As a child growing up a few miles upstream from Santa Cruz, it was in September that we most wanted to spend endless hours frolicking about in our favorite swimming holes along the San Lorenzo River. Enjoying the "Indian Summer" while tourists disappeared to the flatlands in the wake of Labor Day, it was hot, dry and time be outside...

Yet school beckoned, vacations ended and the days were made still shorter by the waning arch of the sun as the Autumnal Equinox approached. By October it was clear that a new season and different energy were upon us. Maples and sycamores were changing colors, watermelons were giving way to pumpkins in the garden, squirrels seemed busier than ever. But it was, we insisted, still summer – sort of.

Decades later a similar sense of confused seasonal transition persists. Add the trend toward global warming and it might seem like perpetual summer. Yet the season is definitely changing, routines are resorting, the balance of energies shifting inside and all around us.

The Autumn Equinox – it falls on September 23rd this year – marks the halfway point between summer and winter. In traditional cultures more attuned to nature, this was a time to pause, reflect and prepare for the shorter days and longer nights to come. Fully harvesting the fruits of summer, taking in the fullest rays of light, now was the time to restore balance and cultivate inner strength.

As yogis cultivating harmonious balance, we want to live in tune with the rhythms of the planet and the cosmos. Looking to the ancient Indian science of wellbeing, Ayurveda, we can glean invaluable kernels of insight into how to best moderate our daily activities and our yoga practices to be more in the flow of the changing season.

Here are a few tips on cultivating deeper balance during this seasonal change:

• Acknowledge to yourself any basic changes in schedule or routine that effects your energy or emotions.
• Try to be a little more aware of your breath, let it flow more naturally, and take the time to feel the natural pauses in your breath so you are as relaxed as can be amidst whatever you are doing.
• On hot days, take an early morning walk in the cool fresh air. Consider doing a lighter, more easy going yoga practice.
• On cooler days try warming a little with ginger tea and open yourself to a more vigorous yoga practice.
• Start settling in a little earlier, giving yourself a quieter and more reflective evening before sleeping.
• Begin eating more soups, especially on cooler days. With the Indian Summer, keep enjoying all the fresh fruits and vegetables that we’re blessed with on the central coast of California.
• Explore doing an abhyanga practice every morning, deeply rubbing warm sesame or coconut oil all over your body before taking a tepid shower.

Along with these practices, try to pause and reflect on how you are feeling in your body, mind and heart. Try to give yourself the space to more subtly feel your energy. Then give yourself a clearer sense of intention – inner purpose – as you flow more consciously into the balanced days of Autumn.