Dive Deep to Find Self-Knowledge: Yoga Inspired by Pisces

Explore how the Pisces glyph (symbol) can enrich your yoga practice and enhance your ability to go with the ebb and flow of life.

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When the astrological calendar was devised over two thousand years ago, the Sun rose in Aries at the Spring Equinox, whereas nowadays, in the twenty-first century, the Sun rises in Pisces. Picture the Pisces glyph. Imagine a silver thread stretched across the night sky; at one end of the thread is a waning crescent moon, at the other end is a waxing crescent moon. I’m Jilly Shipway, author of the Yoga by the Stars book, and in this article we’ll explore how the Pisces glyph (symbol) can enrich your yoga practice and enhance your ability to go with the ebb and flow of life. And remember, these practices are for everyone, not just Pisceans.

The Pisces glyph represents two crescent moons: one waxing and one waning. Originally, the glyph meant the waxing and waning of each life in cycles defined by the Moon. The Sanskrit name for the constellation of Pisces was Mina, which means fish, and the glyph is sometimes interpreted as two fishes pulling in opposite directions, one representing the physical side of our nature and one representing the spiritual side. In yoga terms this would be the tension between prakriti (matter) and purusha (spirit). I prefer to see the thread that joins the two fishes as an umbilical cord that nourishes both spirit and matter, rather than the two working against each other.

The Pisces glyph was the inspiration for the Pisces-inspired yoga practice in my Yoga by the Stars book. The glyph encapsulates that just-before moment: the moment just before a flower opens, just before the New Moon is visible in the sky, just before sunrise, and just before a baby opens its eyes and sees daylight for the first time.

The glyph’s waxing and waning Moon represents the cyclical nature of life, where every ending is a new beginning. This led me, in the book’s yoga practice, to focus on the cycle of the breath, noticing where each part of the breath begins and ends, as well as observing the spaces between one breath ending and the next breath beginning. This focus gives a deeply meditative quality to the practice. Below you’ll find the Circular Breathing and Pisces Glyph Visualization which is a lovely way to start a Pisces-inspired yoga practice. Before you begin, you might want to do an online search for images of the “Pisces glyph” to assist you with your visualization.

Circular Breathing and Pisces Glyph Visualization

Begin your practice lying down in a comfortable position. In your mind’s eye visualize the Pisces glyph. Hold this image in your mind as you begin to follow the natural flow of your breath. As you observe the breath, notice where your inhalation begins and where it ends. Notice where your exhalation begins and where it ends. Be aware of the spaces between the breath. Notice the space between the end of the inhalation and the beginning of the exhalation, and the space between the end of the exhalation and the beginning of the next inhalation. Observe the circular nature of the breath, in which each ending is a new beginning. If you are following this with a yoga practice, keep coming back to this focus on circular breathing and picturing the Pisces glyph.

Pisces-Inspired Meditation Questions

The meditation questions below are adapted from my Yoga by the Stars book. The theme is “going with the ebb and flow of life.” You could integrate the questions into your journaling practice, turn them over in your head on a meditative walk, meditate upon a question whilst in a yoga pose, or read them before bed and trust that your subconscious mind will come up with some insightful answers whilst you sleep.

In what ways am I aware of endings and new beginnings in my life?
In what ways am I aware of endings and new beginnings in the natural world around me?
In my yoga practice what does observing the ebb and flow of the breath teach me? In what ways are these lessons relevant to my everyday life?
What is blossoming in my life right now? What signs of new green shoots have I observed?
At this time of equinox how does my yoga practice help me find balance in my life?

To find more Pisces-inspired yoga practices, then check out my website: www.yogabythestars.com

Some consider that with Pisces we have reached the highest point of yoga or spiritual consciousness. It’s the most fluid of all the signs, with the water of Pisces being the water of the sea, infinitely deep and boundless. Pisces helps us to attune ourselves to the circular flow of life and learn to welcome light and dark, waxing and waning, and come face to face with love.