Balancing Light + Shadow: Autumn Equinox Reflections
Twice a year, something quietly miraculous happens: day and night balance perfectly. The Autumn Equinox is one of those rare hinge points - a cosmic pause button before the tilt continues, and the nights grow longer.
In yogic philosophy, balance isn’t about standing frozen in Tree Pose without wobbling. It’s about finding steadiness within the wobble. The equinox mirrors this: a fleeting moment of symmetry before the inevitable shift.
The Season of Turning Inward
Summer is outward, fiery, expansive. Autumn invites something different: contraction, softening, gathering. Energy begins to turn inward, just like the trees pulling sap down into their roots.
Your practice may feel the same. Maybe fewer handstands, more forward folds. Maybe less “go hard,” more “go slow.” Yoga reminds us that there’s no “right” pace - only your pace in this season of your life.
Food as Seasonal Medicine
In Ayurveda, autumn is a vata season - light, airy, dry. That’s why grounding foods feel so good right now: roasted root vegetables, warming spices, hearty soups. Think nourish and anchor, not deplete and scatter. What lands on your plate can be just as much yoga as what lands on your mat.
Reflection + Ritual
The equinox is a natural check-in point:
What needs harvesting? (celebrating the growth of the past months)
What needs letting go? (like leaves released without struggle)
What seeds of intention want planting now, to rest quietly through winter until it’s their time to rise?)
A simple ritual: light a candle at dusk, journal one page about what you’re grateful for, and one page about what you’re ready to release. Then breathe. Let balance find you.
We Recommend…
Listen: José González - Heartbeats
Read: Wintering by Katherine May
So here’s your invitation this equinox:
Honour both your light and your shadow. Savour the harvest of who you’ve been, and soften into the becoming of who you’re still unfolding into.
See you on the mat—wobbles, blankets, and all.