Your zodiac sign can reveal a lot about your temperament, your preferences, even how you respond to stress, and stimuli. So it’s no wonder so many people believe you can maximize the potential in your body and mind, by tailoring your workouts, including yoga and meditation, to your zodiac sign. We’ve found it most helpful to focus on the qualities of the four astrological elements to help refine, support and deepen one’s yoga practice and create a peaceful and happy life.
What’s Your Sign?
Most everyone is familiar with the western astrology system and knows which sign they are. There are twelve astrological signs and your zodiac is determined by your birthday. If you are unsure of your sign you can find a vast amount of information on astrology and horoscopes online and even create your own birth chart.
Vedic astrology
While we are focusing our recommendations for the Western astrology system , we cannot ignore the significance of Vedic astrology, which is based on the ancient Hindu scriptures. Vedic astrology (also known as Jyotish) has been practiced in India for thousands of years and has gained popularity in recent times. This system places a great emphasis on the positions of the planets at the time of an individual’s birth and their impact on the person’s life and personality.
If you are interested in combining Vedic astrology with your yoga practice, it is important to consult with a professional who specializes in this system. They will be able to provide you with personalized recommendations based on your birth chart and specific needs.
The Four Elements
Each zodiac sign corresponds with one of the four elements, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. While the elements are the very basic part of your horoscope, they can tell you a lot about yourself, and how you respond to people and events. By learning more about your ruling element, you can build a yoga routine that better suits your mind, spirit, and body.
Fire Element
Fire signs are high-energy, highly competitive, independent, passionate, and enthusiastic. Fire signs include Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. Fire signs love being challenged since they’re very competitive, so a dynamic, active, energetic, and advanced yoga practice is best for this element. They love to sweat it out with some hot yoga but struggle in a meditation class and have a hard time sitting still. Burning candles and practicing a compassion-based meditation will be the most beneficial for fire signs.
The fire element is associated with the third chakra energy center. This chakra governs our personal power, will, transformation, and self-esteem. View our list of all asanas that activate and balance the third chakra.
Water Element
Water signs are emotional, creative, fluid, intuitive, and empathetic. Though they’re great at meditation, they tend to be sensitive and get easily overwhelmed. Signs connected to water are Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. Water signs are uniquely perceptive, making mindfulness and meditation a great mood-booster. Water signs like to be challenged yet love taking things slow, so a long 90-minute yin yoga or hatha yoga class with long posture holds is ideal for this group. Water signs are very go-with-the-flow, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be driven and focused! Water signs can quickly attain a meditative state when they are near a body of water so going on a yoga retreat by an ocean or lake would be fantastic.
The water element is associated with the second chakra energy center. This chakra governs our emotions, creativity, sensuality, and intuition. View our list of all asanas that activate and balance the second chakra.
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Earth Element
Earth signs are deeply connected to mother earth and are loyal, stable, dependable, and rooted in the present moment. Earth signs include Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. These are the most grounded of the zodiac, but they can be rigid, stubborn, and inflexible when under strain. Use grounding poses like Mountain, Squat, and Triangle to put some stability into your life, and your yoga routine. Focusing on the weight of your legs during yoga will help you stay grounded and centered, and keep away the stress of a more rigid world view. Earth signs will do best with a yoga style with a structured and consistent sequence like Ashtanga yoga or Sivananda Yoga. Standing or walking meditation will be most nourishing for this element.
The earth element is associated with the first chakra energy center. This chakra governs our sense of safety, security, groundedness, and stability in our lives. View our list of all asanas that activate and balance the first chakra.
Air Element
Air signs, Gemini, Libra, Aquarius, are flighty, creative, expansive, and never tend to stick to one thing. If you’re someone who finds it difficult to still yourself during meditation, and you get bored sticking to a routine, you may have your star sign to blame. Mix it up with lots of different styles in your yoga practice. Instead of buying a lot of gear, you won’t use, get involved in online classes, and set yourself a challenge of a new pose every week to keep things interesting. Pranayama and vinyasa or flow yoga will be the best practices for this element. Meditating outside or in a room with the windows open to let in the fresh air will be the most beneficial for this element.
The air element is associated with the seventh chakra energy center. This chakra governs our spirituality, intuition, the nervous system, and the brain. View our list of all asanas that activate and balance the seventh chakra.
Yogic practices for your sign
Once you have a general idea of how your astrological element influences your yoga practice, you can fine tune your approach to your specific sign using the chart below. While there is some overlap in chakra centers for certain zodiac signs, we have listed the primary chakra center associated with each sign. Additionally, these recommendations are general and may not be suitable for everyone. It’s important to listen to your body and choose practices that work for you.
| Western Zodiac Sign | Earth Element | Chakra Center | Personality Traits | Recommended Yoga/Meditation Practices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | Fire | Solar Plexus | Confident, Assertive, Energetic | Kundalini Yoga, Breathwork, Dynamic Meditation |
| Taurus | Earth | Root | Patient, Grounded, Practical | Hatha Yoga, Yin Yoga, Walking Meditation |
| Gemini | Air | Throat | Curious, Communicative, Adaptable | Pranayama, Chanting, Mantra Meditation |
| Cancer | Water | Sacral | Intuitive, Nurturing, Emotional | Restorative Yoga, Mindfulness Meditation, Loving-Kindness Meditation |
| Leo | Fire | Heart | Courageous, Generous, Creative | Bhakti Yoga, Guided Visualization, Self-Compassion Meditation |
| Virgo | Earth | Solar Plexus | Detail-Oriented, Analytical, Practical | Iyengar Yoga, Mindfulness Meditation, Yoga Nidra |
| Libra | Air | Heart | Diplomatic, Harmonious, Social | Partner Yoga, Loving-Kindness Meditation, Gratitude Practice |
| Scorpio | Water | Sacral | Intense, Passionate, Transformative | Kundalini Yoga, Tantric Meditation, Shadow Work |
| Sagittarius | Fire | Third Eye | Adventurous, Philosophical, Optimistic | Vinyasa Yoga, Guided Visualization, Mindfulness Meditation |
| Capricorn | Earth | Root/Solar Plexus | Ambitious, Disciplined, Responsible | Yin Yoga, Pranayama, Mindful Movement |
| Aquarius | Air | Third Eye | Independent, Innovative, Humanitarian | Kundalini Yoga, Breathwork, Mantra Meditation |
| Pisces | Water | Crown | Creative, Intuitive, Compassionate | Gentle Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Visualization Meditation |
Conclusion
Whatever your ruling element is, yoga offers a great workout for your body, and peace of mind as well. Combining practices best suited to your element with your yoga routine gives you a great way to challenge and get to know yourself in a whole new light. Yet, it is essential to understand that we are influenced by all four elements. While you should adapt your yoga practice primary element in your chart, it does not mean that utilizing the above techniques for the other elements cannot be helpful.
