Winter Solstice~108 Sun Salutations Breast Cancer Cure Fundraiser

It's a bit of a yogic tradition to perform 108 Sun Salutations at Winter Solstice, which are a series of moving poses performed as a salute to the sun. More than just the shortest day the year, Winter Solstice is one of spiritual significance and symbolises a time of rebirth: letting go and welcoming new beginnings.

After the year's longest night, the days again begin to slowly lengthen, which is often seen symbolically as rebirth: a time for letting go and welcoming new beginnings. Sun Salutations are a moving series of 9 yoga poses practiced to salute the sun and greet the light. This celebration of sun and moon. light and dark, yin and yang provides us an opportunity to look inward; to recognise that the light we all carry within is what guides us through darkness. And amongst all the chaos brought by COVID and global struggles around power and inequality, what better time to reflect on the concept of new beginnings, new ways of thinking, new ways of being.

On Sunday, 21 June (Winter Solstice), Crossfit Central Wellington will open its doors to anyone who wants to practice 108 Sun Salutations in the spirit of community, celebration and reflection for this special day.

This page is set up for anyone who wishes to donate to the event, whether or not you're able to attend. All money raised for this event will go to Breast Cancer Cure, New Zealand’s only not-for-profit organisation established solely to find a cure for breast cancer. New Zealand has the seventh highest incidence rate of Breast Cancer in the world, taking the lives two wahine every day. There are also significant discrepancies, as well: of the nine woman diagnosed daily, one will be Māori. Māori and Pasifika women with breast cancer almost twice as likely to die from disease as Pākehā. Survivor rates are improving, but preventative cures are a long way out. With COVID curtailing much of the organisation’s largest annual fundraising activities, even the smallest contribution helps ensure that researchers can keep doing this necessary and important work.

The choice to go with Breast Cancer Cure is also a gesture of love and support for one of our dearest CCW wahine, coaches and all-around superstars, Alice Sciascia. Not only is Alice kicking cancer’s arse, but much like the significance behind the Solstice, she inspires us all to shine a little brighter. We love you, Alice!