Flow in the Fire

THE PULSE

This is what matters this week.

Call it the Summer Syndrome.

It's the cultural conditioning that tells us longer days mean longer to-do lists.
That vacation season equals productivity season.
That's because the sun stays up until 10 PM, we should too.

I'm hearing it everywhere:
"I'm exhausted,"
"My bandwidth is full,"
"I have no more capacity"
followed immediately by "but it's just summer"
as they add another commitment to an already blazing schedule.

Road trips to see family.
Business launches.
Summer camps that require hours of driving.
College prep for departing kids.
Social obligations masquerading as "fun."

The relentless yes to activities that sound good as an idea
but leave your nervous system parched.

This is pitta season in overdrive.

In Ayurvedic medicine, summer is governed
by the elements of fire and water.
When balanced, this creates vitality, focus, and radiant energy.

But look around—this time of year,
everything has become dry, parched, brown.
The water element that should cool and flow has evaporated,
leaving only the blazing intensity of untempered fire.

We see it in nature. We feel it in our bodies.

The frenetic energy of going, going, going.
Even our rest has an agenda.
Even our vacations need productivity metrics.

But here's what our ancestors knew that we've forgotten:
the fire season was meant to be followed by rest.
The intense doing was preparation for the fallow times,
when life naturally slowed down.

We've eliminated the fallow.

And now we wonder why we're burning out
in the season that's supposed to rejuvenate us.

THE DEEP TAKE

Where we go deeper—science, story, truth.

Last week, I found myself moving at the pace of the sun
with none of its wisdom.

Jumping from one obligation to the next.
Relying purely on my own energy reserves to keep me going.

The endless taxi service to summer activities.
Business creation mixed with family visits.
Getting my son ready for college while trying
to maintain the momentum of everything else.

I was fire without water.
Intensity without flow.

And my whole being was screaming for
something I couldn't quite name until I found myself
standing in the forest at the edge of a creek, desperate for
the smell of damp earth and the sound of moving water.

That's when I remembered what I'd been teaching but not practicing:
even in the season of fire, we get to choose the water element.

We get to choose flow over force.

The ancient wisdom of Ayurveda teaches us
that summer's fire element, when unbalanced,
creates inflammation, irritability, and exhaustion.

The water element—coolness, flow, allowing—
is what keeps the fire sustainable instead of destructive.

But somewhere between "making the most of summer"
and "getting everything done while the kids are busy,"
we've been choosing more fire when our systems are begging for water.

I've watched brilliant women—entrepreneurs, mothers, leaders—
push through summer like it's another quarter to optimize.
Adding activities because "the weather is nice."
Saying yes to gatherings because "we should take advantage of the season."

Meanwhile, their bodies are in a constant state of activation.
Their sleep is disrupted by the long daylight hours.
Their digestion is off from eating on the go between activities.
Their creativity is dulled by the constant stimulation.

They want to think this is about being productive.
But what’s really happening is depletion.

The cultural push to maintain, perform, and pack every sunny day
with activity used to serve a purpose.

Our ancestors worked intensely during summer to prepare for winter—
to harvest, preserve, and store what they needed
for the months when life naturally contracted.

But life doesn't contract anymore.

We've created a 24/7 world where even winter
requires the same intensity as summer.

There is no season of rest.
No period of restoration.
No natural rhythm to honor.

Which means the discernment to create our own rhythm—
our own balance of fire and water—
becomes an act of leadership.

Not just self-leadership, but leadership for everyone watching.
Our children, who are learning their relationship to productivity and rest.
Our teams, who take cues from our pace.
Our communities, who mirror our choices.

When I finally allowed myself to stop—
to sleep in the middle of the day when the sun was at its highest,
to sit by the water instead of rushing to the next thing,
to eat cold, juicy fruit instead of grabbing whatever was convenient—
something in my system exhaled for the first time in weeks.

Not because I was lazy.
Because I was wise.

The fire element will always be there.
The sun will always set late in July.
The cultural pressure to maximize every moment of summer will always exist.

But the water element—flow, coolness, allowing—
that's a choice we make moment by moment.

It's the choice to move with grace for ourselves instead of force.
To respond instead of react.
To lead our energy instead of being led by external demands.

This is the self-leadership summer requires:
the ability to stay centered in the fire without being consumed by it.

IN REAL LIFE

What it actually looks like.

The antidote to summer syndrome isn't more vacation days.
It's micro-moments of water element woven into the fire of your days.

Here's how to stay fluid when everything around you is blazing:

Seek the forest when you feel the flame. 
When your body is overstimulated—when you feel that frenetic,
can't-stop energy—get into nature immediately.
Not the manicured park or the crowded beach. The forest. The green.
Where you can smell damp earth and hear water moving.
Touch the coolness. Let your system remember that
not everything in summer has to be hot and bright and busy.

Bring water elements into your environment. 
Your home should feel like a sanctuary from the heat,
not another source of stimulation. Add flowing water—
a small fountain, a bowl of cool water with floating flowers.
Use cooling colors: blues, soft greens, whites.
Keep curtains drawn during the hottest part of the day.
Create pockets of coolness in your physical space that
remind your body it's safe to slow down.

Honor the night hours. 
Summer's extended daylight tricks your circadian rhythm into
thinking you should be "on" until 9 or 10 PM. But your body needs
the cooling, calming energy of nighttime. Go outside after sunset.
Watch the moon. Feel the cool air on your skin. Let darkness be
a signal to your body that it's time to shift from doing to being.

Eat for your constitution, not the calendar. 
Just because it's summer doesn't mean you need hot coffee, spicy food,
or heavy meals. Choose cooling foods: cucumber, melon, coconut water,
leafy greens. Eat when you're actually hungry, not when the schedule
demands it. Let food be medicine for your overheated system.

Practice the art of thermal regulation. 
Your body responds to temperature as much as activity. Take cool showers.
Place a cold cloth on the back of your neck.
Drink room-temperature water slowly.
These aren't just comfort measures; they're physiological reset tools
that help you stay centered when external heat (literal and metaphorical)
threatens to overwhelm you.

Set energetic boundaries around "summer expectations." 
Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
The long days aren't an invitation to pack more in—they're an opportunity
to move at a more sustainable pace. Practice saying:
"That sounds lovely, but I'm protecting my energy this season."
Or: "I'm learning to move with flow instead of force this summer."

The goal isn't to avoid all activity or intensity.
It's to maintain the balance that keeps fire sustainable instead of destructive.

Water doesn't resist fire—
it transforms it into something beautiful and life-giving.

FROM THE WELL

What’s supporting the rhythm.

There's something amazing about choosing cooling over heating
when everything around you is ablaze.

Your system knows the difference between things
that add to the fire and those that offer refuge.
Your body recognizes when something is truly nourishing
versus merely aesthetic or functional.

This week, I'm inviting you into the art of thermal devotion—
the luxury of choosing what cools, calms, and restores
rather than what stimulates and depletes.

Cooling Protection Ursa Major Golden Hour Recovery Cream 
A deeply hydrating, plant-based moisturizer that is fantastic for year-round use,
but I especially love it for after-sun use this time of year (which is pretty much every day).  Store in the refrigerator for an extra temperature drop that signals your
body to shift into rest mode.

Weighted Calm Nodpod Weighted Silk Sleep Mask 
The combination of gentle pressure and cooling temperature helps reset
your system when it's overstimulated. Keep it in the freezer, then use
during afternoon rest or before sleep. Good for all sleep positions
(great for side-sleepers), no strap, 100% black-out, premium soothing silk.

Internal Cooling Moon Juice Magnesi-Om 
Mix with cold water for a calming, magnesium-rich drink that supports
your body's natural ability to unwind and helps counteract the effects of heat stress.

Water Element Bamboo Tabletop Fountain 
The sound of flowing water immediately shifts the energy of any room from
stimulating to soothing. Place it where you work or rest most often.
(Available at most home decor retailers or Amazon)

THE LAST WORD

Life is always up for interpretation.

The feelings that surge through you come and go like the seasons.
The external environment will always influence your internal state.
You can feel caught up in the cultural fire of summer—
or you can choose to bring back the element that creates balance.

You don't have to wait for fall to feel centered.
You don't have to accept "this is just what summer brings."
You get to create your life in every moment, every day, every season.

What you choose to energize within yourself today
becomes the foundation your next season is built upon.

If you value flow and clarity, balance and precision, elegance and poise—
the discernment that allows you to fine-tune that dial is best practiced
in the moments when life feels most intense.

Because here's what I know to be true:
as women, we were made from fire,
but we were created for flow.
For grace.
For elegance.

That energetic principle—the way you choose to show up
not just in the off-season but every season
is where you get to shine brightest.

Until next week…

Be well. Be fierce. Be lavish.