As summer’s vibrant energy and warmth gradually fade, autumn beckons us to slow down and reflect. This season invites us to notice the shifts in the external world and our internal landscape of thoughts and feelings. Autumn is a time for grounding, renewal, and letting go. Just as leaves fall from trees, we too can release what no longer serves us, creating space for new beginnings and deeper self-awareness. This transitional period offers an excellent opportunity to align our yoga practice with the natural rhythms of the earth, fostering stability, gratitude, and introspection.
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Ayurveda and Asana in Autumn
In Ayurveda, autumn is closely associated with the Vata Dosha, characterized by dryness, coolness, irregularity, movement, and a sense of lightness. The shift from warm to cooler weather can sometimes lead to feelings of anxiety, restlessness, and a craving for mental and emotional comfort and stability.
To support your well being during this period of transition, embrace practices that ground, nourish, calm, detoxify, and harmonize your body, heart, and mind. Incorporating asanas that balance the Vata Dosha can help you navigate this seasonal shift with grace, ease, and inner peace.
Yoga Asanas for Autumn
Grounding, warming, detoxifying, and calming yoga poses are particularly beneficial during autumn, helping to stabilize the Vata Dosha while soothing the mind and invigorating the body. We have listed the best asanas that support autumn’s energy by their main energetic effects. Click on the posture name to read the full step-by-step instructions and further benefits and modifications.
Grounding Poses
Grounding postures are vital for establishing a sense of stability and connection to the earth during this transitional season. They help us feel centered, stable, strong, and mindful—qualities that resonate with the reflective nature of fall.
Balasana (Child’s Pose)
This restorative pose quiets the mind and eases worry and stress. It provides a gentle and soothing stretch that releases tension in the lower back, hips, and legs. The grounding energy of Balasana helps anchor our energy against Vata’s erratic tendencies. The abdominal organs are also gently massaged, promoting digestion and supporting one to let go of lingering negative emotions or stressful thought patterns.- Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II)
This powerful warrior stance embodies strength, courage, determination, resilience, and focus. As you ground down through your feet and legs, feel the support and stability of the earth below. With arms extended in opposite directions, Warrior II encourages you to find balance amidst opposites and mental clarity as you navigate the tricky transitions of life. - Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
This beginner friendly pose promotes presence, cultivates awareness, and improves posture. It instills a potent sense of stability, stillness and groundedness—all especially beneficial as we navigate autumn’s changes. With the hands in prayer position, it reminds us to stand firm, centered and focused even as the winds of change blow all around us.
Warming Poses
As we move into the colder months of autumn, keeping your body warm and energized becomes essential. Warming poses not only generate internal heat but also stimulate circulation, boost energy, and invigorate the mind and spirit.
- Utkatasana (Chair Pose)
Holding Chair is a fantastic way to ignite your inner fire. This challenging squat boosts stamina, endurance, vitality, determination and resilience—all qualities that resonate well with the introspective nature of autumn. Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I)
Warrior I encourages you to stand tall and confident in the face of uncertainty, challenges, and seasonal changes. This active pose grounds you in the present moment and provides the inner strength and determination to stand tall with an open heart needed to navigate the transitions of autumn.- Navasana (Boat Pose)
This asana activates the solar plexus chakra and strengthens the core, promoting empowerment, inner radiance, willpower, confidence, and focus. As you hold this asana, feel the fire element shining brightly, helping to dispel the shadows of self-doubt and uncertainty that arise during the autumn months. - Surya Namaskar A (Sun Salutation A)
This sequence is a dynamic flow of asanas that warms the entire body and promotes the flow of energy through the nadis and chakras. Allow these warming, harmonizing, energizing movements to balance the qualities of Vata Dosha.
Detoxifying Poses
- Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes Pose)
This seated twist wrings out impurities in the abdominal organs and releases negative thoughts in the mind. With each exhalation, visualize stagnant energy, negative emotions, and old patterns that no longer serve you being let go of. As you inhale, breathe in vitality, clarity, and rejuvenation into your heart, mind, and kidneys. - Parivrtta Utkatasana (Revolved Chair Pose)
This challenging asana combines a fiery squat with a cleansing twist. Revolved Chair promotes balance and stability, which counteracts the restlessness and irregularity of autumn. It also activates our Agni or inner fire, to stimulate digestion, promote detoxification, and burn up negativity, self-doubt, and attachment.
Calming Poses
Immune Strengthening Poses
As we move into autumn, our immune systems often need extra support to fend off seasonal colds and flu. Immune-strengthening poses enhance your body’s defenses by improving circulation, enhancing lung capacity, activating the lymphatic system, and promoting overall vitality.
Setu Bandhasana (Bridge Pose)
Back-bending postures open and strengthen the chest and lungs to help prevent respiratory infections that often arise with cooler weather and the shifts in seasons. Bridge also stimulates the thyroid, boosts circulation, and boosts energy–supporting your immunity and overall wellness during the fall months.- Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)
Cobra is an invigorating backbend that expands the chest to enhance respiratory function and stimulates the digestive organs to boost metabolism. These both contribute to a robust and strong immune system as well as helping one to process difficult emotions. This pose is particularly helpful during autumn, as it helps to counteract the tendency to hunch over in colder weather. - Ardha Sarvangasana (Half Shoulder Stand)
Known as the “Queen of Asanas,” Shoulder Stand improves circulation of blood and lymph helping to boost and strengthen to the immune system. It can also enhance thyroid function, further aiding in hormone regulation and immunity. This inversion promotes a sense of calm, balance, centeredness and rejuvenation, which supports mental clarity and overall well-being.
Final Thoughts
Each season holds unique lessons, challenges, and opportunities for growth and transformation. Autumn invites us to look within, express gratitude for the year’s growth and abundance, and acknowledge the thoughts, emotions and habits that no longer serve our highest good. This process of letting go lightens our heart’s emotional load, removes negativity from our mind, and creates space for new opportunities and experiences to take root.