Yoga asanas in sync with the world of astrology

Astrology and yoga — can you think of a commonality between the two? While it may seem the two areas are worlds apart, their roots in the Vedas has these two fields retain a connection. A Vedic astrologer for the past two decades, Vikram Devatha, observed similarities between yoga and astrology during his years of practice. In an attempt to help people understand their strengths and weaknesses, he has been leveraging his Vedic astrology learnings and applying them to yoga practice. 

“I try to understand the strength and character of each person and help them reach their goals. Usually, at any yoga class, each person practises the same asanas as instructed by a teacher. But, we as people have different needs, and have various parts of our body that need to be strengthened. So, we all need different asanas to do the job for us. Deciphering a person’s personality and needs while taking learnings from Vedic scriptures will help him/her in reaching their goals,” asserts Vikram, who currently resides at Auroville, about 150 km south of Chennai. 

As part of the regular Vedic astrology readings that he offers, Vikram views at a person’s birth chart (horoscope), as well as the transits of planetary positions each day. “The planetary positions differ every day and understanding their transits with respect to one’s birth chart helps with the knowledge of what is happening in one’s life and prescribe asanas that can help strengthen them,” he elaborates. 

Describing its application in practical life, Vikram says, for a person who is suffering from arthritis, which causes pains in one’s joints, thereby causing a structural issue in the body, one needs to look at how Saturn is placed in their horoscope. Saturn is said to be the sign governing the foundation and structure in one’s body, just as each body is believed to be governed by a sun sign in astrology. 

“Every asana has the person placing their focus on a particular body part, where strengthening is needed. By looking at a person’s birth chart and then performing the yoga movements, we can help change a person’s way of looking at life,” explains Vikram.

Through a workshop in Chennai on May 18-19, the 43-year-old expert will be offering an opportunity for those practising yoga to explore the fundamentals of Vedic astrology through yoga movements.

“Apart from understanding and learning to read one’s own horoscope, one gets to reflect on their yoga practice and what they need to do to alleviate their weaknesses. The yoga movements that are to be done can either be a single one or a series of asanas,” he adds.