• Awareness – Yoga propagates self-awareness and practitioners usually have a heightened sense of self and their surroundings. As an investor, it is important that one is aware of not only their own financial needs but also of the current investment environment and the investment choices available to him/her.
• Balance – In life, it is quintessential to strike a balance. A steady state can only be maintained if one focuses on creating and maintaining a balance. From an investment portfolio perspective, investors need to strike a balance between risk and return and allocate investment assets accordingly.
• Goals – Life is not one straight, upward trending line. It is a series of ups and down which sometimes make you question where the path is leading. Having a goal and focusing on the goal becomes essential.
• Discipline – Yoga requires a great deal of commitment and discipline. Asanas that need to be done every day, the right way. Pursuit of the ultimate goal requires utmost discipline. In investing, every portfolio should have a goal. Whether an investor ultimately achieves this goal or not largely depends on whether he followed his investment and allocation strategy in a disciplined manner.
• Flexibility – Yoga teaches one to be flexible. To understand your capabilities and limits, to extend beyond limits in certain instances and to stop in others. This flexibility becomes key in investment decision making. While investors must follow their asset allocation strategy in a disciplined manner, they should also be agile enough to adapt to structural changes that can have a large impact on their portfolios.
Yoga gives an individual clarity of mind and sets him on the path of fulfilment. Similarly, yoga can also help you maintain financial discipline and set you on the path to financial freedom.
