21st century guru Deepak Chopra tells us that "relaxation is the prerequisite for the inner expansion that allows a person to express the source of inspiration and joy within."  He seems like one chill and content dude to me, so he must be on to something!

With the lazy hazy (i.e. hot & humid in NYC) days that arrive with the unofficial start of summer comes a natural slowing down that includes an increase of time spent outdoors, at the beach, in a park or in the country, which is especially important for us city slickers. Because as a great ad by the Bronx Zoo reminds us: "Connecting with Nature. There's no app for that."

If like many of my clients you're someone who tends to go, go, go and give, give, give and feel like every minute of every day needs to be 'productive' you may have a difficult time adjusting to this slower pace and doing things that are seemingly frivolous and serve no 'purpose'. But it's essential to have a balance of both kinds of activities because it's in the relaxing that we are able to receive, whether a thought/idea/solution, time to heal, the love and affection someone is offering us or that we give to ourselves by doing something healthy that we enjoy and feels good.

So this summer make it a goal to power nap at least once a day, breathe and check in with yourself periodically, write in a journal, listen to your favorite tunes, lose yourself in a good book and savor the space between the tweets.  Give yourself a TV and Facebook fast; cook delicious meals with produce from a farmer's market. The idea is to use this season to learn the discipline of relaxing and taking pleasure in simple things, which gives you room to grow. And then you can take your new habits into a more daily routine year round...

But if you're having a hard time going from 60, 70 or 80mph to 20, 10 or even 0, give me a buzz and I'll show you how to linger in the leisure and move like the groove heard here having some Hot Fun in the Summertime!