How to Harness the Summer Solstice Energy Without Burning Out
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As we approach the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, we arrive at the pinnacle of light. The longest day, the shortest night. A natural high point in the calendar year where the sun holds us in its fullest and most radiant embrace.
In leadership, timing is everything. And the Solstice invites us into one of nature’s most powerful energetic windows. However, while the external world bursts with vitality, many high-performing women find themselves exhausted. Why?
Light is Activation
Sunlight is more than illumination, it is a biological and energetic catalyst. As the sunlight hours increase, our body literally takes in more light. Our systems activate in response. You might notice you're staying up later, waking earlier, feeling more alert, even restless. There’s a reason for that. Light activates the nervous system, stimulating the pineal gland, influencing circadian rhythms, and even triggering cellular communication. (Emerging research in biophotonics explores how cells communicate via light.)
But here lies the paradox: the season of high energy can leave many high-achievers drained, especially if the deeper foundations for that energy haven’t been built (or the need for them recognised) in the darker seasons.
Cyclical Energy: A Feminine Framework for Sustainability
For women, especially those leading in high-pressure environments, understanding and honouring natural cycles is key to sustainable performance. Unlike the linear productivity model, nature moves in cycles: growth, bloom, rest, renewal.
“The energy of summer needs to be met with energy cultivated in winter. Without that deep fuel, the intensity of the light can feel like pressure rather than power.”
Many of us haven’t truly rested and rebuilt during the darker seasons and that means we’re entering the brightest part of the year without a full store of internal resource. This can mean, we are out of balance and our physical, mental and emotional health can suffer. If you didn’t get enough deep rest in winter, real rest, the kind that repairs the nervous system and replenishes your energetic stores, then this surge of summer light can feel overwhelming and exhausting. Your body may be activated by the light of the Solstice, but without a stable internal reserve, the energy can burn fast and fizzle out quickly. This peak of solar energy may feel more like burnout than brilliance.
Just like throwing kindling on a fire gives a quick burst of heat, it doesn’t last. True, lasting energy comes from the slow burn, from solid fuel like seasoned wood, that’s been built and tended over time. If this is resonating and you don’t think you have built this kind of sustainable fuel, don’t worry. You can begin now.
Women in particular understand, live within (and need!) cycles, monthly, annually, and across life stages. Honour these rhythms, and energy becomes sustainable. Ignore them, and we risk running on empty during the very season meant for expression and joy.
Restorative Practices for Summer Vitality
To harness the energy of the Solstice and protect yourself from burnout, it’s vital to support your body’s rest and repair systems, especially during sleep. If you’re noticing fatigue beneath the momentum, it’s a call to rest more deeply. Not just longer sleep, but deeper, faster entry into the rest-and-repair state your body craves (your symapthetic nervous system). Here are a few practical shifts that can help make a real difference:
Cool your sleep environment. A cooler room under 18°C supports deeper REM cycles. Open a window if you can, that will help cool the room and circulate fresh air.
Sleep in the dark. If blackout blinds aren’t an option, try an eye mask. (I resisted for while - due to some crazy belief systems I was holding on to, to do with it making me a bit of a princess - but I have got over that and now I travel with it everywhere. I even invested in a silk one: lightweight, washable, and incredibly effective.)
Avoid blue light before bed. Give your brain a full three-hour window without screens. If you do watch something, wear blue light–blocking glasses. No doom scrolling. Protect your melatonin.
Finish eating at least three hours before bed. Digestion delays deep sleep. Let your body wind down fully.
True vitality comes from deep, sustained fuel, and those habits that are built over time. If you didn’t lay the foundation in the darker winter months, don’t worry. You can begin now, observing and honouring your own rhythms. These small but powerful rituals create the conditions for quality rest. You may still sleep fewer hours during summer, but the depth of that rest matters more than the length.
Ground Your Energy Daily
The energy of summer is expansive, outward-facing, and fast-moving (yang). Grounding provides the necessary counterbalance. Here’s where nature becomes not just a metaphor, but a medicine:
Grounding: Start your day standing barefoot on the earth. Even 5 minutes helps. Grounding or ‘earthing’ is more than symbolic; it has a physiological effect on the nervous system. This simple practice helps balance your body’s electromagnetic field and supports your nervous system. It realigns us to natural frequencies. (If you’re curious, there’s a wealth of research available, just search for ‘groundology’).
Early sunlight exposure (without sunglasses) Get sunlight on your face early. Letting natural light hit your eyes supports your circadian rhythm and anchors your presence. Take a few deep breaths. Let yourself arrive. This small practice can really help attune you to the rhythms of nature.
Tech-free nature walks: Choose one walk to do around each Solstice and Equinox, without devices, podcasts, music, and even company. Observe. Notice how the land has changed. Notice the colours. What wildlife can you hear? Let yourself be part of the cycle, not just to witness it. Notice the subtle shifts each time you do the walk. This can be a reminder of nature’s intricate intelligence and will help attune you to natural cycles and your own inner wisdom.
“We are not separate from nature, we ARE nature. When we align with it, we find sustainable energy and clarity.”
These practices, quiet, simpleand embodied, help us carry the Solstice energy in a more sustainable way. They build the foundation for clarity, vitality, and connection, not just in summer, but across the whole cycle of the year.
If you’d like to hear more about the Importance of Grounding why not have a listen to our Speed Coaching session all about - The Importance of Grounding
The Leadership Edge: Fire Without Burnout
Solstice energy is powerful, creative, and intense, not too dissimilar to the corporate environments we operate in. But without the discipline of integration, this energy can scatter rather than empower.
“Think of your energy like a woodburner: kindling flares fast, but it’s the seasoned logs that warm the room for hours.”
This principle applies directly to leadership. Your presence, your impact, your clarity. These are all outcomes of how well you manage your internal energy. Strategic rest fuels consistent, authentic output. And it’s your responsibility to build that fuel.
Living in Rhythm: Nature as Executive Intelligence
The Solstice invites you to recalibrate not just your energy, but your leadership.
What does it mean to lead with vitality, not depletion?
How would your calendar shift if it aligned with your natural energy peaks and troughs?
What could change in your leadership style if your nervous system were supported and regulated?
These aren’t abstract ideas, they’re tangible strategies that Indigo Brave coaches many Women Executives through, in our Quantum Success Course, our Group Coaching and our 1-1 Coaching. Many of our Clients are now integrating to expand their success without sacrificing their wellbeing.
Final Reflection
The Summer Solstice reminds us that light is not infinite. It peaks, it softens, it fades. But when we honour its rhythm, and our own, we create a kind of leadership that is luminous and sustainable.
Let the Solstice illuminate your path, but don’t forget to feed the fire. Not just the flame, the fuel.