Start Again: 108 Sun Salutations for the Equinox

Happy equinox, y’all. I woke up this morning so excited to tell you about a ritual that has genuinely changed my life. It’s simple. It’s accessible. It doesn’t require anything fancy. And today—on the Aries equinox—is one of the most powerful days you could possibly do it. It’s called 108 sun salutations. And before you roll your eyes or think, that sounds intense, just stay with me for a second. Because this isn’t about being “good at yoga.” This is about building the capacity to stay with yourself. I started doing 108 sun salutations on new years day the better part of a decade ago and this year was no different.. But this year has already asked a lot of me. My mom died a month ago. I’ve been in it—grief, logistics, the surreal reality of planning a funeral for my best friend, holding family, holding myself. If you’ve ever been through that, you already know: it’s not just emotional, it’s physical, spiritual, everything. And I know—I know—that doing 108 at the top of the year is part of why I’ve been able to keep going. Not perfectly. Not gracefully. But steadily. 108 is not magic because it’s a number. It’s magic because it teaches you endurance. It teaches you: how to keep going when you’re tired how to stay when your mind wants to leave how to be with yourself when things get hard And that’s the real ritual. This Aries equinox is not subtle. We are stepping into a period where there will be more Aries energy concentrated at once than most of us have ever experienced. That means: movement courage impulsivity heat initiation Aries says: go. But here’s the thing—if you don’t know how to regulate your nervous system, that “go” can turn into overwhelm real quick. At the same time: Pluto in Aquarius is already flooding us with information, intensity, and transformation And soon, Uranus moves into Gemini—more information, more disruption, more speed So if things already feel like a lot… Yeah. We’re not slowing down anytime soon. Which is exactly why we need practices that anchor us inside ourselves. You don’t need anything special. But here’s how I like to do it: Draw 9 boxes on a piece of paper. Each box represents a set of 12. 9 × 12 = 108. Every time you complete 12 sun salutations, check off a box. That’s how you track your progress. Grab 12 small objects: crystals paperclips hair ties even chapstick (been there 😂) Place them at the top corner of your mat. Each time you complete one sun salutation, move one item to the other side. When all 12 have moved → you’ve completed one set. Check your box. Start again. This is not a race. It might take: an hour a few hours all day Treat it like a long-distance run. Put on music you love. Do it with your family. Get on Zoom with your friends. Make it yours. You don’t have to do this perfectly. You don’t even have to finish. The point is not completion. The point is relationship. Can you stay with yourself? Can you begin again when you want to quit? Can you breathe when things get uncomfortable? Because that’s what this year is going to ask of you. On The Underbelly, I made a manifestation ritual that walks you through the whole process—why 108, why sun salutations, how to move through it intentionally. We’re also doing 30% off right now, so if you’ve been thinking about joining, this is a good moment. (But truly—you don’t need anything but yourself to begin.) Click here to sign-up for free. I love you. I mean that. I am so grateful to be alive at the same time as you, figuring this out together. We don’t know exactly what’s coming. But we do know this: We can build the capacity to meet it. One breath. One movement. One beginning again. Happy equinox. If you were to dedicate your 108 to something, what would it be? What are you building endurance for right now? What are you learning to stay with? Where in your life are you being asked to begin again? Write it down before you start. Come back to it when you want to quit.