Everything the wheel opens, one animal at the center
The Eastern wheel, your birth year's animal
The Western wheel, the sky on your birthday
The craft your Zodi Animal practices
五行 · featured system
The five phases that move through everything — now mapped to the seven chakras, each with its own yoga practice.
Two skies, read together
The Moon overhead, its phases, and the path they light.
Practice · Movement · Breath
Seven centers. Seven doorways. One practice that moves from earth to sky — and learns to be still in both directions.
01 · Earth · LAM
Muladhara yoga is the practice of trust — the trust that the ground will hold. Every pose asks: can you receive the earth's support without bracing against it? The root poses do not create groundedness. They remove the contraction that prevents it from arriving.
Signature pose
Malasana — Garland Pose
The deep squat
Feet hip-width, toes turned out, sink into the deepest comfortable squat. Palms in prayer at the heart. The perineum — the exact anatomical seat of Muladhara — descends toward the earth here more than in any other pose. Hold 1-3 minutes. The discomfort of staying is itself the practice.
Pose 01
The foundation
Four corners of each foot pressing equally. Body a mountain — unmoving, receiving, unthreatened. The most demanding pose to inhabit with full attention. Hold 10-20 breaths.
Pose 02
Root to rise
One foot grounding, the other rising. You can only lift to the degree you root. Try 5 breaths with open eyes, then 5 with eyes closed — notice the shift from external to internal reference.
Pose 03
The great rest
Forehead to earth, hips toward heels. The crown and the root both touch the floor simultaneously. The most restorative grounding pose in the tradition. Hold 3-5 minutes minimum.
Pose 04
Passive reversal
Hips to wall, legs vertical. The nervous system reads this as safety. The lower body drains; the pelvic floor releases. 5-15 minutes. One of the most deeply Muladhara-restorative poses.
Gently lift the pelvic floor — the muscles between the sitting bones — without gripping the glutes. Hold for 5 breaths. Release. This is the root lock: the direct physical activation of Muladhara's energetic territory. Practice throughout standing poses. Also try Earth Breathing: inhale imagining the breath rising from the earth through the soles of the feet to fill the pelvis.
Opening · 5 min
Child's Pose 3 min → Cat-Cow 5 breaths → Downward Dog 5 breaths
Standing · 15 min
Mountain 10 breaths → Tree both sides → Warrior I both sides → Warrior II both sides → Malasana 2 min
Floor · 10 min
Bridge 3 × 5 breaths → Legs Up the Wall 8 min → Savasana 10 min
02 · Water · VAM
Water flows. Sacral yoga should feel like water — circular, undulating, finding the low point. The hip-opening work of Svadhisthana is not primarily about flexibility: the hips are where the body stores its deepest emotional holding. Pigeon and Low Lunge don't just stretch — they process.
Signature pose
Pigeon · Eka Pada Rajakapotasana
The deepest hip opener
One knee forward, back leg extended, front hip releasing toward the floor. The external hip rotators carry enormous stored emotional material. Tears in Pigeon are not a side effect — they are the practice. Hold 3-5 minutes each side. Do not push. Simply stay.
Pose 01
Soles together
Soles of feet together, knees open. Fold forward with the exhale and stay. The flower opening of the inner thighs. Hold 3-5 minutes yin style — the deepest release comes after the 3-minute mark.
Pose 02
The psoas release
Back knee down, front knee over ankle. The hip flexor (psoas — "the muscle of the soul") lengthens. The psoas contracts in fear; releasing it is the somatic practice of releasing fear. 5-8 breaths, emphasis on the exhale deepening.
Pose 03
Complete non-defense
Supine, knees toward armpits, hands holding outer feet. The body does not protect the belly or groin. Natural rocking side to side — this IS the water-element motion. The ease here is the practice.
Pose 04
The suppressed motion
Standing, hands on hips: rotate the pelvis in the largest circles possible. Then figure-8s. This motion is culturally suppressed — doing it consciously is a sacral chakra restoration. 30 seconds each direction.
Roll the tongue into a tube (or draw air through the teeth if the tongue won't curl). Inhale slowly through the tube, tasting the cool air. Close the mouth and exhale through the nose. 10-15 rounds. The Water element cools, flows, and receives — Sitali embodies all three. Add circular breath during hip holds: smooth continuous breath with no hard pause at top or bottom.
Opening · 5 min
Supine hip circles → Cat-Cow with full pelvic circles both directions → Downward Dog hip sways
Flow · 10 min
Goddess Pose 10 breaths → Warrior II → Reverse Warrior → Extended Side Angle (both sides) → Standing hip circles
Deep floor · 15 min
Butterfly 4 min → Low Lunge both sides → Pigeon L 5 min → Pigeon R 5 min → Happy Baby 1 min rocking
Close · 5 min
Reclined Butterfly (Supta Baddha Konasana) 5 min supported → Savasana 10 min
03 · Fire · RAM
Manipura yoga builds fire. The practice should be genuinely challenging, generate real heat, and leave you feeling different than when you began. The Sun Salutation is the definitive Manipura practice: dedicated to Surya (the sun deity), it activates the fire element through repetition and movement.
Signature pose
Navasana — Boat Pose
The solar plexus as center
Sitting bones on the floor, spine long, legs elevated, arms parallel to the floor. The core activates completely. The body's V-shape has the solar plexus at its apex. 3-5 holds of 5-10 breaths, with Low Boat cycles between. The burn is the practice.
Pose 01
Power in flight
One leg, body parallel to floor, arms forward. Complete core engagement. The solar plexus is the point from which everything radiates. Requires real focus — willpower made visible. 5 breaths each side, 2-3 rounds.
Pose 02
Fierce posture
Feet together or hip-width, deep squat, arms overhead. Generates intense heat in the largest muscles. The discomfort is tapas — the willingness to remain in productive difficulty. 20-30 breath holds, 3 rounds.
Pose 03
Core + twist
Prayer hands, one elbow hooking outside opposite knee. Heat of Chair plus the detoxifying squeeze of the twist. The digestive organs are compressed and then released.
Pose 04
The definitive Manipura
12 movements, dedicated to the sun deity. 5-12 rounds generates significant internal fire. The entire sequence activates the core through Plank and Chaturanga. This IS Manipura in motion.
Short, forceful navel-pumping exhalations with passive inhalations. The name means "skull-shining" — the only pranayama named for its effect in the head. Build from 30 pumps to 120 per minute. One round: 30-100 pumps, then one deep inhale-hold-exhale. 3-10 rounds generates significant Manipura heat. Follow with Uddiyana Bandha: after full exhale, pull the belly back and up, hollowing below the ribs. Hold 3-5 seconds. 5-10 repetitions.
Fire-building · 10 min
5 rounds Kapalabhati → 5 rounds Sun Salutation A → 3 rounds Sun Salutation B (Warrior I included)
Core · 10 min
Plank 60 sec → Boat × 3 (5 breaths + Low Boat) → Side Plank both sides → Revolved Chair both sides
Standing power · 10 min
Warrior III both sides (2 rounds) → Triangle → Revolved Triangle → Chair 20-breath hold × 3
Cool-down · 5 min
Half Lord of the Fishes both sides → Bridge → Savasana 10 min
04 · Air · YAM
Anahata yoga is the practice of vulnerability — which is another name for courage. Backbends physically reverse the body's protection of the heart: the sternum opens, the front of the chest is exposed. The same quality that takes courage in love takes a specific courage in the body. The word Anahata means "unstruck" — the sound that survives all impact.
Signature pose
Ustrasana — Camel Pose
The heart exposed
Kneeling, hands reaching back to heels, chest lifting, head dropping back. The heart is the highest point of the pose — anatomically elevated. Camel frequently provokes grief, joy, or sudden tears. This is correct: the opening of the thoracic region releases what has been held there. Come up slowly. Child's Pose between rounds.
Pose 01
The gentle opener
Prone, chest lifting, elbows slightly bent. The heart is lifted not by the chest reaching forward but by the upper back muscles supporting it — the Anahata teaching. 3 rounds, 3-5 breaths each.
Pose 02
Full expression
Hands and feet on the floor, full arch. The heart at the apex. The effort of holding Wheel corresponds to the effort of sustaining vulnerability in relationship. Build over months from Bridge → Camel → Wheel.
Pose 03
Exuberant opening
From Side Plank, step one foot back, sweep the top arm over. The heart opens toward the sky through sheer aliveness. The most joyful of the backbends — Anahata's playful dimension.
Pose 04
The grief pose
Lie over a bolster across the mid-back. Chest falls open passively. 5-10 minutes. The most reliable grief-processing posture in yoga — supported vulnerability, physical opening, complete surrender.
5 rounds of alternate nostril breathing before any backbend practice — left nostril inhale, right exhale, right inhale, left exhale. Then 5 rounds of 4-4-4-4 box breathing: inhale 4 counts, hold 4, exhale 4, hold 4. The nervous system settles into regularity and the body relaxes the protective contraction of the chest that prevents true heart-opening.
Safety first · 8 min
5 rounds 4-4-4-4 box → Supported Heart Opener 5 min → Cat-Cow emphasis on chest drop
Warming · 12 min
Low Cobra × 3 → Sphinx 3 min → Locust × 3 → Bow Pose × 3
Deep opening · 10 min
Camel (supported → full) × 3 with Child's Pose between → Wheel or Bridge × 3
Integration · 10 min
Fish Pose 3 min → Thread the Needle both sides → Savasana 10 min
05 · Akasha · HAM
Vishuddha yoga is the yoga of authentic sound. The throat is the bridge between inner experience and outer expression. When the bridge is clear, what is inside becomes what is outside. The asana focuses on the neck and thyroid; the pranayama introduces sound as the practice itself.
Signature pose
Sarvangasana — Shoulder Stand
Queen of asanas
The body inverts on the shoulders with the chin tucked firmly to the sternum (jalandhara bandha). The thyroid and parathyroid receive increased blood flow. Traditional texts claim Shoulder Stand balances the thyroid — the most direct anatomical Vishuddha activation in asana. 3-5 minutes. Always follow with Fish Pose.
Pose 01
The counterpose
Forearms pressing, chest lifting, throat opening, top of head gently resting. Always paired with Shoulder Stand. Add sound in Fish — a sustained "AH" — for the most direct Vishuddha vocal activation. 5-10 breaths.
Pose 02
Maximum jalandhara
From Shoulder Stand, legs fold over the head to the floor behind. The chin tucks fully to the chest — the strongest throat lock position. The cervical spine receives an intense stretch. Hold 2-3 minutes.
Pose 03
Release inhibition
Open the mouth wide, extend the tongue fully down, exhale with "HAAA." Not a whisper — a genuine voiced sound. The throat opens physically and the voice breaks through its habitual constraint. 5-10 rounds. Harder than it sounds.
Pose 04
The forgotten opening
Ear to shoulder (3 breaths each side), slow neck rolls, chin tucks. The forward-head posture of screen life physically closes the Vishuddha space. Opening the cervical spine IS opening the fifth chakra for most contemporary practitioners.
Ujjayi: Create a slight constriction at the back of the throat (as if fogging a mirror with the mouth closed). The breath becomes audible — an oceanic sound on both inhale and exhale. Generated at the exact anatomical seat of Vishuddha. The breath that sounds: the most direct Vishuddha pranayama, usable throughout the entire practice. Bhramari: Close the ears, hum on the exhale. Feel where the vibration concentrates — it will be in the throat and behind the eyes. 5-10 rounds before meditation.
Sound opening · 5 min
5 rounds Bhramari → 10 rounds Ujjayi seated → Cervical release sequence → Lion's Breath × 5
Throat work · 8 min
Supported Fish/neck drape 5 min with humming → Neck rolls with breath → Gomukhasana arms both sides
Inversions · 12 min
Bridge 3 min with chin tucks → Shoulder Stand 3-5 min → Plow 2 min → Fish with Lion's Breath
Close · 5 min
Legs Up the Wall 5 min → HAM chanting × 21 → Savasana
06 · Light · OM · Featured
Ajna responds to refinement, not activation. The practice removes visual noise — scattered attention, the habit of looking only outward — that prevents the third eye from functioning. Three pillars: drishti (the directed gaze), Trataka (the candle-gazing shatkarma), and Nadi Shodhana (the channel-balancing breath).
Signature pose
Sirsasana — Headstand
King of poses · direct Ajna inversion
The crown meets the earth. The world inverts — a physical teaching of Ajna's capacity to see from outside the habitual angle. Increased blood flow to the pituitary. The balance requires single-pointed mental focus: a scattered mind cannot hold Headstand. Build over months: Dolphin → wall work → open room. 3-10 minutes, final minutes in antara drishti (inward gaze).
Pose 01
The concentration pose
Arms and legs wrapped. Gaze fixed at brow height — the exact level of the Third Eye. The balance comes entirely from mental focus. Any loss of attention = wobbling. Eagle is real-time Ajna feedback: your concentration IS your stability. 5-8 breaths each side.
Pose 02
Drishti as stability
When the eyes wander, the body wobbles. When the gaze is soft and fixed, the body stabilizes. Warrior III demonstrates the Third Eye's teaching in every repetition: inner vision provides stability to the whole system. 5 breaths each side.
Pose 03
External to internal
Establish balance with open eyes. Then close them. The reference point shifts from external to internal. This transition — outer to inner — IS the Ajna practice in its most accessible form. 5 breaths open, 5 closed, each side.
Pose 04
The bow
Forehead to mat. The third eye point makes contact with the earth. The intellectual, projecting mind bows toward reality. The most underrated Ajna activation: stillness, contact, the head surrendered. 3-5 minutes.
Shatkarma · Eye Practice · Direct Ajna Activation
Trataka is one of the six purification practices (shatkarmas) in Hatha Yoga, listed in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. It is the direct external practice for Ajna: steady, unwavering gazing at a fixed point — traditionally a candle flame — trains the quality of attention that the third eye requires. When the eyes water or the blink reflex arrives, close the eyes and hold the afterimage at the third eye center. When it fades, open and repeat.
Other forms: Bindu Trataka (black dot on white card), Yantra Trataka (Sri Yantra), Moon Trataka (full moon), Mirror Trataka (own reflection — most confronting). All train the same quality of unwavering, softly focused attention.
Primary Ajna Pranayama
Left nostril activates the right brain (intuitive, receptive, pattern-recognizing). Right nostril activates the left brain (analytical, sequential, verbal). Nadi Shodhana alternates between the two — progressively balancing them. When Ida and Pingala are balanced, the Sushumna nadi opens directly into Ajna and Sahasrara. This is Ajna's pranayama: the integration of both modes of knowing into the non-dual perception that transcends them both.
Vishnu Mudra: fold the index and middle fingers. Thumb closes the right nostril; ring + pinky fingers close the left. Direct the attention to the Ajna bindu (third eye point) throughout — during both the breathing and the holds.
Beginner ratio: 4:8:8 (inhale:hold:exhale). Intermediate: 4:16:8. Never strain. The kumbhaka (held breath) is directed at the third eye center. 10-20 rounds before meditation.
Mudra
Close the eyes. Gently direct the gaze upward and inward — as if looking at a point 6 inches above and inside the skull, directly behind the third eye center. Not forced, not strained: a gentle turning of the eyeballs upward. Feel for sensation at the ajna bindu (warmth, pulsing, pressure — any or none). Hold 1-3 minutes. Release. Repeat 3-5 times. This is the "gaze of Shiva" — one of the most direct and reproducible Ajna activations.
Isha Foundation's Shambhavi Mahamudra is a specific 21-minute kriya practice incorporating this drishti within a complete pranayama-mantra-mudra sequence — one of the most widely practiced contemporary Third Eye kriyas.
Preparation · 10 min
Palming 2 min → Nadi Shodhana 10 rounds → Bhramari with Shanmukhi Mudra 10 rounds → 3 OMs with sustained M → Shambhavi 2 min
Asana · 25 min
Child's Pose ajna-to-floor 3 min → Dolphin 5 breaths → Warrior I (Ajna drishti mod) → Eagle × 2 each side → Tree eyes closed both sides → Warrior III → Wide-Legged Forward Fold 1 min → Headstand or Dolphin 5 min → Child's Pose 2 min → Savasana 3 min
Trataka meditation · 15 min
Candle Trataka 5 min → Close eyes, hold afterimage at Ajna 5 min → Pure attention at Ajna bindu (no image, no technique) 5 min
Integration · 10 min
Eyes open, maintain inner quality 5 min (lamp-under-bowl gaze) → return fully. Notice the transition — that IS the Ajna teaching.
07 · Beyond elements · OM (silence)
Sahasrara cannot be activated the way the lower chakras can. The practice creates conditions; the Crown chooses when to reveal itself. The prerequisite: genuine work in the lower six chakras. The Crown that grows without roots is spiritual bypassing — using the highest concept to avoid the groundwork below.
Signature pose
Savasana — Corpse Pose
The most difficult pose · the death practice
The complete suspension of doing, managing, and performing. Any genuine Savasana is a Crown practice. The difficulty is not physical — it is the complete surrender of the lower-chakra agendas that the pose requires. Minimum 20 minutes. The practice before 15 minutes is mostly the nervous system settling. The practice after is what Sahasrara opens into.
Pose 01
Crown to earth
The highest point of the body becomes the foundation. 3-10 minutes. In the final minutes, close the eyes and direct attention to the single point of the skull touching the floor — the brahmarandhra, the seat of Sahasrara.
Pose 02
Gentler crown contact
From Child's Pose, grip the heels, press the crown of the head into the floor, and lift the hips. Direct crown-to-earth contact. More accessible than Headstand. The sensation at the brahmarandhra is specific and immediate. 3 × 10 breaths.
Pose 03
The primary Crown seat
Lotus Pose (or stable seat) held for a minimum of 20 minutes in complete silence — no fidgeting, no reaching, no adjusting. Mauna (deliberate physical silence) is the practice. The Crown opens in the space that silence creates. Not by effort: by release.
Pose 04
Do not skip this
Savasana is not the "cooldown." It is where the work lands. The nervous system requires 15-20 minutes to genuinely discharge accumulated tension. What opens in the final minutes of a 20-minute Savasana is unavailable in the first 10. Give it time.
The held breath — the pause after inhalation (antara kumbhaka) and after exhalation (bahya kumbhaka). The outer retention (after the exhale) is the closest the living body comes to the death state — voluntarily, safely, reversibly. Awareness in the empty body, with no breath remaining, has a specific quality: present but not held by anything. This is the Crown chakra's territory. Begin: 4 inhale, 4 hold in, 8 exhale, 2 hold out. Build gradually over months toward 4:8:8:4. Never strain — the Crown opens in ease, not in effort.
Opening · 20 min
108 OMs — each one full exhale, M sustained, silence held until it fades naturally
Asana · 20 min
Rabbit × 3 → Headstand 5-10 min → Child's Pose equal duration → 3 min transition sitting
Pranayama · 20 min
Nadi Shodhana 10 rounds with kumbhaka → Bhramari 10 rounds (directed to crown) → 5 rounds Kumbhaka
Meditation · 30 min
Padmasana or stable seat. No technique. Sit. Breathe naturally. Crown of skull as highest point. If a technique is needed: attention at the crown of the skull — simply place awareness at the topmost physical point of the body.
Savasana · 20 min minimum
This IS the practice. The Crown does not open while the ego is directing. Savasana is when the practitioner releases the role of practitioner.
Which chakra to start with
Every Zodi Animal has access to the full chakra yoga system. But each enters through the door that matches its elemental nature. Enter your birth year to find where your practice should begin.
Practice
Each chakra has its own complete practice — poses, sequences, pranayama, and technique — specific to that center's energy and anatomy.
Earth, LAM · Malasana, Mountain, grounding sequences · 30 min
🟠Water, VAM · Pigeon, hip openers, emotional release · 35 min
🟡Fire, RAM · Boat, core fire, Kapalabhati · 40 min
💚Air, YAM · Camel, Wheel, heart opening · 40 min
🔵Akasha, HAM · Shoulder Stand, Ujjayi, HAM chanting · 40 min
🔮Light, OM · Trataka, Shambhavi Mahamudra, drishti · 60 min
☽Silence, AUM · Headstand, 108 OMs, Kevala Kumbhaka · 90 min
Go deeper
Earth, LAM, grounding, survival, the body's trust
🟠Water, VAM, pleasure, creativity, the emotional body
🟡Fire, RAM, will, power, the seat of agency
💚Air, YAM, love, connection, the unstruck sound
🔵Akasha, HAM, authentic expression, the resonant bridge
🔮Light, OM, perception, Trataka, the inner vision
☽Beyond elements, silence, the thousand-petaled lotus
七The complete map — each center, its guardian, its tradition