Capricorn Full Moon Asana

The Cancer time of the year asks us to feel, feel, feel.  When we get to the soft bits under our shells, what are the sensations saying to us?  Can we find more compassion for it all and nurture ourselves during the process?  The Capricorn Full Moon is designed to help, blessing us with the earthy steadiness to catch and name our feeling sensations.

Our skeletal structure can be the point of focus during this first Full Moon of summer.  The Cancer area of the body is the chest/belly (our center) and the Capricorn area is our knees/bones.   As a Cancer Sun woman myself who struggles with those anxious tendencies of belly/chest vulnerability, I am grateful to have my ascendant in Capricorn.  This connects me to my backbone when I need it and is partly what inspired me to choose this variation of Chair pose (aka, “Thunderbolt”) to honor what’s soft and strong in us.

Step into a space that feels supportive, indoors or outdoors. Connect your feet to the ground, hip-width apart.  And now create your first Chair.*   Bend both knees and gently lower yourself as though you were about to sit on a chair.  Start with a few gentle pulses in and out of your Chair, inhaling to bent knees, exhaling to stand upright.

After some moments of this, hold yourself strongly in the bent knee position. Place one hand at your center (I choose the solar plexus area at the upper abdomen but below the chest).  Your other arm might be reaching up or out in front of you.  I’ve made my Chair a one-legged variation.  If you’re comfortable with that, so can you.   For a simpler Chair, keep both heels down, aim to keep the knees from caving in, stick your bottom out a little bit to maintain a slight natural lumbar curve, and lift your heart forward  and up!

After a couple deep breaths, come to stand for a moment, then try it again with opposite arm position.  Enjoy your juicy sensitivity and your earthy strength!

*This can also be done while holding onto a chair or support of some kind.

Jenn Falk lives in the Boston area and has been teaching yoga since 2006. She guides her classes using a blend of yoga tradition, intuition, energy awareness, and the cycles of the Moon. She calls her style of yoga “Lunar Love Flow” which is also the title of her recently published book by the same name.