Money Lessons from YOGA

21st June is celebrated as World Yoga Day, Yoga is a combination of physical, mental and spiritual disciplines and is known for its numerous health benefits. Although it has its origins in ancient India, it has spread all over the world and is practised by individuals aiming for a healthy life. Yoga mantras can also guide us on the right path to financial wellness. Let us learn few of them in this post.

 

1. Discipline is the key

The most important lesson from yoga is Discipline. When a teacher tells about yoga, the first thing that is narrated about it is that we need to do it on a regular basis without fail in order to see the best results. It teaches us that we can do great things if we are disciplined in life, Discipline does not prevent low days or downs in life but it gives us the appropriate strength and approach to deal with them.

Similarly, when we are investing money we have to be disciplined and regular. A broken SIP schedule or not following our budget for a month or so will not do. We should be strict on our plan and budget. For example once we have started investing using a SIP way, do not miss on instalments or else we will never be able to reap the best benefits.

 

2. Flexibility is Must

Yoga makes our mind and body flexible which in turn increases adaptability.

In Investment also we should be flexible in choosing the right asset, the right combination, the timing and tenure, the instalments, etc. if we stick to one plan or are stubborn with certain investment types, we may face difficulties later.

 

3. Have Patience

Patience is very important. Yoga is one of the best and most-practiced technique in order to build patience. The duration it takes to master a pose or hold your breath automatically and implicitly teach patience.

Similarly, investing also needs patience. Making impulsive and emotional investment decisions can hurt. Also, once a decision is made we should not be impatient about returns. It takes some time for money to grow and wealth to build.

 

4. Keep the Balance

We might have heard of ‘Sheersh-Asana” or the headstand. It is one of the yoga asanas which requires maximum balance. If we practice yoga regularly in a disciplined manner, we will ace the headstand and all other asanas as well. This will keep our body in perfect equilibrium.

Similarly, need to maintain a balance among our assets. The concept of asset allocation is hence important as it is a must for maintaining an equilibrium in our portfolio. A diversified portfolio is considered to be the best-balanced portfolio as it has a flavor of most asset types- equity, debt, hybrid, gilt, fixed-income, fixed-return, etc.

 

5. Learn from Failure

We cannot learn all asanas in a day and we will fail sometimes before getting perfection.

However we should understand that failure is not a full-stop. It may seem like a semi-colon for a while but never a full-stop, it is rather an opportunity to do the same thing in a different way.

In investing there will be ups and downs, but that does not mean it is the end of the story, it simply means we should try other options.

And finally like Yoga, to make your investing journey successful be disciplined, maintain a balance, exercise flexibility, have patience and do not stop even if you fail!