While hundreds of thousands of people cheer, shout and yell in Times Square, hundreds of New Yorkers will gather not far away to pass the waning hours of 2013 in silence.
They'll be quietly observing a 25-year tradition at Jivamukti Yoga, which opens its doors to people who like to spend New Year's Eve reflecting, meditating, crafting resolutions, maybe doing a headstand, all in "Auld Lang" silence, the Associated Press reported.
It's known to be a year-end bash that promotes no pressure to mingle, no need to bring anything, no drunken regrets, and no small talk. "The only thing that we ask is that you shut up," said Jivamukti Yoga co-founder Sharon Gannon.
Participants say it's a refreshing one - a way to go out but look inward, and end the year on a note of mental tranquility.
According to the AP, the event certainly isn't the only venue for people who are less interested in spirits than spirituality on New Year's Eve. Services are held in many churches on Dec. 31 and some yoga and spiritual centers advertise multiday silent New Year events.
The most popular retreat at Yogaville in Buckingham, Virginia, which began the New Year's sessions about four decades ago, is expected to have 65 people this year for more than four days of yoga, meditation, small tasks and listening to lectures, the Rev. Lakshmi Bartel said.
"People who come to Yogaville really want to live better, happier lives...and New Year's is the perfect time" to focus on that, she said. "We wanted to celebrate New Year's Eve but didn't want to do it in a party-down kind of way."
Now, as many as 1,000 people come to the school on bustling Union Square, about two miles south of Times Square, for at least part of the evening, and about 500 are usually there at midnight, Gannon said.
According to the AP, after cutting loose for an hour with a band that plays devotional Sanskrit chant music, participants hush up at 9 p.m. Pencil and paper is used to communicate after that point.
Participants do whatever comes to mind - yoga exercises, journal writing, reading - as long as it's quiet and alcohol-free.
At midnight, the New Year is greeted with a Sanskrit chant wishing universal happiness and freedom, followed by some uplifting remarks from Gannon and co-founder David Life.
Karin Goldmark generally went to New Year's parties with friends before trying the Jivamukti Yoga event for the first time in 2006, when she was pregnant and not up for partying, according to the AP.
"I was a bit intimidated, initially, by the idea of meditating for three hours," she said.
"It still feels like an event ... but it's not overwhelming. It's both calm and festive," said Goldmark, who works in education and now also teaches yoga at the school. "All the great stuff about New Year's Eve, and no hangover."
