The Summer Guilt Trap (and How to Breathe Your Way Out of It)

You can have poolside naps AND productive mornings

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Now let’s talk about SUMMER! ☀️ The season of flip-flops, frosty drinks, and... maybe a little dose of guilt.

If you’re anything like me—and, let’s face it, most of my clients—you might feel a little tug-of-war happening this time of year.

On one side: the part of you that wants to savor the long days, book the trip, say yes to spontaneous ice cream runs, and bask in the delicious, societal permission to do less.

On the other: the part of you that’s quietly panicking about what’s not getting done. The client work. The projects. The routines that went out the window the second school let out (oh yes, let's not forget the extra layer of chaos that comes with kids being home).

It’s the classic summer guilt cocktail. One part craving rest, one part overachiever FOMO topped with a float of “Shouldn’t I be doing more?”

What If Summer Could Feel Different This Year?

Paradigm shift:
Summer doesn’t have to mean throwing productivity out the window and playing catch-up in September. AND it also doesn’t have to mean powering through your usual pace and missing out on the magic.

It can be a season of balance. Of intentionally shifting gears without slamming the brakes.

And your breath can help you do exactly that.

How an Overwhelmed Nervous System Find Its Summer Groove

Your body, especially your nervous system, loves rhythm. It loves predictability. It loves having signals that instruct, “Hey, it’s time to focus now,” or “Hey, let’s unwind.”

The problem is, when summer rolls around, all those rhythms go sideways. And your brain? It freaks out a little.

It doesn’t know when to relax, when to work, or which mode it’s supposed to be in. So what happens? You end up swinging wildly between hyper-productivity and couch-potato status, wondering why neither one feels all that satisfying.

This is where breathwork becomes your not-so-secret summer survival sauce.

Because your breath is like a dial—not an on/off switch. You can use it to gently turn up or down your energy, focus, and nervous system state depending on what you need right now.

It’s a cruel, cruel summer

Meet Up-Regulating and Down-Regulating Breathwork

When I say “up-regulating,” I’m talking about breathing patterns that help you feel more awake, alert, and energized. Think of it like pressing the gas pedal in a gentle, sustainable way—not flooring it and burning your engine out.

Up-regulating breaths usually involve:

• Faster-paced breathing (but still controlled. Not like when you were in 5th grade and took turns with your friends making each out hyperventilate and pass out at birthday sleepovers. Or was that just me?)

• Inhales that are longer or more emphasized than the exhales

• Techniques like coffee breathing, double breathing, or Breath of Fire

On the flip side, down-regulating breathwork is about shifting into a calmer, slower, rest-and-digest state. This is your off-ramp from stress and busy brain loops.

Down-regulating breaths typically feature:

• Slower, longer exhales (sometimes twice as long as the inhale)

• Nose breathing (always your friend, but especially when you want calm)

• Techniques like deep belly breathing, 4-7-8 breathing, or physiological sighs

Here’s the key: You can use these dials throughout the day—especially when summer throws you curveballs.

Need to knock out some work during naptime or while the kids are at camp? Do a few minutes of an up-regulating breath to spark clarity.

Finally got a quiet moment on the patio with a book but your brain is still in go mode? A down-regulating breath will help you land in your body and enjoy the moment instead of feeling guilty about it.

Breathwork is Your Surfboard (and Life Preserver)

Summer is naturally a season of change, movement, and unpredictability. Your routines are different from the rest of the year. Your energy will fluctuate. Your focus might feel patchy at times.

But instead of fighting the waves—or forcing yourself into rigid systems that worked in winter—you can learn to ride them.

Breathwork helps you attune to what your body actually needs (which, spoiler alert, might not always be what your brain is yelling at you to do).

It gives you a tool to respond in the moment, whether that’s a 30-second breath reset in the middle of a potluck or a few mindful inhales and exhales before you attempt to finish that proposal while the kids are doing cannonballs in the pool.

It lets you pause—and from that pause, choose your response.

That’s the real productivity hack of summer. Not more hours at the laptop. Not more rigid routines. But more moments of presence, where you can tap into your own internal rhythm and adjust accordingly.

So if you’ve been stuck in the summer guilt narrative, maybe it’s time to exhale. The balance is closer than you think. And it starts with your next breath.

Last Gasp

We make the mistake of labeling ourselves as nouns, when we are really verbs—we are not a runner, but rather a person who runs; we’re not a writer, but a person who writes. Our sense of self doesn’t have to be bundled up with whether we did the thing today—because we are not the things we do.
― Madeleine Dore, I Didn't Do the Thing Today: Letting Go of Productivity Guilt

Want more breathing techniques to help you regulate up or down? Grab your free 5 Breaths in 5 Minutes kit here.