Astrology & Asanas: Aquarius Season Yoga

Find your balance through every zodiac season with our Astrology & Asanas series by yoga instructor, Astrostyle editor (and harmonious Libra) Andrea Rice. Follow along with these postures to connect to the natural rhythms of life, enhance perceptivity and elevate your spirit.

3-2-1 lift-off! With space cadet Aquarius ruling the skies from January 20 to February 18, you can rocket to the outer edges of your imagination and capabilities. But during this electrifying time, it’s just as important to keep your feet (or at least a toe) on solid ground. These Aquarius season yoga postures can help you stay centered as you orbit through unexplored galaxies.

After the Sun’s goal-setting stint in structured Capricorn, lighthearted Aquarius season invites our aspirations to take flight. The eleventh zodiac sign is associated with the ankles and shins in the body. The following short Aquarius season yoga sequence is designed to strengthen and lubricate the ankle joints and ligaments to cultivate more stability and focus.

3, 2, 1…Liftoff! Dynamic Chair Pose Sequence

1. Begin standing tall in Tadasana, Mountain Pose, with the palms face out and feet hips-width distance apart. Cycle through a few repetitions of swinging the arms overhead and lifting to the balls of the feet; followed by lowering the heels with control and returning the arms alongside the body.
2. Keep the gaze affixed toward the future, in true forward-thinking Aquarian fashion, as you then begin to lift the arms overhead and sweep them behind you like wings to sit low into a Chair Pose (Uttkatasana) variation with the heels lifted. Lift the heart high while drawing the shoulder blades together, then lower the heels back down and return the arms toward the sky.
3. Repeat for a few cycles, then shift your weight into your right foot and draw the left knee to lift to 90 degrees, return to a number 4 variation of Chair pose, actively flexing through the left heel.
4. Switch sides.

Yoga and Astrology “101”

Much like the zodiac wheel, our bodies are always shifting, progressing and changing form. From the “birth” of Aries season to the “death” of Pisces, we too are experiencing a continuous lifecycle. We cannot be “born again” until outmoded parts of ourselves are released. It is only when we stop spinning our wheels and actually witness our patterns that we may become aware enough to break free from them.

Picture yourself like a spiraling galaxy, where at your galactic core is your light, your source, your divinity. It is by moving into that very center of serenity that change and growth can occur. It is where yoga begins. Astrology is a wonderful complement to yoga asana, as both disciplines require self-study. And since the purpose of yoga is to stabilize the fluctuations of the mind, we can more readily look to astrological insight from a place of clearer perspective with acceptance and without any judgment. In other words: Free your mind—and the rest will follow.

Video courtesy of Beth Kessler Photography