July 2, & July 9. Sign Up HERE. ​

New Kirtan Album

A Live Recording We released a new album, Pure Kirtan live from May 22. Some oldies revisited, and a few new songs never recorded! Listen Here

Upcoming Events!

Solstice Kirtan Event At Dragon Mountain, Vershire, VT Saturday, June 20, at 4-5:30 PM Note: this is not at Jai Studios Address: Dragon Mountain, 1152 North Road, Vershire, VT Join us at our friend Aaron's beautiful Dragon Mountain home in the woods of Vershire, Vermont. We will welcome in the Solstice with song and joy. This is an outdoor event, rain or shine, with a tent available.​ ​ Register ahead HERE

White Mountain Retreat with Pure Kirtan

We are excited to announce our return to the Awakening to the Heart Sanctuary! It was so beautiful last year; we can't wait to join you at this amazing, healing location in the heart of the White Mountains.

And it is super affordable-don't miss out on this amazing half-day retreat!

• BOTH EVENTS: Wise Heart-Compassionate Action Workshop + Kirtan ($40-$60)
• Wise Heart-Compassionate Action Workshop ($25-$35)
• Kirtan only ($20-$30)

Private Consultations with Angie Deepen your learning in yoga, mantra, breathwork, spirituality, creativity, and more... I have a few sessions open and have free 15-minute discovery sessions available here. ​ Private sessions offer coaching and accountability when you need support with: a personalized yoga practice a mantra practice to help you feel more balanced practices for breath or meditation a specific creative project or idea Let's work together!

Jai Studios: Yoga Classes, Meditation, Kirtan, & More

Yoga Class Schedule 🌑 Sunday 9 AM–Rise and Shine 🌑 Tuesday 11 AM–Be Strong, Breathe Strong 🌑 In June: Moving into stillness: Yin & Meditation, Thursdays at 10 AM 🌑 Thursday 6 PM, Strength and Ease, live music with Josh Hall All classes are about 75 minutes long. Our Studio is located at 1383 Rt 44, Brownsville, VT New Student Pass – 2 for $35. We offer multiple ways to join classes. See ALL class offerings

The Summer Solstice ​By John Matthews and Caitlín Matthews​ ​ Bursting with folklore, ritual, songs, poetry, crafts, and recipes, this companion to the Benjamin Franklin award-winning The Winter Solstice helps readers celebrate in connection with the natural world throughout the year. 208 full-color illustrations. Check it out!

Cat Corner 😻 Welcome to the Cat Corner of my weekly newsletter. The Cat Corner showcases a diverse range of animal companions. I'd love to feature your beloved pet. Please send me pet pictures! Cat Corner: photo by Yaoy Xi Please send me your pet pictures!