June Newsletter 2025 : “Play”

Summer brings a certain electricity—long days, bright light, and the sense that life is happening all at once. It’s exciting, yes—but for many of us, it’s also too much. The heat outside mirrors a rising heat within: frustration, irritability, urgency, and intensity all come to the surface.

In Ayurveda, this is the season of Pitta—ruled by fire and water, sharpness and transformation. When balanced, Pitta gives us clarity and drive. But when summer pushes it too far, it can show up as acidic digestion, skin flare-ups, critical thoughts, impatience, and emotional heat.

That’s why this season doesn’t just call for cooling foods or early mornings—it calls for a shift in attitude. And the antidote? Play. Not performance, not productivity—true play. The kind that softens the mind, cools the heart, and reminds us we’re more than what we do.

Whether it’s laughing at something silly, taking a spontaneous dip, or letting go of perfection, play offers a necessary pause—a way to respond to the heat without reacting to it.

Try This: Summer Practices That Invite Play + Cooling

• Let go of the list (even for a moment). Notice what happens when you release the need to check something off.
• Favor watery, relaxed movement. Swim, float, stretch slowly. Let your body feel like water.
• Choose simple, joyful meals. Cold watermelon in the shade. Coconut-mint chutney. Kitchari with lime. Nourishment doesn’t have to be complex.
• Cool your senses. Mist with rosewater. Gaze at the moon. Listen to something soft and beautiful.
• Laugh more, scroll less. Give your nervous system real release, not just distraction.

Ayurveda Doesn’t Just Ask Us to Balance—It Asks Us to Listen

If you’re feeling short-tempered, overstimulated, or just plain tired of the push, you’re not doing summer wrong. You’re feeling what’s real. The invitation is to respond with care, not control. To soften, not shut down.

Let this season be one of loosening, laughing, and lightening up—not as a way to avoid the heat, but as a way to move through it with grace.

A Personal Invitation to Cleanse: July 14–20

If you’re feeling the need for a gentle reset, I’d love to invite you to join me for a 7-day guided Ayurvedic cleanse this July—a nourishing and accessible way to realign with your body’s natural rhythms.

This is Cory—fellow practitioner and co-director of Vital Living. I’m guiding this seasonal cleanse to help us slow down, clear out what’s no longer serving, and reconnect with ourselves through the time-tested tools of Ayurveda and Yoga.

What’s included:
 Daily guidance for food, herbs, and lifestyle
 Simple, supportive self-care practices
 Live online sessions in yoga, meditation, and breathwork (July 7–27)
 A warm community space for questions and reflection

Whether you’re new to Ayurveda or deep in your practice, this experience is a chance to reset with care and intention.

Cleanse Dates: July 14–20
Enrollment is now open!
As a gift to the Vital Living community, I’m offering a 10% friends and family discount—use the link below to join us:

 https://corytixier.mykajabi.com/offers/aGBWysMj/checkout?coupon_code=VITALFAM10

The reason why this newsletter is so late is because every time I sat down to write something about “play,” it felt like I needed to actually play rather than write about it, so I would get up and do something playful instead! In the past I remember feeling that writing WAS playful. It’s creative and spontaneous nature would fill me with joy and excitement. Now suddenly I was feeling the pressure and expectation of getting this newsletter out in a timely fashion and this somehow took all the play out of it.

It reminded me of my childhood. Summer is supposed to be the time to put the books away and play! I remember summer fun programs, summer school, more trips to the beach, art classes, dance classes, and being super busy doing things all summer. As I sit here writing I realize that although I did have some fun, I didn’t really play much. I know there was great intention on my parents and friends part to have me play, however I somehow couldn’t embrace this idea of play! My life was so busy, so planned, so in control! There was so much pressure and expectation. In sharing with my sister about our childhood I sometimes wonder if we actually did grow up in the same household. She remembers playing a lot. Often it seemed we had completely different memories of the same event! For example, I have this memory of us going to the beach as a kid and spreading out the mat and then my mother saying, “go play, just stay on the mat, use these toys, don’t get sandy etc.” and I felt a bit paralyzed even though I did pretend to “play,” it didn’t feel like play to me at all. We did many wonderful things growing up, and I definitely feel fortunate to have had a diverse and rich childhood, I just don’t remember playing much.

The beach, a class, a job, a party, writing, they can all be playful or NOT, depending completely on how it’s presented to us and how we FEEL about it. Suddenly writing FEELS playful again, even though literally moments ago it felt like a chore. It’s playful now because I realize I don’t have to do it and I really can do it when and how I want to. And this is the true nature of play. As soon as I took the pressure, expectation and control away it became much more playful!

And more importantly, here’s the good news! Even if you didn’t play much as a child or for that matter, haven’t played much in your life, you CAN start playing anytime! It’s not ever too late! I learned to play much later in my life! I just needed to get used to the unpredictable nature of play. There were some key people who supported me in this process. They made a safe space to lean into being out of control! And I know I would not be as healthy and vital today if I hadn’t learned to play. It is an essential part of being vitally alive! It is an extremely personal and powerful expression of our inner being! Play allows our unique birthright nature to go into the wilderness of our creative imagination and explore, run around and be free! Check it out! Take the expectation and control away and see what manifests! Keep the respect and care for others, just let go of some of the pressure and see how it feels!

It’s like when a kid wants to play in the sprinkler and mom says, it’s not practical, not reasonable, we don’t have a change of clothes, you might get sick from the wet hair and the wind, we don’t have the time, have things to do, places to go… and then play just goes out the window. What happens? Little by little our exploratory creative nature gets more and more squashed until it just hides under a rock and doesn’t come out. Then someday it gets aroused and what happens? Could be craziness, could be wonderful. Sometimes suppressed play turns into an explosion. A gentler way may be in little ways get more and more comfortable with the unpredictable, not necessarily reasonable or practical essential nature of play.

It’s different for everyone so don’t judge your play by how others respond. Are you getting the little tingles? Is there a feeling in your gut that the little kid inside you is rolling around laughing? It’s good for your belly. It’s good for your soul. It’s not always that easy at first if you haven’t played much in your life so don’t shut it down too quickly. Give it some time. It might take a little digging and a few stumbles. Let your friends and loved ones know you’re exploring and ask for support. We’re all in this together! If we all played more, if our work was play and our play was work, what kind of a different world might we create?