Episode 78: How Yoga Can Benefit Your Health & Wealth with Yogini Nancy

Acquania Escarne 0:03

You are listening to The Purpose of Money Podcast, a podcast where we talk about ways to build wealth and create more freedom in your life today. I am your host, Acquania Escarne.

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Hey guys, welcome back to The Purpose of Money Podcast. Today, I'm super excited. We have special guest, The Yogini Nancy. Nancy is a law school graduate and advocate of racial justice and mental health. She's also an ambassador for the Yoga Mala Foundation, and a strong believer in the power of yoga, meditation and how it can help restore your peace and your mind. Today we're going to talk about the importance of health, wellness and your finances. Because Nancy also before becoming a wonderful yogini worked as a financial analyst for an investment bank on Wall Street. Her intention is to teach in a joyful way that nurtures the mind, body and soul. With her wealth of knowledge and experience, she's been able to help her students, reduce stress, improve flexibility, accelerate the healing after an injury or change their lifestyle. Oh, Nancy, I'm so happy to have you on the show today. Welcome to The Purpose of Money Podcast.

The Yogini Nancy 2:24

Thank you so much for having me.

Acquania Escarne 2:27

Yes, I'm so excited. We connected via Instagram, I was really impressed with your profile, and how you've been able to really help people learn different ways to stay healthy and stress less. So tell me a little bit more about Nancy before you discovered yoga. You know, what were you doing? And what impact did your lifestyle have on your health?

The Yogini Nancy 2:52

Thank you for that question. So I went to University in North Carolina, at North Carolina State University. And after I graduated, I moved to New York City to work on Wall Street. And I didn't know anything about wellness, about yoga and meditation. And I was in a position that was rather stressful to be working in the midst of the 2009 credit crunch in New York. And so I didn't have the right coping mechanism to deal with stress. And it wasn't until I went to McGill Law School. And then I went on exchange to Singapore that I discovered yoga and meditation. And so before yoga and meditation, life was good, but it was very stressful. And it wasn't until I had the right tools to deal with the stress that my life drastically changed.

Acquania Escarne 3:55

A lot love that. And I think that's really important the way you phrase it having the right tools to deal with stress. So, what are some of the things that you recommend for someone, especially if they're not familiar with yoga, so they don't even know how to get started? What are some top three things you can do to de-stress?

The Yogini Nancy 4:13

So I would say the first thing is to take a global look at our lives, noticing places that are taxing, places where we can remove some of the stress in our environment. The second thing I would say is to learn to sit with ourselves. So whether it's you know, through meditation, or through journaling, taking the time to take an inventory of how we're doing and through that being able to make the right adjustments for our lives to reduce places that are not helpful. Like oftentimes you'll hear yoga teachers say, you know, let go of anything that does not serve you and in order to reduce stress we need to let go of the things that do not serve us. So that's two things. And the third thing I would say exercise, there are so many studies that show the link between reducing stress and exercise. And it's good to move the body, it's good to steal the mind. And it's good to be in environments that are conducive to peace.

Acquania Escarne 5:24

I love that conducive to peace. I just want to know, like, that kind of leads me to one of my next questions, you know, what the connection between health and wealth. And since you previously worked in the personal finance space, or in the finance space, and now you are in the healing and health and wellness space, what are some of the connections you've seen? Or how are you even seeing the connection in your students?

The Yogini Nancy 5:51

Oh, I love that. I like to say that health is wealth. And I want to say that one more time so that it sinks in. Because we're in a capitalist society where we think that productivity is everything, we always have to be busy and to keep going. But if you don't have your health, there's nothing you can do. And so it's really important to know that the foundation of our wealth is our health, because it gives us the ability to work, and to invest in our skills in a way that allows us to create wealth. So health is wealth.

Acquania Escarne 6:34

That's beautiful. And it's true, I say that a lot. If you're not in a good space, with your health, you're normally not able to focus on anything else or do anything else is it takes up a lot. It consumes you. So when you focus on that, first, it allows your journey to wealth to be a lot easier and a lot less stressful. So I definitely love what you're saying as far as how to get started things that we could do self-care, journaling, are all very important. What are some of your other tips that kind of have, you've honed across the year? So I know when you were first starting out with yoga, you probably weren't an expert at that time. But I remember learning that you've done silent retreats and other things to help you hone even your practice in your skills. What were those experiences like? I've only heard of them and eat love pray was actually one of the first books where it was really advertised and meditation and even going to a space where you can be silent. But what is that like for you? I think you did it in Indonesia. Is that correct?

The Yogini Nancy 7:42

Yes, that's exactly right. I love that question because oftentimes, people have an idea of what it is. But people don't necessarily talk about their experiences for you to know. So for me, I had never meditated before. And it was baptism by fire. I arrived at 5am. And at 5am, we started meditating, everybody was in silence. Everyone was sitting like the Buddha. And I had no idea what we were doing. And so my thoughts were racing. I was thinking about the future, the past, what I like, what I didn't like, I was thinking about everything except what I was doing. And then I realized, I'm not meditating. I'm thinking, and there's a difference between thinking and meditating. So that was my first experience in silence. I've had, many others have gone to a 10-day silent retreat that worked out in the Vipassana tradition. And so what I've learned from those experiences is the importance of being still and observing the breath, and how calming the mind helps to calm the body and vice versa. Calming the body helps to calm the mind. And then you can become acquainted with yourself, in our society of social media, everybody is so busy, and we don't take the time to know what we feel, to know what we think, to know how we are and so taking those moments out of our days to sit and meditate, taking those moments out of our years to sit and just be with ourselves, teach us so much about the ways we want to be showing up in the world with ways we have been showing up in the world, and the ways in which we can be better servants to ourselves and to others.

Acquania Escarne 9:47

That's powerful. Being a better servant to others is really important, but I appreciate what you said about calming the mind and I feel like I'm in the same way when I try to be still. It's sometimes hard I'm thinking about my to-do list, I'm thinking about my kids, I'm thinking about my job, I'm thinking about my business, I just spent 10 minutes on social media, I'm still laughing inside about something I've read is so hard sometimes. And it's even harder if you have a lot of things going on. So if someone is trying to get to that space where they're quieting their mind, is breathing, the best place to start?

The Yogini Nancy 10:28

There are so many techniques to meditate. Some people focus on the mantra, which is a phrase that they repeat, some people visualize images, some people count, what I have found helpful, and in the tradition that I follow is observing the breath. Because if you notice, it's impossible to breathe in the future or the past, you can only breathe in this moment. So when you anchor yourself in the breath, it forces you to be present here, now. And also, when you focus on the breath, it's a natural rhythm that helps you quiet the mind. And so I would say, to start there and see where the journey takes you, it's like observing the sky, you'll see that the sky is constant, but then the clouds are passing by. And our mind is the same. The thoughts are the clouds passing by and the mind is here in the background, observing everything that's happening, but we don't have to react to the clouds or to the dots, we can just sit and observe, become aware. And, and that's the beginning of mindfulness. And I think that we can all benefit from being more mindful in our everyday lives.

Acquania Escarne 11:50

Mindfulness, that's, that's powerful. And I love that analogy, because I never thought about it that way. But that's exactly how it is, and how you react is so key. And I love when you said, you don't have to react to the clouds, your mind is the sky, you can be still, the thoughts may be there, but you don't have to react to them. So breathing, taking a moment to pause, being still. And just allowing your body an opportunity to rest is so important. I love all the tips that you shared today. Because I think anyone who's stressing about their finances, their life, or even where they're going, can benefit from these techniques. What are some of the ways that you use yoga to connect with other people, and use it as a tool to help your students?

The Yogini Nancy 12:47

I love that. So I use it with other people all the time because I'm a teacher. So I'm creating community in my classes. And I think that that's one of the biggest benefits of the practice is to be able to practice with other people to have a shared experience, not just with the people who are practicing now with you, but the people who have come before you and the people who will come after you. It gives you a sense of responsibility, gives you a place in your group and a community, and a sense of belonging and meaning. And one other ways in which I have been able to connect with other people through the practice is that I teach entrepreneurs and professionals how to reduce stress and manage stress through the practices of yoga and meditation, so that they can achieve optimum wealth, health and then feel at home in their bodies. And so I'm able to connect not just in person, but also online. And now classes on Zoom, I started festivals, I've gone to retreats, and I thought at retreats as well. And now I'm teaching at a teacher training. And so I'm helping current people who are teaching and prove their techniques. And all of those ways have been wonderful to connect with other people. And I think that Sangha, which means community is one of the greatest benefits of being part of the practice.

Acquania Escarne 14:32

And love it. I love it. So the name of the podcast is called The Purpose of Money. So I asked all my guests this question, what is your purpose for money?

The Yogini Nancy 14:43

I love that. I'm gonna take a roundabout way to answer your question, because for me time is the only resource that you can renew that you can get back. And so the purpose of my money is to invest in things that allow me to free time so that I can spend that time with the people I love doing the things that I love.

Acquania Escarne 15:08

It's a beautiful answer and actually, I think one of the most unique ones I've had so far, I appreciate that. So I would love for my listeners to connect with you and follow you. So please tell us where's your website or where can we find you on social media?

The Yogini Nancy 15:25

Thank you for asking. So I am the.yogini.nancy. So t h e y o g i n i Nancy, N a n c y on all platforms. Also, my website is theyogininancy.com and so you can find me on Instagram, I have a Facebook page, you can find me and my classes for free on YouTube at The Yogini Nancy.

Acquania Escarne 15:56

Excellent, guys. I'll make sure to include that in the show notes, so make sure you check it out. As usual. If you liked this episode, please like, share and subscribe. And if it's your first time, don't feel bad, leave a review. I'd love to hear from you. Thank you so much, everyone. Until next time, keep building generational wealth.

Thank you for listening to the purpose of money podcast. For more resources and information, check out my website, thepurposeofmoney.com and while you're there, please sign up for our newsletter so you have the latest information on new episodes and blog posts. Until next time, keep creating freedom in your life today.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai