The Yoga of Money

By: John Mestyanek, Financial Educator & Yoga Enthusiast

Let’s take this one subject at a time. Yoga: what is it and why do we do it?  While many people in the world today use yoga for many different purposes, all the different forms were initially developed to build a greater connection between the yogi and our divine source.  Through our practice of yoga we are brought face to face with physical, emotional, and mental limitations.  Whether you are working through an old injury that “should” be fine by now, or we just can’t reach a specific posture because of some limiting belief in our own thinking, and many of us have experienced a complete emotional breakthrough as you breathe into an intense heart opener.  Our yoga practice teaches us to respect our limitations while doing what it takes to move beyond them as we become more self aware and empowered.

So why is it that while we are creating a greater connection with the abundant source of all life, so many yogis struggle with experiencing this abundance in their financial lives?

Which brings us to the subject of money.  Money is a super charged subject.  For many people, their financial life is more private to them than their religion, politics, or sex life.  But without all the extra baggage that we place on money, what is it?  In today’s day and age money is simply an idea.  Most of the world’s money exists as zeros and ones in the computers or our financial institutions.  It is no longer backed by any physical substance as it once was.  In today’s digital world money has become a psychological concept that we use for the exchange of goods and services. Unfortunately, most of us growing up were never taught about money itself or how to effectively earn, hold, and grow the energy that we refer to as money.  We hold lots of beliefs about money and many of them counterproductive to achieving greater wealth.  What are some of your thoughts and beliefs about money?  Some of the common ones I’ve heard and have subscribed to are: “Money is the root of all evil.”, “Money is not that important.”, “Money doesn’t grow on trees you know!”, or “You can’t have great wealth and be spiritual.”  None of these statements are true, yet many of us hold onto some form of these limiting beliefs.

Here’s the secret: Money is energy.  Like water, food, or even sunshine.  How you choose to think about it and how you choose to use it will determine the role money plays in your life.  As with water, food, and sunshine, you can have too much, too little, or find a healthy combination that will cause you to grow and flourish to become healthier and stronger.  Now we are getting much closer to why many of us feel such strife at times when it comes to financial wellness.  Understanding money as energy or as a psychological concept can help you realize that you truly are the one in control of its flow through your life.  The thoughts you think affect how all energy flows through your life, so what are your thoughts and beliefs about money and do they serve to increase that flow or restrict it?  If you truly desire more financial abundance in your life, those questions are worth exploring.

My purpose for writing this article was stimulated by all the beautiful people I have met, shared with, and have worked hard with to become a better person, but who I still see struggle and stress over their ability to generate more money is their lives.  While many of us practicing yoga can be so disciplined with a practice to help us become healthier, stronger, and more connected, we avoid strengthening the area that can open so many doors for us to give on a much greater scale.  These people deserve great wealth in their lives, but it is our own thoughts and beliefs that restrict the abundant flow of money into our lives.  This is the real work that needs to be undertaken when it comes to experiencing greater wealth your life.  Although awareness of limiting thoughts and beliefs is not enough.  They must be unrooted and replaced with healthy and supportive thoughts about money and your deservedness to have greater wealth in your life.  It might seem hokey, but this practice is true no matter what area of your life you are trying to improve.

So, let’s now bring the two together; The Yoga of Money.  We have acknowledged that yoga is a practice to help us connect with our divine source and that money is simply energy that we can harness to improve our lives and the lives of others.  Just like with our yoga practice before you began your flow, you want to take inventory of where you are for the day.  Settle on your mat and sink into your body with your breath slowly moving to feel what needs some attention and put yourself in the proper mindset.  We need to do this same practice with our money mindset.  Settle in with your finances at least once a month and breathe.  Don’t judge yourself on how much or little you have or on how it flows in and out of your accounts, just observe and breathe.  You have to become aware of where you are before you can begin to set an effective system in place to help you harness more of this energy.  The journey does begin with awareness and continues through disciplined practice.  You must recognize areas this energy may be leaking out of your life that are simple to stop whether it be your fancy coffee or tea, eating out frequently, or even subscriptions that you aren’t really using very often but still come with a monthly fee.  I’ve spoken with a lot of friends who acknowledge they do these things, but YOLO…  Yes, you should be able to enjoy your life, but take a good honest look at the actual amount that flows out each month and just think about whether you are willing to reduce it by some, so you can harness more of that energy for other things.

As with yoga this is a very personal practice, and it also helpful to have an “instructor” to help guide and encourage.  If you want to have more money in your life, you have to learn to appreciate and responsibly manage the money that you currently have.  Unfortunately, this is not something that comes naturally because we were never taught how, but as with yoga regular practice to improve the flow of this energy will cause this area of your life to grow as well.  There are many resources available and a couple that I highly recommend are:

For developing a positive money mindset: The Secrets of a Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Ecker

For developing a management plan: Money, Master the Game by Tony Robbins (yes, that Tony Robbins)

Helping others understand the power of their mindsets and developing positive pathways for many different forms of energy to flow through their lives is a personal passion of mine.  Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have and visit Custom Life LLC for inspirational content.

About the Author:

John Mestyanek has studied, applied, and taught metaphysical principles for almost 2 decades, is CEO of Custom Life LLC, and is a member of Our Infinite Company helping spread financial awareness.  It is John’s mission to help individuals self realize their own power and potential, so they can live rich and fulfilling lives because they deserve it.

Email: [email protected]