NEW YORK — Here comes 2014! Three! ... Two! ... Mum. While hundreds of thousands of revelers cheer, shout and yell in the new year in Times Square, hundreds of New Yorkers will gather not far away to pass the waning hours of 2013 without a word.



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.

It's a year-end bash with no pressure to mingle, no need to bring anything, no drunken regrets, and no small talk — or big talk, either.



"The only thing that we ask," Jivamukti Yoga co-founder Sharon Gannon says, "is that you shut up."



If that sounds like a rather muted way to celebrate, 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. 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.



"I was a bit intimidated, initially, by the idea of meditating for three hours," she said, but it turned out to be fun."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." — AP