This article is written in partnership with Astraline. They combine Vedic Astrology and Yoga to help us live in synchronization with the celestial cycles, balance our astrological karma, and transform ourselves kinetically through movements and chants to purify the body . We’re honored to work with them. ~ ed.

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“Ohhh, you’re a Virgo. That explains it, then!”

I feel like that’s a common thread of conversation that I’ve had with people when getting to know them for any minimal period while standing outside of a yoga studio.

That said, I feel like it’s also a safe assumption to say that if you’re into yoga, you’re probably also dabbling a bit in astrology in one form or another.

If we read our horoscopes and follow astrology even casually, we might believe that the placement of the planets and many other celestial aspects affect our daily life. And if we’re into yoga, we might be aware of our body’s energy centers (chakras) and that they can at times be imbalanced.

But, if you’re like me, you might be somewhat familiar with both of those and have no idea how the two intersect or how to make the most of that connection. Well, here’s the short version of it:

>> Astrology is a map of the karma that you bring into this life and how that karma will unfold.
>> Yoga is the system that is used to help balance this karma, which is stored in our body’s energy centers (chakras). And…
>> By using astrology to focus on a particular chakra, yoga can be used to balance karma.

That’s exactly what Astraline is here to help us do. It’s the first app to blend Vedic Astrology with the practice of yoga, and it creates a custom experience tailored to you and your individual karmic profile as determined by your astrological birth chart.

Yoga tailored to your individual karmic profile. Try 1 week of Astraline for FREE >>

Vedic Astrology? What’s that? And why that form versus the Westernized version most of us are familiar with?

Vedic astrology is the ancient Indian version of the astrology most of us know. The practice of it has been passed from teacher to student over thousands of years, similarly to yoga, which is kinda neat if you think about it.

Basically, the primary difference between the astrology we know and Vedic astrology is that Vedic charts start a sign behind western astrology, which means that if you’re used to being, say, a Virgo like I am, you might actually be a Leo in Vedic astrology.

But, just like Western astrology is more than your Sun sign, so is Vedic astrology, and Astraline (and Vedic astrology) considers the position of all the planets in your chart to delve into just what your energetic body needs to best deal with the karma you brought into being when you were born.

Celestial Synchronization to the Alignment Rescue

While Astraline might be the first app to bring these two practices together, the combination of yoga and astrology, known as astro yoga, has been around for thousands of years (1). There’s one main difference between the two.

Traditional astro yoga looks to the zodiac and planetary placements combined with yoga poses to move parts of the body ruled by those zodiac signs a couple different ways.

Astraline specifically focuses on chakras which, just like the zodiac, have elemental (earth, water, fire, and air) associations that require balancing. To live in synchronization with the celestial cycles, we need to bring the chakras into alignment with the Sun, Moon, and stars.

Alright, but how?

Let’s start here: although in traditional astroyoga each zodiac is believed to rule a different part of the body, the way Astraline creates its yoga routines and recommends flows to you is by looking specifically at chakra rulership where each zodiac sign is believed to be ruled by different chakras, which are found in different areas of the body. Discover yours below:

Discover your Vedic astrological sun sign here (& check out Astraline for one FREE week!) >>

>> Aries (Mesha) & Scorpio (Vrishchika), are ruled by the Mars chakra in the solar plexus
>> Taurus (Vrishaba) & Libra (Tula) are ruled by the Venus chakra in the heart
>> Gemini (Mithuna) & Virgo (Kanya) are ruled by the Mercury chakra in the throat
>> Sagittarius (Dhanus) & Pisces (Meena) are ruled by the Jupiter chakra in the stomach
>> Capricorn (Makara) & Aquarius (Kumbha) are ruled by the Saturn or root chakra at the base of the spine.
>> Cancer (Karkata) & Leo (Simha) are ruled by the Sun and Moon chakras which are technically the same chakra located on the back, top of your head.

Once you know this, you can take one of…

Three approaches to practicing AstroYoga the rest of the year.

1. You can tadasana (mountain pose) with the transits, focusing on balancing the chakras (Astraline’s specialized approach).

Say what? This just means that you can focus the asanas that you incorporate into your yoga practice on the chakra ruled by the sign the Sun happens to be in at this specific time of year. This changes about every month, and you can do a Google search to figure out the Sun’s current transit.

Find the flow you were born for. Try Astraline FREE for 1 week >>

If you practice astroyoga this way, you’ll help yourself stay balanced during the natural shifts believed to occur universally when the Sun is in that specific zodiac sign.

For tadasana (a postural and warm-up pose that involves the abs and spine) to be used in the above point for something other than alliteration, for example, you’d do more of that pose when the Sun was in transit in Aquarius or Capricorn since that’s a good time to work on that particular Karma, tapping into the Saturn (root) chakra at the base of the spine.

For now, though, it’s Vedic Gemini season (June 15 to July 14). So using this approach, it’s a good time to incorporate halasana (plow pose) into your flows to tap into and activate the energy in the Mercury (throat) chakra.

To amp things up, though, you’ll want to add in a few more poses and counter-poses specific to what’s going on in your chart according to the season and boost your balancing potential. Tap into Astraline and jump into the Mercury flow for a fully balanced flow perfect for being here, now.

Check out the Mercury flow with a FREE week of Astraline >>

If practicing traditional astroyoga without such a careful attention to chakra balancing, you can simply identify which part of the body is ruled by the current zodiac “season” and pick poses that work the area of the body associated with it as the sun transits through that sign.

2. You can sail into boat pose (Paripurna Navasana) throughout the seasons.

Each season has a certain zodiac sign associated with it. Look at which zodiac signs are in the winter, spring, summer, and fall months where you are and focus on asanas that activate, strengthen, and stretch according to the part of body ruled by each zodiac sign:

>> Aries rules the head (Spring)
>> Taurus rules the neck (Spring)
>> Gemini rules the arms, hands, and lungs (Spring/Summer)
>> Cancer rules the breasts, chest, and stomach (Summer)
>> Leo rules the heart and upper back(Summer)
>> Virgo rules the digestive tract and lower belly (Summer/Fall)
>> Libra rules the lower back (Fall)
>> Scorpio rules the womb and reproductive organs (Fall)
>> Sagittarius rules the hips and thighs (Fall/Winter)
>> Capricorn rules the knees and skeletal system (Winter)
>> Aquarius rules the ankles and circulatory system (Winter)
>> Pisces rules the feet and lymphatic system (Winter/Spring)

Boat pose, which activates the abs, hip flexors, inner thighs, and spinal muscles, is great to incorporate into your flow June through December as the parts of the body activated in the pose pertain to body parts ruled by those astrological signs.

It’s a broad approach and one that doesn’t necessarily tend to the specific needs of your energetic body, but in a pinch it can do.

Tend to your unique, Karmic needs. Try Astraline—for FREE >>

3. You can natarajasana (lord of the dance pose) with your natal chart.

This gets way more specialized, which can be fun. But it’s also pretty complicated. Let’s break it into a 5-step process.

>> Figure out what you want to work to strengthen in your life. Let’s say finances.
>> Determine which house rules the finances (it’s the 11th house in Vedic astrology).
>> Review your natal (birth) chart to figure out which planets are currently in that house and the zodiac sign associated with that planet in your chart.
>> Identify the body part associated with that zodiac sign.
>> Hold asanas that benefit the body part associated with the zodiac in that house.

See? Pretty involved. And it doesn’t necessarily tackle the balancing of the chakras.

Thus Astraline’s precision in that first-mentioned method providing your own unique and personalized approach, bringing together astroyoga practices and chakra balancing techniques. Let’s just say there’s a little more bang for your bridge pose.

Curious how it all flows?

Step 1: Visit Astralineapp.com and put in your birth deets to get your Vedic birth chart >>

From there, a yoga instructor and astrologer work together to create a routine specific to your birth chart that incorporates poses that can balance and strengthen the aspects where you might be a little weak during this specific transit.

With that chart, you receive your Astraline Personality Report, which gives you insight into your astrological karma and what it all really means.

After that, it’s to the app you go. Sign in, have a look at the sequences recommended to you, and start your yoga and karmic journey toward balance.

When we combine the practice of yoga with the study of Vedic astrology and its zodiac signs, we’re better able to transform weaknesses into strengths as asanas and breathwork move us through specially designed programs made just for us.

Then what? Keep checking your emails as information about what’s going on in the cosmos might be affecting your life and why certain sequences might be just what you need to make it smoothly through a particular transit.

Check out this review:

As you progress week to week focusing on your unique astrological essence, you purify your body and harness physical strength and stamina, deepen your meditation, and make your practice more profound. And who wouldn’t want that?

Try Astraline for 1 week—FREE >>

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Astraline Founder’s Note: This app started as a passion project and developed into this dream of an app that continues to grow and improve alongside our users. As we move into the future, we plan to add things such as an expanded personality report, and diet advice to match your routine and a holistic health report. Please be sure to check out our blog with more information on astrology and yoga as we work to make this the best app possible!

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Resources
1. https://www.wellandgood.com/what-is-astro-yoga/
2. https://www.tummee.com/yoga-sequences/seasonal-yoga-new-year-yoga-sequence
3. https://www.yogajournal.com/pose-finder/pose-finder/