Seriously, it can be debilitating. Ideas float around in there, up there in my head... and I have to just wait. For a gut feeling {or the limitations of time} to force a choice. And in the meantime, I'm pretty sure I drive my husband mad. I am SURE it is a control issue. I don't stumble over every little thing {I sure can wing a recipe or a yoga lesson plan with no problem} and as a Mama and entrepeneur, if I muddled over every little decision, I'd never get anything done. But there are some major areas of my life where I just can't move forward with a basic decision. 

Although I prefer to call it "creative thinking without a leash". I am an anxious worrier... not about EVERYTHING. There are lots of areas in my life in which I just jump in, feet first, head first, whatever... and don't really think twice. But there are a few key nagging things that have kept me up at night over the years... and I find it nearly impossible to differentiate between worry that is a signal of something to take note of, and worry that is simply mental chatter. 

When I am floundering with anxiety or the need to make a strategic decision, I need help, support and guidance. Not annoying "should's" from random subjective opinions. I need a professional! Someone who is not personally invested in my decisions, who isn't telling me just what I want to hear, patting me on the back, or guessing. 

I'm talking about Vedic Astrology. It is an ancient, practical and wise science hailing from the same tradition as Yoga and Ayurveda {and predates Western Astrology}... of mapping one's karma in order to get CLARITY. It's NOT woo-woo... it's not a psychological assessment {though it CAN do that if you need it}... it's not fear mongering about "mercury retrograde" having an across the board same effect on everyone. It is in fact highly practical, specified to the individual, notoriously predictive and in my experience, HIGHLY therapeutic. I've used it for every major decision in my personal life for over 10 years. 

It was 2004. I desperately wanted to have a child and I was several years into a loving relationship with my now husband who, at the time, did NOT want to make it "official" with any sort of wedding or engagement, nor was he interested in having children. My best friend was getting married, and seemed to be doing everything "by the book"... while I was hippied-out in California, teaching yoga, working as a nanny, making vegan curries and feeling like I was waiting for life to "start".  

I made an appointment, emailed my birth stats {location, date, time}, and was soon on the phone with a man whom I had never met, who was describing me to ME, perfectly... and advising me in a clear, objective and supportive way. He somehow was able to tell me the things I needed to hear, in the WAY I needed to hear it. Even when he told me things I didn't want to hear, it hit home {such as, "no, you are not done studying, you need to go to Ayurveda school. This is NOT the time for marriage. If you get married now, you'll end up divorced, call me in 5 years and we'll see"}, and I knew on the inside the truth of what he said. 

I went in to the reading insecure, frustrated, unsure... I wanted to get married and settle down, and it wasn't happening. The astrologer explained that I was running a planetary period of 7 years that, because of configurations in my particular horoscope was designed, not for marriage, but rather for study and spiritual questing. It wasn't exactly {aka AT ALL} what I wanted to hear... but he was absolutely right. Furthermore, he said, if I spent 7 years pining for something that was not ready to ripen, I would be miserable and will have wasted the time. If I got my head on straight, took advantage of the wave that was presenting itself and rode it gracefully and intentionally, I could thrive, instead of being knocked down.

Because it all resonated with a deeper truth inside of me, I was able to heed his advice. I threw myself full-on into more study and credentialing in my field, travel, retreat, tutelage for exactly the time frame he suggested. By the end of the 7 years, my now husband was proposing, in the place we had met years before that first Jyotish reading. A few years later, I can see that if I attempted any of that in depth study NOW that I did then... I wouldn't have the brain power for it. The time for that has passed. 

That first astrologer I had? He predicted {insisted} that my husband would become a Jyotishi, like him. And on a trip to India, when we asked a local friend to connect us to an Ayurvedic Medicine teacher with whom we could study, he instead, sent us to a Jyotish teacher. We hadn't pursued it... and yet, here it was, being offered. That teacher led us to the next Jyotish teacher. But that's a story for another article!

In my next article, I'll share when + how I use Jyotish in my professional work - Ayurveda and Yoga Therapy - to help guide and advise clients and to choose the right therapies and tools for their healing program. Stay tuned!

Have you had Jyotish readings? Share your experience in the comments!

A special article for yoga teachers, yoga therapists, or students who want to see themselves {and their minds} objectively and structure their yoga sequences accordingly. I hope this information supports your practice, feel free to share it!