The Yoga of Money

Yoga's ethical precepts teach us to tell the truth and do no harm, but few realize that these teachings can also help us to manage our money.

By Alan Reder

"In our culture, I don't think losing sexual energy has nearly as much effect on people's long-term well-being as the leaking of financial energy, if you will, like frivolous spending," he says. To Dharmanidhi, brahmacharya means the ability to resist seduction, including by the sirens of advertising and marketing. "A yogi is supposed to be beyond reactivity," he notes.

How the remaining yama, satya (being truthful, sincere, genuine, and honest), relates to the financial world seems pretty clear. But satya also underlines a point Kessel makes about the yamas overall—their wisdom is demonstrated by the way they apply to economic systems as well as individuals. The dishonest accounting practices of Enron, Worldcom, Arthur Anderson, et al.; the disingenuous reports by the stock analysts at Wall Street's major brokerages; the resistance by Congress and federal regulators to genuine reform and oversight—all combined to create the stock market's meltdown of mid-2002 and its sluggish performance afterward, leaving the U.S. economy wobbling in the balance.

Kessel believes most successful businesspeople are good, honest types whose wealth comes from contributing value to others' lives. But the cautionary tale still holds: "If we don't practice basic honesty, our economic life is bound to fall apart, just like the market did."

In a sense, notes Dharmanidhi, the niyamas and yamas comprise a set of yogic do's and don'ts. The niyamas, or do's, describe spiritual "observances" and attitudes that are designed to build character and deepen our yoga practice. One of them, santosa (contentment), is relevant to our financial actions, because contentment lessens or eliminates greed. The connection between the other niyamas and finances may not appear to be so obvious. But as we've learned with the yamas, one does not have to scratch too deeply into any part of Patanjali's program to find pointed advice on money matters.

In fact, Dharmanidhi thinks the niyamas speak even more directly about a healthy approach to materialism than do the yamas. Tapas (a burning desire to reach self-realization), sauca (purity of body and mind), ishvara (concentration on and surrender to God)—all these yoga practices help keep us in touch with our inner essence, he points out. That focus in turn tends to keep us from being too greedy, ignoring the violent consequences of our actions, behaving dishonestly, consuming frivolously and wastefully, and disregarding the welfare of others—in short, the whole slate of ignorant, damaging behaviors that the yamas aim to prevent.

Brent Kessel appreciates how the niyama of svadhyaya (self-observation) can inform a sane, and spiritually sound, level of consumption: "You have to self-observe to know if you really need something or if it's really trivial or for show or image." Applied to hatha yoga, svadhyaya also teaches us about the destructive side of ambition, he feels: "If you fight your hamstrings and tell yourself, 'Dammit, I'm going to get my chin to my knees,' you're going to get hurt and you're not going to get flexible as fast as if you observe where your limits are, observe your breath at those limits, and wait for the opening." He finds an analogy in his own field, where the rule-of-thumb is that financial security is built by investing patiently for the long term—that is, being accepting of modest but steady gains—and taking only calculated, affordable risks. It's the speculators, the get-rich-quick types who risk all for the big payday, who tend to be investing's biggest losers. In other words, svadhyaya of one's own circumstances and long-range goals, seasoned with a generous dose of santosa, leads to financial and yogic success.

Practicing the Yoga of Money

If we adopt the yamas and niyamas as a financial ethic, we still need a plan for carrying it out. A number of strategies, popular mostly in progressive and countercultural circles, would seem—on first blush, anyway—to offer some well-considered ways of accomplishing just that. Socially responsible consuming and investing, right livelihood, high-impact charitable giving: We can imagine that if he were alive today, Patanjali would applaud all such efforts by yogis.

As long as they were sincere, that is. Sincerity—satya again—holds the key. As with asanas or any aspect of yoga, our fiscal activism accomplishes little if performed in an off-handed way-for example, casually writing a check to a visible, brand-name charity that turns out to spend most of its money on salaries and fund-raising. Just as a little focused attention can mean the difference between a bungled asana and an adroit one, it takes just a small extra effort to turn an inconsequential ethical stand into a powerful one. Here are some ideas, drawn from Marshall Glickman's The Mindful Money Guide and other thoughtful sources:

Earning Ethically. The Buddha not only coined the term "right livelihood" but also made it part of his Eightfold Path to spiritual well-being. To begin down that road, take an inventory of your talents, interests, and values. Then research related careers and create an action plan to create the work you want, including getting the necessary training. If you don't feel good about your current work but can't leave it right now, perform it in a way that doesn't compromise your values, to the greatest extent possible. And try to find the deep meaning in your current situation, which could be as basic as supporting the family you love.

Living Lightly. Consider simplifying your life so you can switch to a dream career as soon as possible, even if the pay is modest. Keep in mind, though, that it may be psychologically daunting to transform your lifestyle, even if the result is a life that's more exciting to wake up to every single morning. Messages we received from our parents about money, expectations from our spouse or children that we bring home a certain level of income, our self-image as a "successful" person—all these things may stand in our way. "It's very easy to upgrade our lifestyle when we can earn more money—buy a better car, travel more, buy a better place," states George Kinder. "It's much harder, once you've gotten accustomed to a way of living, to reduce it. Also, we tend to be creatures of habit. So we can be convinced that our work is damaging us yet not let go of it because the habit of it somehow gives us comfort." Given that, you may want the assistance of a life-planning professional to get you started. A skilled planner can help you wind your way through the emotional thicket, take practical steps that will ease the transition to the new vocation, and frame your goals in a way that is fulfilling for your family as well. Look at the planner's fees as an investment in saving a life—yours.

Voting with Your Dollars. Become more informed about the social issues imbedded in products, so your purchases can reflect your values. If you boycott a company's products, drop the company a note or e-mail explaining your action (you can probably e-mail them from their Web site)—especially if no official boycott of the company has been called. That's far more effective than quietly spending your few bucks elsewhere. And remember the crucial strategy of buy-cotting too. Buying organic food, for instance, not only may be healthier for you but also keeps pesticides out of the soil and groundwater, protects workers and soil, and often supports family farmers. Think of the extra cost as a donation to those worthy causes. Energy-efficient lightbulbs and appliances, fuel-efficient cars, and manual lawn mowers are other examples of socially positive purchases that make a significant environmental impact by preventing pollution and global warming.

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