The earth is turning inward. Unlike many of us, bent on increasing our already over-stressed, too-busy lives with additional holiday activities, the earth is slowing down, retreating from over abundance and the work of outward growth. We are spending more time in darkness, which serves as a reminder that this is our time to turn inward so that we may reflect and rejuvenate.

Mary Oliver writes in one of her newest poems, “Lines Written in the Days of Growing Darkness:”

Every year we have been
witness to it: how the
world descends

into a rich mash, in order that
it may resume.
And therefore
who would cry out

to the petals on the ground
to stay,
knowing as we must,
how the vivacity of what was is married

to the vitality of what will be?

It is a gift to witness this descending and to allow ourselves the same sort of movement inward so that we too can resume with a freshness we often cheat ourselves of discovering. Yin yoga and Yoga Nidra are two of the gifts of our practice that we can discover anytime, but are especially soothing at this time of year.

Yang practices are important; however, too often practitioners engage in as many stimulating classes as possible without realizing the importance of the yin. Yang represent change and strives for improvement, while yin in about acceptance, inhabiting ourselves just as we are. When the two are in balance, we have the ability to be aware and to make choices equally. Too much of either quality may cause disease, in part because of an overtaxed sympathetic nervous system that becomes exhausted by chronic stress. It is important to maintain a balance of both. There is no better time than now, when fall is slipping into winter, to remedy an overheated body and mind, an overstressed life, with the balance of yin and with rest.

Take this time to learn more about a yin practice by attending a slower paced class or adding some longer held postures into your personal yoga practice. Some people encounter intense physical or emotional sensations around the long-held yoga poses. As sensations become more intense we have the opportunity to become softer, to sink deeper in and become quiet, keen observers. Learning to watch as sensations arise without judging those sensations is the key to being able to watch emotions arise off the mat, without having to attach personal meaning to those emotions. As we practice this on the mat, we can learn to watch, breathing as we watch, then remain with these sensations as they peak and dissipate. In this way, we learn about our capacity to be with discomfort and to make room for the freshness of “what will be,” as we experience the reality that no sensation is permanent.

It is not easy to release into a quieter way of living, but if we allow ourselves some space for this practice, the sweetness of it will be revealed. Taking cues from the earth, allow yourself the space to turn inward, to slow down and become an observer of your breath and thoughts. Gifts abound this time of year–give yourself this one.