After a decade of hardly exercising, I decided to take care of my health at last. I started a 30 day yoga challenge, doing home yoga practice with YouTube instructor the same time I started recording “30 Day Mindful Financial Practice with Dr. Wise Money.”
Beyond the 30 days, I continue to practice yoga for 30-90 minutes daily and have benefited tremendously from my practice, which is full of challenges, flaws, and the excitement of trying new things and making progress.
While I was on my yoga mat this morning, I realized that Yoga has taught me many things about life, and about personal finances. Here I share the top 5.
1. Self-love.
As I care of myself, I am learning to love myself. Something honestly, I did not how to do very well. The yoga instructor said that curiosity is a form of self-love. Staying curious is great way to make progress in life’s all dimensions, definitely in personal finances as well.
The more I love myself, the more I can love others, and the less I love “things” particularly inanimate objects without souls. I feel no desire to buy anything and am perfectly content with all the already comfort I already have.
2. Mindfulness.
Without mindfulness, yoga practice can be dangerous. There are plenty of opportunities to twist a joint or fall flat on my face on the mat. While medical training has conditioned us to perpetually live in the future, ridden with anxiety and fear for the unknown. Only living in the present provides peace and practicing yoga has taught me to be in the present.
Planning for my future, such as balancing saving (at a rate sufficient to allow me to retire by 2023) and spending today, requires presence of mind. I am here now; I hereby release the fear of financial insecurity from my childhood; I hereby also let go of the fear of the unknown in the future. I embrace all that I am blessed with today with gratitude.
3. Adventure.
Fortune favors the brave. While many are scared of using credit cards to help them build wealth. I combine the spirit of adventure with mindfulness, and have been able to accelerate the growth of my net worth using exactly credit cards.
Borrowing money from the big banks at zero to negative interest rate has allowed me to save 60k of interest on medical school student loans, max out my retirement savings, stretch my limited PGY dollars, and have a flexible and sizable rainy day fund.
4. Resilience.
Mom always says there are always more solutions than problems. That’s exactly what doing daily yoga has confirmed for me. There was a time when I worked 7 odd jobs in college to help pay down my parents 30% interest rate credit card debt.
Guess what, that’s how I learn the ins and outs of credit cards, and now have turned the table around to use these cards to help build my dream and achieve financial independence much sooner than I would have without the assistance of credit cards!
5. Benevolence to all.
Namaste means “the light in me bows to the light in you.” What a beautiful way to interact and perceive another being. When I respect and have good will towards all those around me, it is hard to Not succeed at all that I put my heart to.
When I freely share the painful lessons I learned from my struggles and mistakes, those who are open and benefit from my sharing, send back such positive energy, which fuels me to do more, serve more, and greater success comes as a side product.
In short, Yoga has taught me to care myself and others, with mindfulness, adventure and resilience. I will become a millionaire much sooner than I anticipated. Will keep you posted!
Join me today in loving and caring for yourself and those around you. Start here and now, “30 Day Mindful Financial Practice with Dr. Wise Money”!
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