Denise's Blog
Money Insights, Wisdom, and More
CAN THE BREATH OF YOGA CALM MARKET FEARS? FIND OUT.
Yoga has been a part of my life for over 30 years and it is only recently I am seeing how lessons in yoga can apply to one’s money life, especially with the roller coaster market going on. Here’s how.
The breath is the life force in yoga. It is called prana. Working with the breath controls the mind and balances energy in the body.
LESSON #1:
MOVEMENT FOLLOWS BREATH (not the other way around)
Yogic breathing increases oxygen to the brain, soothes the nervous system, brings clarity of thought, improves concentration, stills the mind, and increases our ability to deal with complex situations without suffering from stress.
The breath opens both mental and physical places of constriction. This is why “breathing into a pose,” deepens one’s pose. The breath relaxes the body, while softening the mind’s fear that the body can actually do the pose.
So, how is this relevant to dealing with Wall Street?
What if we breathed into Wall Street? What if we oxygenated our fear and relaxed our inability to control the markets? Instead of making quick jerky movements (selling, buying, or getting out of the market all together)…
What if we took deep breaths first, cleared our minds and let in the knowing (mentally and emotionally)… it is the nature of the market to fluctuate, some days more than others. Can we embrace the knowing that markets are doing what markets do? That as long as we have sought wise counsel in managing our assets, to “let them be” and detach from the ups and downs…
LESSON #2:
“IT IS WHAT IT IS”(in this given moment)
In yoga, labeling the breath is bringing attention to your personal rhythm of “inhale, pause, exhale.” Your rhythm “is what it is.” No need to fret. If you want to extract more mental and physiological benefits from your breath, practice deeper inhales and more emptying exhales.
What if we “labeled” our finances in the same way with centering clarity. “Savings is what it is right now.” “Debt is what it is right now.” “Cash Flow is what it is right now.” If we want to improve our money picture, it can be done slowly and sane-ly “from where it is right now,” with calculated, practiced, rhythmic movements (healthy money habits).
Knowing and labeling “what is,” places us in an observation mode, a space of non-reactivity. From this space of clarity, we can then make adjustments to create more full breaths or a different financial picture.
There is tremendous power when we are in a state of observation. This space allows us to better respond than react to “what is.” Good for yoga and good for money. Don’t you agree?
As I gain more insights in relating yoga concepts and money, I will be excited to share them with you!
Denise, what a lovely way to calm the angst. couldn’t this same process be applied to any perceived traumatic situation? Thank goddess for the witness within!
Denise,
Love the way you bring complicated issues, like money, into focus in such a clear, concise way. I get new insights from every one of your newsletters and think it’s time to start writing down your words of wisdom as part of my daily process. Keep them coming!
Hi Gaye, yes, you are correct. This can be applied to ANY perceived traumatic situation. Thank you for adding that this technique with the breath is “within.” We can carry it where ever we go and use it when ever we want!
Diane, Thank you for your kind words! Here is to sharing asanas and yogic breathing!
Beautiful Denise. I actually wonder what might happen if yogis and yoginis around the world would add easy breathing to our collective concerns about the economy…
Hi Melanie, YES YES YES…”what if,” we all had one collective big deep breath at the same time about the economy and relaxed into “what is.” I find these days the world economy is so complex to worry about, that if I focus on my personal economy, that is quite enough! Thanks for sharing.
Colleen, Thanks for sharing and I agree, observation is a powerful space…so great to hear from you. Biggest of hugs!
Hi Cathy,
I agree, loss of all types changes our perspective…we get connected with what is “really” important in our lives and most of it doesn’t have to do with money. And, to breathe into “what we want,” is a powerful manifestation tool. Thank you for sharing how you use the breath to manifest. That is a reminder I needed to hear today!