by Sam Geppi October 06, 2009 08:36 PM EST

Vedic astrology comes from the same culture and the same enlightened minds that produced yoga. It could be said that Vedic astrology shows us the specifics of our karma. Astrology shows us the "what" and the "why" of our life. Yoga shows us "how" to surmount our difficulties and awaken the divine light within us.

The word yoga literally means "union". It is derived from the same root word as the English word "yoke" -- to join. Two horses pulling a carriage are yoked together. Yoga consists of many techniques that aim to unite the higher self of the soul and the worldly self of the body. The most recognizable of these techniques involves our physical body, the postures. These postures bring greater flexibility to our legs, hips and other muscles. In the process greater emotional and psychological flexibility is gained as well.

But yoga is not just exercise; it’s a comprehensive spiritual path. The postures themselves are only one small part of the yogic path. In fact, at some point, once the body is flexible enough to sit cross-legged for hours at a time without moving, a yogi no longer does the postures. At that point, the advanced yoga practitioner focuses more on breathing techniques, bhandas (energy seals), mudras (sacred gestures) and other kriyas (actions).

Vedic astrology gives deep insight into the nature of each individual soul, helping them to focus their yogic practices toward things that are most beneficial -- both in this life and at any given time. The energetic principles of yoga have direct correlations to astrology. For instance, the yogic actions designed to awaken spiritual consciousness is called “Hatha Yoga”, which literally means to unite the Sun and the Moon.

The Sun refers to the masculine/yang quality of life, and the Moon refers to the feminine/yin nature. Our life plays out through this duality. Learning to calm the push and pull of duality is the work of yoga. Buddhists call this "the middle path”. The Sun and the Moon rule our nostrils: the right nostril is the hot, solar breath, and the left nostril is the cool, lunar breath.

Did you know that you're only breathing through one nostril at a time? See for yourself! Move your index finger under your nose and see which nostril you're exhaling out of. Two hours from now, do the same thing and you’ll find that you’re exhaling out of a different nostril. One energy or the other is influencing your mind at any given time.

A great yogi has both nostrils open all the time. He has united the Sun and Moon. His mind does not swing on the pendulum of extremes.