At West Wind Yoga Retreat, we help yoga students, yoga teachers, and studios keep practice relevant in the modern world. And we can't have a fully holistic yoga practice without a nod to the ancient wisdom traditions embedded in the upcoming fall equinox!
What is Fall Equinox?
The autumnal equinox, also called fall equinox, is the official first day of fall and when we experience a day of almost equal parts daylight and darkness. Because of the earth's revolution around the sun, at the equinoxes, the earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, compared to the solstices where planet Earth is either at its maximum or minimum tilt toward the sun. After fall equinox, the hours of daylight continue to shorten as the earth's tilt moves closer toward the sun.
Yin, Yang, and Fall Equinox
Fall equinox also welcomes the Metal element in our ongoing journey of Taoist Yoga's 5 Element Theory.
Spring and summer embody yang energy, personified by light. Bright and fast, yang is expansive, creative, and has a strong upward and outward momentum. Along with the Wood and Fire elements, Yang energy rules the spring and summer seasons.
The fall equinox welcomes the tipping of the scales toward yin energy, embodied by darkness. Cooler and slower moving than its yang counterpart, yin energy is contractive, heavy, receptive, and inward.
Traditionally across time and cultures, people have recognized not only the astrological shift of daylight and darkness, but also the more subtle energetic shift of yin and yang that drive the patterns in nature and affect our own emotions, bodies, and habits throughout the year. During Autumn, like the outer world surrounding us, our inner world is primed to reap the harvest of the year's labors thus far. When tuned into the natural flow of energy, we can mindfully prepare to move inward, ready to hunker down for the impending reflective and nurturing fall and winter seasons.
Yin and Yang are complementary forces that continually support each other in harmonious coexistence. Create your own fall equinox rituals to embrace the interplay of these forces as expressed in body, mind, and soul.
How to Celebrate Fall Equinox
Watch the sunset — and welcome the sunrise next morning. Like the interplay of yin and yang, the power of a setting sun and its symbolic end becomes supercharged when coupled with the miracle of a rising sun the very next morning. The opportunity to rest, let go, and then welcome a new beginning the very next day is a gift to acknowledge.
Light a Candle — The Fire energy that reawakens in spring and rules over summer never goes completely out. As reflected in the interplay of the yin yang symbol, a drop of yang energy is ever present in the darkness of yin, just as a touch of yin lives within yang. Light a candle in acknowledgement of this interplay of light and dark. Let it burn for at least one hour.
Gather with Friends — Fall season and the Metal element embody the harvest for the body, mind and soul. Holistically nurture yourself and others through community. Cultivate feelings of generosity, service, contentment, and gratitude through hosting, welcoming, cooking, or attending a social gathering at fall equinox.
Plant Bulbs — Have fun getting your hands dirty digging into the soil! Modify this ritual to suit your needs from outdoor garden to city balcony, to indoor terrarium. If bulbs aren't right for your climate and living space, nurture any fall plant in any sacred space you create. The bulb is a tangible symbol of the inward nurturing power of fall and winter and the glory of rebirth in the spring.
Create a Flower Bouquet — Scent and the olfactory glands are the sensory organs attributed to the Metal element. Our sense of smell is primed in fall season to elicit powerful feelings and states of mind. Spiritual teacher and author Eckart Tolle has a wonderful passage about the evolution of consciousness and flowers. Below is a excerpt from the wider lesson:
Flowers, more fleeting, more ethereal, and more delicate than the plants out of which they emerged, would become like messengers from another realm, like a bridge between the world of physical forms and the formless. They not only had a scent that was delicate and pleasing to humans, but also brought a fragrance from the realm of spirit. Using the word ‘enlightenment’ in a wider sense than the conventionally accepted one, we could look upon flowers as the enlightenment of plants.”
- Eckart Tolle from A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose
This also fits beautifully with the ancient Celtic belief that autumn is when the veil between the physical world and the spirit world thins.
Amplify Seasonal Energy with Rocks, Gemstones, and Crystals — No green thumb? Pollen allergies? Happily, the Metal element also rules the fall harvest through the gifts of gemstones, crystals, and rocks. Wear them, decorate with them, or find another way to honor them in your fall equinox ritual.
Fall Equinox Yoga Rituals
Lastly, we tend to hear a lot about letting go during fall. We seem to agree that like the trees purging their leaves, we too should be releasing as many old habits, thoughts, and things as possible that are weighing us down.
Let's turn this on its head.
Instead of focusing on letting go, direct attention to opening up.
Physically stretching with yoga opens the body which creates more ease for everyday living.
Taking deep breathes increases the blood oxygen levels in the bloodstream which can improve brain function and help new thought perspectives and connections form.
Both of these things improves the removal of cellular waste. When we feel better, we are less fearful of new ideas.
By focusing on opening up, we naturally let go.
And if yoga strengthens the body/mind/soul connection, then it naturally follows that as the physical body opens, so will the emotional and spiritual aspects of self.
I see resistance to this manifest in yoga class when students are unable to lie still in final savasana with open palms. The supine position feels vulnerable because it is, by its very nature, an open physical position. The faces, chest, stomach and palms are all open and outward. Our energy centers are exposed to ourselves and the world and we feel it.
If you struggle with letting go (and really, who doesn't in one aspect or another!?!?) show yourself compassion and loving kindness in final savasana through discipline. Be diligent to be still and keep your palms face-up, open to the ceiling. I see students cling to the floor, palms down, grasping for reassurance, or clutching the sides of the mat or the towel hoping to stave off that uncomfortable vulnerability. They would rather hold tight, cling to anything within reach rather than trust opening to the unknown.
If this sounds familiar to you, focus on your breath. Move through your body from toes up to the head using a targeted visual relaxation for one body part at a time to help you relax and in time, open up first physically and later, emotionally or spiritually.
In Conclusion
The world around us is ripe with energy to empower our days and harmonize our body, mind, heart, and soul connection. We need only open our eyes to seasonal patterns to acknowledge the existence of these ancient wisdoms and begin to share in the abundance of the universe.
Acknowledging astronomical markers, like the fall equinox, and channeling their wisdom through seasonal rituals and yoga practice connects us to something greater than ourselves.
Welcome the bounty of the season with peace, gratitude, and humility.
Namaste,
Lara
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