Growing up just a few miles upstream from Santa Cruz, California, September was our favorite time to spend endless hours in the swimming holes along the San Lorenzo River. With the tourists gone after Labor Day, the days were hot, dry, and made for being outside in the magic of “Indian Summer.”

Yet school always beckoned, vacations ended, and the sun’s arc sank lower each day as the Autumnal Equinox drew near. By October, change was undeniable: maples and sycamores turned color, watermelons gave way to pumpkins, squirrels busied themselves for winter. Still, we insisted, it was almost summer.

Decades later, I still feel that in-between quality of the season. Add in the effects of global warming and it can seem like summer never ends. Yet the shift is real – routines reset, energies rebalance, and our senses reveal the turning of the year.

The Autumn Equinox – September 22 this year – marks the midpoint between summer and winter. For traditional cultures attuned to nature’s rhythms, ...

Reflections on Stretching, Stabilizing, and Forceful Yoga

by Mark Stephens

What is Asana? Sthira Sukham Asanam – “Steadiness, Ease, Present”

– Patanjali, Yoga Sutra (325CE)

Hatha: “forceful”

Example: Hatha Yoga Pradipika (Light on Forceful Yoga)

– Swami Swatmarama (early 15^th century)

These reflections flow to you in waves:

• Wave One. This sets the table. I wrote it somewhat playfully, colloquially, and maybe a little provocatively. I do like to stir the pot! It considers notions about stretching in the vastly different practices of Ashtanga Vinyasa (which the foundational practice from which most “flow” style of yoga are derived) and Yin Yoga.

• Wave Two. This sets forth basic – and conventional – information on joint stability and mobility.

• Wave Three. This takes a much deeper dive into the kinesiology of stretching, ROM, stability, the nature of fascia, and related matters.

Wave One

Let’s imagine a student who’s in good overall...