This Yoga Philosophy Will Keep Your Summer Chill + Focused ??

Every year I say it. And, every year it comes true:

"This will be the best, most raddest Summer of our lives!"

Do you?believe it? ??

All of?the magic?is gathering in the fun-zone of your natal chart. There will be many mayo-based salads. You may decline them as you wish.

You can eat your body weight in watermelon, and then take a long nap before getting back in the pool. You can graze on fresh mint, listening to?Teenage Dream?by Katy Perry.

I make my?Summergeddon Declaration?every year:?"This will be the best Summer of our lives!"?In part, because our home is a resort for children. Someday in therapy, our children will share how they grew up in a resort for children, run by a taskmaster who claimed to be an eternal child.

And, they'd be right! In my defense, I need our kids to know how much work it takes to have this much fun.

The least we can do is savor these hot months like some epic, slow-motion cannonball. We've earned our Best Summer Ever. Especially if our year hasn't been all that enchanting.

Summer can bring a full calendar of too many events. Once the hottest "dog days" of Summer heat up, it feels naturally harder to get moving.

Summer can become a delicate balance of not feeling over-scheduled, while also maintaining enough structure. Without summer camps, or wake-up times (before 10:30 if you're a teen in our house) it can feel like we're slipping into chaos. Too much activity is just as chaotic.

What's the right mix for you?

The 3 Gunas Will Help.

Yoga philosophy gives us a great model for seeking balance. Prakriti refers to our blank slate of unmanifested nature. This is our flowing river of endless possibilities. Prakriti is all the mind stuff, our agreements of what life might look like. The good, the bad, the ugly.

That same yogic philosophy breaks down the creative energy of our universe into 3 Gunas ('Goo-nuh's')— tendencies, or attributes.

Noticing which of these 3 Gunas are dominant in any moment is very useful. For example, we can reflect on our diet, our sleep, our self-care, or our workloads. For today's lesson, we'll look at our Summer calendar through the lens of these 3 Gunas.

Here are the Mighty Three:

1 - Tamas (TAH-mahs): Darkness and chaos.?Sloth, inertia. This is too much of a boring thing. The bed Goldie Locks finds a little too soft. Tamas energy is all the empty calories that bring no nourishment. It's all the hotdogs and junk food on the picnic tables.

Watch that Tamas energy. This is what would have you book your Summer the exact same way you always have— expecting, but never experiencing different results. Yawn.

2 - Rajas (RAH-Jass). Passion and activity.?All the coffee, washing down all the hot sauce. The exhaustion of trying to satisfy everyone. The Speedy Rabbit energy that assumes we need to race across town, or the country. Fighting everyone, all hot and bothered.

Ooohweee, this bed is a little too hard!?Too intense. Rajas is helpful in building empires, but tips easily into lust and greed. I gotta watch the Rajas, as a card-carrying Man of Action.?

3 - Sattva. (SAHT-wah). Beingness and harmony.?Mmmm, Baby Bear’s bed is just right!?It's the sense we are moving forward on our path, that we are being carried along by our good choices. We move in a yogic flow, shifting easily from demand to demand. Not oversleeping (Tamas), or sprinting on a treadmill at 4:30a (Rajas).

Sattvic food is retreat food. All nourishing, mild to the taste, but makes the cells very happy.

But it's not that Sattva is always good, while Tamas and Rajas are always bad. I like how Timothy Burgin put it, on the site Yoga Basics:

"The awareness and conscious manipulation of the three gunas are a powerful way to reduce stress, increase inner peace and lead one towards enlightenment."

Like coaching and meditation, the gunas invite us to notice with increased awareness— and then, to consciously summon the guna energy to move us back toward Sattva.

Here are some simple ways to practice this:

1. How do you want to eat this Summer??What balance of food will give you the energy you most need? What will help you keep it simple?

2. How much sleep is ideal for you in the Summer??Especially if you're going to be more physically active? Notice anything in the way of consistent sleep.

3. Where in your life do you naturally run a little too hot?(Rajas), or a little too cold (Tamas?) All of us benefit from consciously cooling our jets, or turning up the heat.

4. What lifestyle choices, relationships, and/or self-care practices will support your Sattva Energy??It might look like taking a break from everyone, and everything. It could look like setting up your summer to feel like a 3-month retreat from the hustle and grind.

One thing is certain:

Balance in all things takes practice. No one has it all figured out. In our willingness to practice, we optimize our lives toward greater balance.

Greater peace, harmony, and love.

Perhaps, greater Radness. ?? ????♂? ??

What does your Slo-Mo Cannonball look like???? ??

Photos, infographics, and powerpoint decks welcome!

My keynotes and coaching help C-Level leaders avoid burnout, so they can shift their culture from surviving change, to leading it. Author of Permission to Glow— A Spiritual Guide to Epic Leadership.

Read our recap of our May Kripalu Retreat, The Joy of Purpose. Join us for our upcoming July Retreat in Northern San Diego.