Abundance summary

When you think of the word “Yoga,” you’re probably more likely to imagine simple living in an ashram than material wealth. But the tools of Yoga can be used to achieve anything – even financial gain – if they’re employed in the right way. That’s because Yoga doesn’t discriminate between the inner and outer worlds. And this essentially means that if you can imagine it, Yoga can help you bring your dreams into reality.

In this Blink, we’ll explore how you can use the seven chakras of Yoga to flood your life with abundance. By connecting with your chakras through targeted meditation practices, you can tap into your inner power and make your dreams come true, no matter what they are.

So, how exactly do you use consciousness to tune in?

First, let’s have a look at what consciousness means in this context. Yoga teaches that consciousness is dynamic – always on the move. Imagine it as an electric current flowing out into the world, on the hunt for something to connect to. In humans, consciousness is always looking for ways to create, discover, and experience joy. You can see this in toddlers. They’re innately driven to learn how to talk and walk, and they get so excited by each step they take and each new sound they make.

When consciousness is in action like this, Yoga calls it creative intelligence. But for the sake of simplicity, let’s refer to it as awareness. Awareness is responsible for evolution on both a large and small scale. Take, for instance, ancient humans who witnessed forest fires. All the other creatures fled or went into hiding. But humans looked at fire and saw potential. They imagined taming and creating their own fire so they could stay warm and cook their meals. This is awareness in action.

Awareness is the most powerful driver of change. If you don’t realize that something needs to – and can – change, everything stays the same. Our egos tend to tangle us up in hopes and fears, and this stops us from seeing a clear path to change. But if we increase our awareness, we can identify the path to wealth and abundance.

Dharma helps us recognize each change we need to make; it’s like stepping stones on the path to success. Your mind wants to be in a state of dharma, because that’s where you feel happy and at peace. So all you need to do is get into the habit of creating the right circumstances that’ll put you in that state.

The way to do this is through simple awareness. Simple awareness is a state of mind that fosters insight and revelation. If you’ve had an “aha!” moment, you’ve experienced simple awareness. These moments happen when your mind experiences quiet between two thoughts. The problem is that our hectic, modern lives often don’t allow for much of a gap between one thought and the next, so there’s no room for that quiet moment.

Picture it this way: Imagine your mind is a bow and your thoughts are arrows. If you give your mind a moment to draw the bowstring back as far as possible, your arrow will shoot further, faster, and more powerfully. But if your mind is moving too quickly to pull the bowstring all the way back each time, your arrows won’t pack as much of a punch.

Practicing meditation regularly is a great way to quiet your mind so you can shoot those arrows as far as possible. But, of course, it’s not always convenient to put your schedule on pause so you can meditate. To counter this, pay attention to how you’re feeling. If you’re stressed, distracted, or disturbed by your thoughts, you’re not in a state of simple awareness. Ideally, find a place where you can be alone so you can close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.

Even if you can’t step away from the situation you’re in, you can still give yourself a moment to pause, breathe, and recenter. This will encourage your mind to quiet. And just by being aware of how you feel means your battle is already half-won.

So, how does this all come together to increase abundance?

Abundance occurs when we have everything we need and feel fulfilled. That second point is important. There are plenty of miserable wealthy people out there who don’t have the attitude of abundance we talked about earlier – who aren’t generous in spirit.

Practicing simple awareness will help you develop an attitude of abundance. That’s because when your mind is quiet, it’s impossible to feel like you’re lacking in anything. And if you want for nothing, it means you’re in your dharma.

Yoga teaches that there are seven key areas of awareness, known as chakras. Connecting with each of these areas through meditation will welcome abundance into your life. If your goals align with being in your dharma – meaning they speak to an attitude of abundance – then you can manifest them and transform that attitude of abundance into actual abundance.

Let’s have a look at the seven chakras in more detail now.

The chakras, which are located in your head and along your spine, are seven points associated with different parts of your body. Together, they create a pathway from your mind to the outside world. Every chakra is like a milestone on that journey, offering you a specific gift. When you’re connected with each of the seven chakras, the course is clear of obstacles – and abundance can flow through your life with ease. Following this pathway, we’re going to start our exploration of the chakras at the top of the head and finish with the final chakra that connects you to the Earth.

The crown chakra, known as Chakra 7, is the source of bliss. In Yoga, bliss means heightened consciousness; true bliss comes from truly knowing that you exist.

The crown chakra’s gifts are wholeness, oneness, and joy. It connects you to the source of abundance, where lack can’t exist. When you’re connected to the crown chakra, you know that you’re enough, just as you are. You may not yet have reached your full potential – but you know that the potential is already there, waiting for you to tap into it. Ultimately, Chakra 7 is what carries you to enlightenment, where you unite with being so deeply that your sense of self completely falls away. In everyday life, this takes the form of feeling inspired, alive, and awake.

To connect to the crown chakra, meditate on the mantra “So hum,” or repeat the centering thought “I am” in your mind. You should also be generous every day. This will deactivate your ego. Your ego is what keeps you in a state of lack, telling you that you aren’t enough or that you don’t have enough to share with others. That makes it your biggest obstacle to abundance. Being generous, which could be as simple as smiling at a cashier or helping a stranger carry their stroller up the stairs, honors abundance and shuts down your ego. Sharing what inspires you – a piece of music, a book, or a fact about a scientific wonder – is another way to connect with the crown chakra while lifting someone’s spirit.

The next milestone on the pathway to abundance is the third eye chakra located on your forehead. Chakra 6 is the source of highest intelligence. But we’re not talking about IQ or book smarts here. In Yoga, intelligence refers to insight, intuition, and imagination. Using these tools, the third eye chakra can provide a solution to any problem you encounter.

The third eye chakra connects you to knowingness – understanding important subtleties that carry insights. If you’ve ever experienced a breakup, you might’ve thought, If I’d known what my ex was really like, I never would’ve gotten into this mess! Statements like this suggest that you weren’t connected with your third eye chakra. If you had been, you may have seen your ex for who they truly were.

When you’re connected to Chakra 6, your mind is open and receptive. This means your perceptions aren’t blurred or muddied by your ego or biases. You feel confident and comfortable taking the time you need to think and reflect, and you aren’t swayed by fears or other peoples’ opinions. Your connection assures you that the solution to every challenge – even financial ones – is available. You just need to use awareness to identify it.

To connect to the third eye chakra, meditate on the mantra “Om,” or repeat the centering thought “I know.” You can also use the third eye chakra to shift away from busy mental activity toward intuition, where deep knowing lives. This is what leads to breakthroughs. Before you go to bed, state your problem clearly, followed by the outcome you’d like to have. Then, give your problem to the universe and detach from it. In the morning, listen quietly for the answer. It may not come to you immediately, so stay open and attuned to flashes of inspiration.

Chakra 5, or the throat chakra­, is the next location on our journey. The throat chakra is all about self-expression in its truest form, and the gift it brings is authenticity.

You may have noticed that all the methods of connecting to your chakras involve words – repeating mantras or centering thoughts, or making clear statements. Words are powerful. We all know they contain meaning and subtext. When we speak them, they also carry tone, emotion, and power dynamics. By using words with awareness, you’re choosing to express yourself authentically. When you do this, you can speak without fear because the crown chakra has already grounded you in the knowledge that you are enough. This lifts you away from scarcity and into abundance.

When you’re connected with the throat chakra, you can use your words to communicate clearly and respectfully. You’re honest and authentic without being hurtful to others, and you feel heard. In a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere like this, mutually beneficial solutions surface quickly because everyone is at ease.

To connect to the throat chakra, meditate on the mantra “Ham,” or repeat the centering thought “I speak my truth.” You can also use your connection with the throat chakra to change the harmful stories you tell yourself about who you are. For instance, if you weren’t loved unconditionally as a child, you may find it hard to believe you’re enough just as you are. You may have repeated this story to yourself so many times over the years that you think it’s the truth. But by connecting with the throat chakra, you can change that story. Perhaps your parents’ behavior had nothing to do with you. Perhaps they were trapped by their own harmful stories. Using awareness, you can uncover new narratives that are more accurate than the ones you’ve been telling yourself. This will help you move toward knowing that you’re enough.

We’re now going to move into the chakras associated with points in your torso. First is Chakra 4, or the heart chakra, which sits in the center of your chest. The heart chakra encompasses all emotions – but particularly love, happiness, and empathy – and its gift is truly transformative. The heart chakra offers you healing by helping to release emotions that are stopping you from tapping into abundance.

Many people experience emotional poverty; they feel sad, helpless, and anxious or are afraid of intimacy. When we experience these difficult emotions, we often try to numb them, deny them, or avoid them because they’re too painful. But the heart chakra is your internal healer. Connecting with it will help you understand that deep happiness is always available to you – and that you don’t need to keep suffering.

In everyday life, this means paying attention to your feelings and acknowledging or expressing them. Doing this allows you to build close, healthy relationships with others; you’re able to share your feelings without the fear of being judged and can draw on the support of loved ones. Being connected to Chakra 4 allows you to gently blow away the buildup of experiences that cause inner pain, in the same way that you might blow dust off a mirror.

To connect to the heart chakra, meditate on the mantra “Yam,” or repeat the centering thought “I am love.” Meditating on a memory of a time you felt joyful will also foster your connection with Chakra 4. Visualize that moment in detail – it might be a wedding, watching a sunset with a dear friend, or listening to beautiful music. Focus on your heart and the joy that the memory evokes, and let it flow through you.

Moving down the spine, we arrive at the next chakra – the solar plexus chakra – which sits just above your navel, or belly button. This chakra is the domain of physical health, determination, and positive activity. Its gift is crucial; it brings you focused energy that transforms you into an agent of change.

In the frenzy of modern life, it’s easy to feel like you don’t have much personal power. You’re constantly being swept up by the demands of work, family life, and ever-present smartphones. Yoga teaches us, though, that personal power is inside us – which makes it infinite and completely unrelated to external forces. When you tap into this power, you have the strength and energy you need to put your goals into action.

If you’ve ever been “in the zone,” you’ve already connected to Chakra 3! In this state, your actions almost seem to happen on their own. You feel calm and confident about what you’re doing. Obstacles fall away, and you get a sense of joy from being fully immersed in your activity. Success is inevitable because you’re attuned to what is unfolding; you’re able to navigate challenges like a soccer player weaving through other players on the field. 

Sadly, Western society has placed a lot of value on the complete opposite of this – multitasking and busyness. All this does is divide your attention and disconnect you from abundance, limiting your success. This is why so many people feel frustrated, stressed, and unmotivated at work.

To connect to the solar plexus chakra, meditate on the mantra “Ram,” or repeat the centering thought “I am in my power.” Give yourself permission to do just one thing at a time. Pay attention to how you’re feeling; if you become stressed or unfocused, pause for a moment to collect yourself. And turn off your phone for at least 30 minutes every day. Ideally, do something creative during this time, or practice yoga or meditation. You’ll be amazed by how quickly you start seeing results when you allow yourself to connect with your inner power.

You might have noticed that as we’ve moved along the chakra pathway, we’ve transitioned from the internal world of thoughts, knowledge, and feelings into the more external world of action. Chakra 2 – the sacrum chakra – takes us a step further into that world. Associated with the lower back, it connects us to everything sensorial, sensual, and sexual.

The gift of the sacrum chakra is desire. Desire motivates us to achieve our goals, no matter what they are. In that way, Chakra 2 is what drives us to fulfill our goals so that we can experience bliss.

You might be wondering what that has to do with physical sensation. Well, our senses shape our desires. When we see, hear, smell, touch, or taste something, we either want more of it – or we don’t. If you can shift beyond satisfying only what your ego wants, you can connect with desire in a way that will open the floodgates to abundance.

When your awareness is activated, your focus is on what you truly need in order to grow, evolve, and experience bliss. When you experience bliss, you don’t crave anything at all because you feel fulfilled. This is quite different to how the ego behaves. Its desires aren’t sustaining; instead, it forces you to feed it the same thing over and over again.

To connect to the sacrum chakra, meditate on the mantra “Vam,” or repeat the centering thought “I embrace desire.” Just before you go to sleep, get into the habit of visualizing a moment of happiness that happened during the day. It doesn’t need to be anything major. You might have felt joy while watching your kids play or singing along to a song on the radio. Let the feeling of joy soak through you. This will train your mind to pay attention to bliss.

We’ve now arrived at the final milestone of our journey: Chakra 1, or the root chakra. Associated with the base of the spine, the root chakra provides safety and security. Its gift is that it grounds you so deeply into existence that you are unshakeable, no matter what’s going on around you.

When you’re connected with the root chakra, you become free to embrace absolutely everything – inside and out – without any fear. In practice, this looks like being solid in who you are, being comfortable in your skin, feeling physically and emotionally safe, and living in the present moment.

The root chakra connects us to the Earth, and then to the whole universe. Yoga teaches that awareness is in everything – in every single atom, including those that science would classify as nonliving. That means awareness has existed even longer than humankind. It also doesn’t distinguish between you and everything else; it merely is and is in everything – always.

This is what makes manifesting your goals possible. If you have an intention, like meeting the right partner or finding the right job, you can make that intention a reality. Creating and maintaining a clear pathway from your crown chakra, where your goal begins its journey as an idea, all the way through to the root chakra, which connects you to the Earth, can transform your intention into the outcome you seek. This happens because there is no “I” as far as the universe is concerned; there is only universal consciousness and awareness.

The deeper your connection to the root chakra, the greater your powers of manifestation. This is what delivers dreams and thoughts into the realm of the physical world.

To connect to the root chakra, meditate on the mantra “Lam,” or repeat the centering thought “I am always safe and secure.” Foster your connection by regularly lying on the grass, somewhere sunny and peaceful. With your back to the ground, imagine yourself sinking into the Earth until there’s no distance between you and it. Feel Earth’s energy rising up to infuse you. Along with this energy, you’ll experience bliss and a deep certainty that abundance is available to you.