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In Astrology, the positions and movements of the cosmos and planets hold so much sway in our characters and how we connect with the world. Our individual astrological signs even offer insight into our ideal exercises! To help establish a strong foundation for the new year ahead, Pilates Instructor Celeste will teach a new monthly, year-long workshop combining Astrology and Pilates. In Cosmic Pilates, Celeste explores connecting the movement of Pilates with the movement of the sun, moon, and stars. In each workshop, Celeste will cover a set of “power” Pilates moves and how they relate to each zodiac sign that month. You can find a deeper look into each Astrological sign’s personality traits and exercise style in this monthly blog series, and then put those insights into practice in Celeste’s workshops – this month is all about Aquarius.
AQUARIUS
January 20 – February 18
Symbol: The Water-Bearer (depicted by waves)
Body Association: Ankles, Shins, Calves
11th House: Friendship, Community, Hopes, Dreams, Aspirations
To strengthen the body parts associated with this sign, the following Pilates exercised are practiced:
Swimming: This Pilates move is symbolic of waves
The Rocker: Your Power move! You like to “rock the boat” to bring about positive change.
The Hundred: This move centers you, as the staccato breath and arms help you focus your energy.
Aquarius Motto
“I know I can help create a better future for myself and others by connecting with the community and reorganizing things that need change.”
Food for Thought
Aquarians seem to crackle with electricity and easily adapt to the energies around them, which often causes them to neglect their own need for space and time alone to rejuvenate. You can get so caught up in the big picture, Aquarius, that you overlook the details, including yourself. Invest time in a mindfulness practice that will help you slow down and find your ground. Connect with yourself and work on feeling the feels! Being able to communicate your feelings helps you connect with the rest of us.
Physical You | Aquarius Movement Personality
Aquarius is the sign of hopes, wishes, and goal-setting. As an Aquarius, you are keen on using abstract-thinking skills to arrive at the future you envision. Your ruling planet, Uranus, is future-oriented, so you tend to think about tomorrow rather than today. You do things with gusto and verve, and display a passionate desire to accomplish your goals. The “fixed” aspect of your sign lends staying power to your vision and ideas. However, be sure to learn lessons and skills thoroughly before jumping to the next thing.
Exercise that is unorthodox or involving unique equipment or routines is your preference. You are always seeking a new challenge and to “level up”. You like workouts that challenge your weaknesses, shock muscles, and push you out of your comfort zone. Incorporating wearable technology and its ability to measure your goals is a good motivator for you. Aquarians feel good in a community, so exercising in a group can help keep you motivated. Lots of fresh air is essential to your sign, so a hiking or outdoor running group would be perfect for you!
The Best Advice for Aquarius Friends:
Your sign is associated with electricity, so focus on exercises that benefit your spine and nervous system. Using vast amounts of mental energy can exhaust you before you even realize you’re tired. To combat this, incorporate a program that encourages you to slow down and breathe deeply. An Aquarius should try not to make drastic, radical changes that might be too extreme and difficult to maintain for the long term.
An Aquarius’s path includes getting back in touch with your body! Since your mind is always in action, it may be hard to find connection with yourself. TRX, Yoga Wall, and the Gyrotonic® are wonderful additions to your regimen that incorporate unique challenges and tools.
See a demonstration of the Pilates Aquarius Moves:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr1IweVT0NQ&feature=youtu.be
Personal You | Going Deeper
Aquarians are humanitarians and truth seekers. Beautifully objective, so you see all sides of a situation without prejudice. Some of your best qualities include friendliness, tolerance, vision, originality, and genius. You are the inventors, the professors, the mad scientists of the zodiac, as well as the ever-endearing Clark Kents. Yet you are also the Supermen and women striving to save humanity from “outdated” ways of doing things, and from those preventing harmony. Though tolerant of most things, violence and discord upset you to the core. You will always make a stand against injustice of all kinds.
The Age of Aquarius
For over 50 years, the song has told us the “dawning of the Age of Aquarius” is upon us. The previously-mentioned Aquarian virtues means most envision a society based on community, kinship, and harmony. This falls perfectly in line with the Aquarius ideals and objectives for humanity. As progressive-thought leaders, a huge aspect of Aquarian values also include technological and scientific advancements, and information exchange. Look at the great strides we’ve made in technology and electronics since that song first hit the airways! It’s clear that the Aquarian age is about more than just progress on an interpersonal level.
Aquarius’ ruling planet, Uranus, is associated with enlightenment and ingenuity. Uranus rules science and invention, in which you must stretch your mind to see beyond the ordinary. Aquarian ingenuity encourages new inventions, thus pushing us along in this technological age. We don’t yet know where it will take us, but one thing is certain: it necessitates an evolution of consciousness for such forward-thinking. By tapping into the Aquarius wavelengths, we can aim for a humanitarian age spurred by the most advanced technologies.
The Duality of Aquarius
Aquarius, the ‘water bearer’, is an air sign, but with movement similar to water. From the skies, you pour the rain of ‘knowledge’ onto humanity, quenching the world with new ideas and higher awareness. Thus, your sign contains two natures – representing both nourishing water, and frequency of thoughts and ideas that manifest as waves.
You express the duality of your nature in many ways, in seeming dichotomies that wonderfully coexist. Aquarius is a fixed sign, so you can be stubborn, but you also listen to reason and appreciate other views. Your personality may seem erratic or whimsical (that’s the Uranian influence), but an Aquarius can absorb any situation. You possess sophistication and deep wisdom, yet also have a childlike fascination with the new and unusual. While you remain constant in your personal codes, opinions, and lifestyles, an Aquarius usually detests linear thinking. You love to jump from one idea to the next until there is a workable plan or new invention.
The mind of an Aquarius is frequently in analytical mode, therefore others may perceive you as detached. You can talk for hours about abstract subjects, but can also go blank when it comes to your own feelings or needs. You’ll sometimes miss the details, because you can get so caught up in the big picture. It would help to remember that caring about others doesn’t take away your freedom. You can still be unorthodox while genuinely communicating your feelings. The more we can transcend our feelings of separation and fear as a culture, the more positive the vibration of our planet will be. It is the highest calling of the Aquarian spirit: to teach us that we’re all connected to each other, and to the planet as a whole.
Herald of Change
You are at your best when there are problems to solve, Aquarius. You approach them from a holistic place of knowing the answers can be found in the creative process of potentials. As the herald of change, you garner attention through doing the unexpected and questioning the status quo. You OWN your unique self, while marching along to your own drumbeat. Yet you’re happy to teach your tune to the rest of us, because you ‘know’ that what’s good for Aquarius is good for all.
Celeste’s Aquarius-centered Cosmic Pilates workshop occurs on Sunday, February 9. With this enlightened understanding of the Aquarius’ needs, come build a strong base that will carry you through the year ahead!
