I don't know about you, but the news coming out of Wall Street makes me nervous. It's not that I have so much at stake (certainly not like those financial titans with plummeting portfolios) but I expect to feel the stresses of the volatile markets as gas and food prices continue to go up, credit gets tighter and editorial budgets get smaller (after all I make my living as freelance writer).

Tuesday morning I got some perspective after attending Guru Singh's Kundalini class at Yoga West. Guru Singh, known as much for his yoga as for his lectures, just broke it down. He reminded us about the hype surrounding Y2K in 2000, all the anxiety after 9/11, SARS, Bird Flu -- you get the picture. Sometimes the fear that something bad is going to happen is greater than the threat. And even if the economy does melt down, he assured us, we're resourceful, strong and flexible.

All this uncertainty can cause the lower chakras to get out whack, he explained, triggering the cortisol-fueled anxiety producing fight or flight survival mode which causes us to hoard, favor greed, loose confidence, and ultimately operate from a base of fear. Not pretty. He led us in a set of lower chakra balancing poses and sent us on our way with a new point-of-view.

To hear it directly from the source (because I can't really do it justice), check-out Guru Singh's post about the financial state of affairs and if you like, download some podcasts and music too.

image courtesy: www.kundaliniyoga.org