Yoga to Harvest: A Seasonal Practice for the Autumn Equinox

It’s the first days of September and we stand with one foot placed in the summer that’s passed, one foot striding forward to the season ahead, with darker eves and crisper climates creeping in. The feeling of change in the air is strong and it’s common to experience feelings of imbalance, nervousness for the future and regrets of a lost past at this time of year. Don’t worry summer’s lost nostalgists, you’re not alone. Blame it on the season.

A tradition sits on the day of the fullest moon (or Harvest Moon) where farming communities would celebrate the bringing in of a final crop from the fields. A gathering of stores for the upcoming winter and a big old feast to say thanks for the hard season’s labour. The term ‘harvest’ originates from the Old English word hærfest meaning ‘autumn’. This is the season for gathering the food of the land, the process of reaping the rewards of a summer spent setting, cultivating and selectively picking crops to feed a community for the winter.

Harvest festivals, rituals and ceremonies exist the world over. Here in the UK Saxon farmers would craft symbolic corn dolls from the last sheath of the harvest. These dolls would be kept until the following spring to ensure the continuation of a good crop the next year. In Bali, villages are adorned with flags for Dewi Sri, the rice goddess during harvest season, with dedicational bamboo temples to be found in the most sacred corners of rice fields. Meanwhile in Madeira in Portugal colourful flower carpets line the streets to celebrate horticulture ready to pick.

So, a celebration of the harvest season is universal and it seems fitting to embed the seasonal principles of harvesting and gathering into an autumnally inspired yoga practice. The aim, a sense of emotional balance as we align our movement and thoughts with nature’s seasonality, developing a practice to cultivate from months past and set seeds of intention for days to come.

Mimi Kuo Deemer writes of the practice of self-cultivation beautifully in her book on the Chinese art ‘Xiu Yang’.

“When we water the seeds that are healthy for us, such as being kind, generous or compassionate, more of these same types of seeds will germinate and grow”.

Differing from self-care practices, this process of self-cultivation is based on growing from what we have, rather than uprooting our personality and habits at the core to become an instant new-and-better-you (note: may lead to disappointment). This process is a fluid, where we constantly create and adapt the conditions for our intentions to grow. Like a plant carefully watered, pruned and repotted to allow it to flourish.

Here’s three simple seasonal exercises to build into your yoga practice for a sense of self-cultivation in the changing seasons.

Breathwork to Harvest: Nadi Shodhana

A perfect pranayama exercise for circulating breath between the left and right sides of the brain and body. Creating a sense of balance in changing times. This practice creates symmetry in the flow of energy, life-force or prana, through the ida (the left, or moon) and pingala (the right, or sun) channels. This is wonderfully illustrative of the Autumnal Equinox - when our day and night are of perfectly equal length.

Begin by building a comfortable and spacious posture by resting both sit bones evenly in a cross legged or kneeling position (do grab any blocks, bricks and cushions to elevate the pelvis and make this as comfortable as possible). Roll your shoulders down the back and open the chest broadly. Raise the crown of the head towards the sky and subtly lean the head back in space. This posture should feel naturally alert, but not strained. 

Bring your dominant hand in towards your face and rest your non-dominant hand on your thigh or knee. Place your index and middle finger at the point between the eyebrows. We’ll then be using the thumb and ring fingers to alternately block each nostril.

Exhale completely through both sides of the nose. Softly block the right nostril, inhaling through just the left for the count of four. At the top of your breath, block the left nostril and release the right. Exhale through just the right nostril for the count of four. Softly inhale back in through just the right nostril for the count of four. At the top of your breath, block the right nostril and release the left. Exhale through just the left nostril for the count of four.

Repeat for around 5 minutes, or about 10 rounds.

At the end of your last round, return the dominant hand to the knee or thigh and softly breathe through both sides of the nose allowing the breath to flood both sides of the body.

Once you’ve mastered this, try building in a moment's pause at the top and the bottom of your inhales. Use this retention as a moment to reflect, before stepping into your next breath.

Asana to Harvest: Autumn Salutations

This variation on traditional sun salutations adds a grounding childs pose to the flow. Try taking this one a little slower than you would normally - adding an extra breath in each childs pose to notice the sensation of rooting in your body. This salutation works beautifully at sun down as well as sun rise.

Begin in a childs pose, bringing your big toes to touch and your knees out as wide as the mat. Sink your hips back. You should feel a gentle opening sensation in the outer hips as well as a stretch across the back of the thighs. Place your palms down in front of you and spread the fingers wide, imagining roots drawing down to the Earth from each fingertip. Take 10 breaths here allowing the body to feel heavy and grounded.

Slowly lift up into downward dog. Again, spreading your fingers wide and noticing a rooting sensation beneath the hands. As you inhale, feel the hip bones rising up as the heels draw closer to the Earth. You should feel a generous stretch in the hamstrings. Hold here for 10 breaths.

Walk the feet forwards to meet the hands. Allow the torso to fold forwards over the legs, using the natural weight of the head to stretch out the back of the spine.

Bend the knees as much as you need to in order to slowly lift your self up to standing as you inhale, bringing the palms to chest as you exhale. In your mountain pose, feel a wide and expansive footprint beneath your soles. Imagine tree roots drawing deep into the ground. Drawing from these roots, feel a sense of elevation along the whole length of the body until the crown of the head rises up like a flower to the sky.

As you inhale, lift both arms up. As you exhale fold forward, tilting the hips and pelvis. As you inhale lift up halfway, reaching the arms back behind you. Bend the knees as much as you need to place both palms down, before exhaling and stepping your feet into plank. Inhale in plank to hold. Exhale to drop the knees and gentle lower the body to the ground. Inhale press the palms to open the chest into cobra. Exhale to lower, then sink the hips back into childs pose. Inhale to lift hips up and back to downward dog. Hold here for five breaths then inhale to step forward and lift halfway. Exhale to fold. Inhale coming all the way up the stand, pressing palms over head and exhaling to lower.

Repeat this five times, eventually returning back to childs pose to allow the breath to slow, the heart rate to soften and the body to return to a feeling of rootedness to the ground beneath it.

Meditation to Harvest: Mantra Based Meditation

Embedding a simple and focussed mantra (or repeated word or phrase) into a meditation practice can help us process a thought and a feeling, bringing it into our life beyond the mat. 

Begin in a comfortable seated position, with the chest broad open and subtly alert, the crown of the head rising tall to the sky.

Come to place your hands in Kali Mudra by interlacing the fingers of both hands, then releasing both index fingers. This mudra is drawn from the fierce and powerful energy of the Hindu Goddess Kali. Placing the hands in this strong position will help focus the mind through our meditation practice.

Begin by taking three long and slow breaths. In through the nose and out through the nose. Feel the tail bone rooting into the earth to support and ground your practice.

Think of one simple feeling, emotion or state of mind to build into your practice. You might want to work with a seasonal word such as ‘I am balanced’ or ‘I am connected’. You can also work with any other thought or feeling that comes to mind. Always think of this mantra in the positive tense to avoid any circling negative thought patterns.

As you inhale, feel the thought or feeling filling your own body. As you exhale, imagine that same thought or feeling transmitting out to the world around you. Continue to work with this mantra for around five minutes before closing your practice by bringing the palms to touch at the chest and bowing the head forward.

This practice is a process and it’s normal for the mind to feel distracted as the mind drifts off to other feelings, to-do lists or worries. If you find yourself distracted, try to note what’s drawn your attention, without getting pulled into it’s trail of thought. Note and acknowledge the distraction and then return to the breath and your chosen mantra. 

“Without intentions, all these postures, these breathing practices, meditations, and the like can become little more than ineffectual gestures.  When animated by intention, however, the simplest movement, the briefest meditation, and the contents of one breath cycle are made potent”. Donna Farhi

Join me and my yoga teaching pals for the Harvest Moon Festival on Friday 17th September for an evening of yoga, mediation and sound to celebrate the new season. You’ll find us at Pamban Chai & Coffee House in Camden Market.