Hello Summer!

Welcome June (I’m personally a Summer LOVER), and we are walking into the season of Summer.  Summer is YANG energy, full of action, heat and fire.  The Summer Solstice marks the longest day (yang = day) of the year and the shortest night (yin = night).  Let’s discuss how to work with or tamp down this energy using Holistic Feng Shui.

Here are some simple ways to welcome summer’s yang-fire energy. 

• Balance your fire element by swimming in a cold water (ocean, river, lake or pond will do).

• Wear the vibrant color red (bathing suit, shorts, tank top or sundress).

• Laugh. The sound associated with summer is laughter. Smiling works too!

• Spending time with loved ones.

• The taste for summer is bitter, so eat really good dark chocolate (Smores anyone), coffee (iced please) and garden greens (I’m loving micro greens lately).

• Self-care and self-love (so vitally important), as well as creating the space and time to do the things you love (for me that will be kayaking, cooking, spending time on my screened porch and motorcycling, as well as time with friends).

The element of Summer is Fire. The Chi (life force energy) is Yang. The colors are red, orange and yellow. It supports passion, creativity and action (full steam ahead).

If all the summer heat and Yang energy is not your jam, here are some ideas you can implement to balance it out. By including colors & symbols of yin elements, you can easily cool down the energy of a yang space this summer. 

• Add these Yin colors to tamper down the heat: pale blue, white & gray (think accessories rather than permanent change).

•  Add a gentle water feature to a vibrant space and it will soften the energy.

• Soothing music can help quiet an busy monkey mind, improve sleep and soften the energy in your home.

• A commonly overlooked way to balance energy is through our meals.  Summer can be a very busy, busy season and eating often happens as you're rushing from one place to the next, or in social settings. Slowing down the rushing yang energy at home can be done by slowing down meals, and eating with no music, phones, electronics, TV or distractions. At least one quiet meal at home every day can encourage relaxing yin energy in a busy yang season.

Whether your a summer lover like myself, or you are already yearning for Fall, stay present in the season and use the Holistic Feng Shui elements above to embrace the heat, or tone it down a notch till cooler weather is ushered in.