Why Autumn Equinox is so powerful
Autumn Equinox is a powerful time of year that you can celebrate and honour through your yoga practice.
The Equinoxes are the 2 times of the year where the day and night are equal lengths, one in spring and one in autumn. These are 2 of the Sabbat festivals in the Celtic wheel of the year which has been used for centuries to plan and connect to the cycles of nature and the earth.
Autumn Equinox, sometimes also called Mabon, is the harvest festival. For our agricultural ancestors this would literally refer to a time for harvesting crops, assessing whether there was enough to last through winter, and practicing gratitude for what the earth delivered.
This ritual is still hard wired into us, and can be applied to our modern lives.
While we might not physically harvest anything, there will be things that you have been working on (even subconsciously) that have come to fruition as the summer ends. You will naturally reflect on your summer, and now is a great time to deliberately practice gratitude towards everything you experienced. Autumn is also a time of change for a lot of us, especially those who work & study by the academic calendar. It’s a time to pause, take stock and, just like our ancestors, assess whether we have everything in place for winter.
“Whilst the Spring Equinox manifests equilibrium before action, the Autumn Equinox represents the relaxation that comes after action. It’s the time to take satisfaction in the work of the summer and reap its benefits.” - Witch, Lisa Lister
This year this powerful season is heightened by the new moon happening 2 days later! Like the Autumn Equinox, New Moon is also a time to pause, reflect, express gratitude for the lunar cycle that has passed, and set intentions and plan for the cycle just beginning.
How to integrate Autumn Equinox in your yoga practice
Balance - As this is one of the two points of the year when day and night, sun and moon are balanced, this is a great time to bring balance into your practice and into your life. Try a balancing breath practice like alternate nostril breathing (Nadi Shodhana) and physical balances like tree pose.
Gratitude - This is a perfect time for gratitude practices (although is there ever an imperfect time?) Reflect on the year so far, the summer, and the last lunar cycle, and brain dump everything your grateful for.
Declutter - This can be applied to any physical/emotional/mental/spiritual clutter that has accumulated over the year. Be honest with yourself, is there anything in your life that needs to change? The rose tinted glasses of summer can mean you might gloss over any niggling issues, now is the time to be honest with yourself and put things in place before you settle into winter.
Do you need to change job? Have an honest conversation with a family member? Embed a routine of self care activities? Clear out your junk drawer?
Rest - The heightened energy of summer is waning and now is the time to incorporate more rest into your life and your yoga practice as your own energy starts to turn inward. If you need another reminder (let’s admit it, most of us are quite bad at resting!) the New Moon is another signal to rest, as the opposite point in the lunar cycle to the energetic phase of Full Moon.
And don’t forget that rest is radical! (especially for those socialised as female) By observing the equinoxes we acknowledge that we are not the same all year round, and that nature did not intend for us to hustle and work at 100% all the time.
Food - As this is the harvest festival, the most fitting celebration is sharing hearty food with friends. What a coincidence that this also coincides with the Great British Bakeoff returning to our screens…
Celebrate the Autumn Equinox & New Moon with me with restorative yoga, meditation, journalling, and a sharing circle - Friday 23rd September 6-7pm at Strathclyde Students’ Union, Glasgow city centre.