Equinox | You need this fall equinox yoga flow

Written by: Caitlin
Date: 09.12.19
Category: Body
Tags: YogaWorkoutsRegeneration
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This 40-minute guided audio practice will help you through seasonal shifts.

“In yogic philosophy, the body has a sun (pingala) side and moon (ida) side,” explains Felicia Csolak, a New York City-based yoga teacher and group fitness instructor at Equinox. “The sun side is associated with strength, dominance, and action while the moon side is associated with intuition, vulnerability, reflection, and stillness.”

You can also see elements of pingala and ida in the seasons—and if you can “harmonize with the outside world, you’ll bring harmony within,” says Csolak. “Where summer is action-packed, green, and thriving, winter is more of a time for stillness, hibernation and reflection." The spring and fall, then, are transition periods.

“By maintaining balance during the fall, we make the transition from summer to winter less harsh and abrupt and less stressful,” says Csolak. The autumnal equinox, on September 23, is a great opportunity to seek out that balance because the duration of light (day) and dark (night) are equal. Csolak created this 40-minute guided audio flow to help you do just that.

The sequence starts off with nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breath). “This form of breath work balances out our sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems and calms down our fight or flight reflexes,” says Csolak. As for the asanas: “We can equate the 'strength' and 'flight' postures with the sun side, while 'surrender' and 'grounding' are associated with the moon side,” Csolak explains. To explore that dynamic, she purposefully paired certain poses together. For example, in Extended Side Angle you need the strength and action to hold the posture, then immediately you go into Pyramid in order to surrender, release, and go within.

For max benefits, perform the sequence on or as close to the equinox as possible. You can do it as often as every day, "but practitioners should work within their limits,” says Csolak. If you don’t have time to do the full flow, doing the breath exercise alone will work wonders, Csolak adds.

You’ll need a yoga mat and, optionally, two blocks.