The Lotus and the Stars: The Way of Astro-Yoga

By Trish MacGregor and Rob MacGregor

Astro-Yoga is a unique type of yoga that was born during a full moon in the mid-1990s. For years, we joked that our separate interests in astrology and yoga fit our particular sun signs, Gemini and Taurus, respectively. Gemini, an air sign, tends to be attracted to mental pursuits; Taurus, an earth sign, is definitely more physical. Neither of us was intensely involved in the other’s pursuit. Then, on a night of the full moon, Rob was talking about plans to lead a class in the Moon Salutation and added that he would start out with the Sun Salutation. Something clicked.

The mention of the moon and the sun suddenly linked yoga and astrology, and set off a series of conversations about how the planets and astrological signs were associated with certain body parts as well as emotional, physical, and mental patterns. We realized that specific yoga postures, related to the signs and planets, could address the needs, conflicts, and challenges that people encounter in their daily lives.

This launched our search and exploration of the points where yoga and astrology merge. We discovered that although some yoga teachers refer to planetary influences, no practice existed that combined the two. So we proceeded to adapt many of the traditional postures in various yoga disciplines to the gamut of sun signs. Through trial and error, Astro-Yoga was born.

At the time, Trish had been a practicing astrologer for a number of years and had written several books on astrology. She has also written many novels under the name, T.J. MacGregor. Rob is also a writer and, like T.J., is a winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award for mystery writing. He has also written eight Indiana Jones novels, including The Last Crusade. He had been teaching yoga for several years and had practiced the discipline in various schools of yoga. His own classes were already an amalgam of what he liked best from the different schools. Now, he started applying the principles of Astro-Yoga and slowly integrated them into his classes.

Intuitively, we felt that Astro-Yoga had once existed in the distant past. As the saying goes, there’s nothing new under the sun; everything that seems new is simply a redefinition of what has already been done. If that’s the case, then we are pleased and honored to have had the opportunity to revive, or re-invent, an ancient practice.

In the years since its birth, Astro-Yoga has brought about significant changes in our lives and the lives of the people who are practicing it.  As one Aries man says: “It’s one thing to do yoga postures for flexibility, strength, and a general sense of well-being. But it’s empowering to know that I can use my intent to determine the kind of energy I pull in. It has allowed me to live more consciously.”

Trish MacGregor and Rob MacGregor are authors of The Lotus and the Stars: The Way of Astro-Yoga. Rob teaches astro-yoga in South Florida and has also produced two astro-yoga DVDs. They also have a block on sychronicity: www.ofscarabs.blogspot.com.

robmacgregor.net

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