Money
Written by: Roberta Vommaro Published on: October 11, 2022
Let me tell you a candid story.
Some of you know that I used to be a lawyer before becoming a meditation teacher and wellness coach. I went to one of the best law schools in the world, quickly starting a career in International Tax Law (an incredibly “niche”, complicated segment of law) and for all intents and purposes I was set for life. “You are so lucky!”, people would say.
But I wasn’t happy.
And it took a serious and complete burnout to show me this. For 30 days I could not get out of bed. I couldn’t work, focus, or even climb a simple flight of stairs. While I was recovering, I contemplated my life. “Was I happy with my choices?” The answer was a profound (and sincere) NO.
And so I went about to change my destiny.
I quit the law firm and my promising career about 2 weeks after recovering. I wasn’t sure what was coming next. I had saved money, I had some flexibility, so I decided to focus on my wellbeing and spiritual growth. Six to eight hours of yoga a day, plus countless trainings and workshops led me to connecting with a new reality: soon I was a yoga & meditation teacher.
And then something happened.
Even with all the tools available to me at the time as a yoga teacher, believe it or not, I had another burnout. Yep. Back was the familiar feeling of exhaustion, this time coupled with a neck injury that rendered me unable to practice yoga for 6 months.
Why did this happen? In both cases, energy exchange was at the heart of it.
We live on energy. Energy to do things. Energy to run things. We ARE energy. And one way of measuring energy is something we call MONEY. In my career as a lawyer I had plenty of it. True, I would exhaust myself working sometimes 12+ hours/ day, but my work was recognized and appropriately charged for. I was however addicted to the challenge, always searching for the “next big thing”, growing, doing, chasing. The truth is that I had little to no time for myself, and though the thrill of climbing the legal ladder was somewhat fun, I wasn’t feeling satisfied or fulfilled.
That first burnout helped me to recognize I had a different mission: helping people improve their wellbeing. But when I transitioned into teaching yoga & meditation, I bought into the idea that in order to help people I needed to stop caring about money because, as I was led to believe, “money was not spiritual”.
Coming from a money driven industry, experiencing the typical corporate conflicts and power struggles, I was eager to show I was a “good person”. So I lowered my prices. I even worked for free sometimes. But we still live in a world that requires money in order for us to exist (remember, it is also a way of measuring energy). So I found myself stuck in a paradox: exactly because I wasn’t charging enough, I got back to the same pattern of overworking (albeit for a different reason now), bouncing from yoga studio to yoga studio teaching an insane amount of physical yoga classes. This is when the neck injury kicked in, followed by my second burnout.
Finding Balance.
My neck injury and second burnout was a blessing. I had to get smarter around work. I cut down on classes, found different ways to deliver yoga teaching, and most importantly: I raised my prices. I made a firm point of not offering work for free. Soon things started to change, I got more clients (while teaching fewer classes), and had enough money (ENERGY) to open my own studio. And you know what happened when I had more money? I could help more people.
Money Mindset.
I hear from so many clients and friends that money is scarce, that the economy is terrible, that small businesses are struggling. I too feel the shifts and there is no denying that some things are different now. Everything is changing. But everything is always changing. The one thing that doesn’t change are the laws of the universe. The same way there is gravity, there are principles and teachings around money that are present, whether we choose to think about them or not. The players might change, the form, the structure (hello web3, I’m talking to you!). These principles are not just meditations, or kriyas, or rituals. These are concepts that when tapped into, practiced and APPLIED, can literally change the experience of what we call reality. We all have a money story and we all have (regardless of our astrological chart, Human Design type, or if you think you’re good or bad) the capacity - and the right - to make money.
This can be the case even if you have money.
I have been fortunate to be surrounded by incredibly successful people in their fields (and by successful I mean fulfilled by what they do & financially independent). They are so good in their own capacity, whether that is owning a business, building a career, or running their household, and I still hear from them, from time to time, a certain fear around money. Fear that their kids (or successors) won’t be as successful as they are. And (this is a big one) fear that people won’t use their money the way they think is appropriate. Everyone has a money story. For money is not really a thing.
Money is what money does.
Ready to unlock your relationship to money, free up abundance and cut through anxiety and fears around money? Book a 1:1 session now and let’s dive deep into your money story and profile to maximize your time, energy, and prosperity.
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