Wealth Beyond Riches: Building Prosperity With Purpose, Values, and Impact

The Power of Guided Meditation (Ep. 26)

• Abbey Henderson, CFP®

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What role does meditation play in financial stability?

This week, Abbey Henderson, CFP®, CEO Wealth Advisor & Coach, unpacks the surprising link between meditation and sound financial decision-making. 

They dive into the holistic approach that encompasses finances, mindset, and personal growth, using meditation as a tool to navigate life's complexities and make strategic choices. With lighthearted banter and practical tips, Abbey shares insights from her personal habit of guided meditation and how this practice can transform your financial journey and everyday life.

Key episode discussions include:

  • The value of meditation during turbulent times 
  • Guided meditation and its benefits for mental focus 
  • Abbey’s personal meditation journey and its influence on her role as a financial advisor 
  • Detailed approaches to making meditation a daily habit 
  • Explanation of how meditation aids in better financial decisions
  • Introduction to a body scan meditation practice
  • And more!


Resources:

Connect with Abbey Henderson: 

00:00:01  

Voiceover 

Welcome to Wealth Beyond Riches with Abbey Henderson, CEO, wealth advisor, and coach at Abaris Financial Group. In this podcast, we help generous, fun, and passionate professionals overcome their biggest financial concerns while leveling up their lifestyles based on their values. We do this by exploring the five levers which represent the diverse resources each person possesses throughout their lifetime. These levers encompass finances, health, mindset, relationships, and time, offering a holistic approach to personal development and growth. Join us on this transformative journey as Abbey and her guests draw from years of experience to guide you in achieving your life goals while staying true to your values. But that's not all. This podcast will equip you not just to build personal wealth, but also to understand how your prosperity can contribute to the betterment of the world around you. By exploring strategies for giving back and making a positive impact, we'll empower you to create a life of significance and leave a lasting legacy of positive change.


00:01:08  

Wendy McConnell  

Hello and welcome to the Wealth Beyond Riches podcast with your host, Abbey Henderson, where we talk about enriching your life in every way. I'm Wendy McConnell. Hey, Abbey.


00:01:20  

Abbey Henderson  

How are you? I'm well. How are you? I'm good.


00:01:22  

Wendy McConnell  

The sun is starting to shine again. All this cold, but you know, winter.


00:01:27  

Abbey Henderson  

It's winter, but there are hints of spring. The sun is setting after five now. I know. I'm so excited. And I think there's something else you're excited about for this weekend. Is that true?


00:01:43  

Wendy McConnell  

Yeah, I have some big plans coming up. It is currently February 5th, and this weekend I will be traveling to New Orleans to see my Philadelphia Eagles play in the Super Bowl.


00:01:57  

Abbey Henderson  

So exciting. My brother-in-law and my nephews are huge Eagles fans, and one of my nephews has a mural in his bedroom of an Eagles football player.


00:02:13  

Wendy McConnell  

Yeah. That's commitment. Do you know which one?


00:02:16  

Abbey Henderson  

Oh, he'll kill me. And I don't.


00:02:18  

Wendy McConnell  

That's okay. That's okay.


00:02:23  

Abbey Henderson  

So it was an exciting game, though. They almost got there. They did get there. What am I talking about? Yeah. I was like, wait a minute.


00:02:36  

Wendy McConnell  

We're going.


00:02:37  

Abbey Henderson  

You're right. Right. For a minute, I was thinking that the last game didn't work out, but.


00:02:44  

Wendy McConnell  

No, it did. It did. Yeah. So we're very excited. You know, it's football. Any given Sunday, you never know what's going to happen. But I've got fingers crossed.


00:02:54  

Abbey Henderson  

I will have my fingers crossed for you.


00:02:56  

Wendy McConnell  

Thank you.


00:02:57  

Abbey Henderson  

And appreciate that.


00:02:58  

Wendy McConnell  

Yes, him too.


00:03:00  

Abbey Henderson  

Yes. Yeah, well, I think that that might be to some degree a welcome distraction from the craziness in the world at the moment. I know I'm hearing from clients that it just feels very heavy and like there's a lot going on. Whether it's, you know, what's going on at the moment is sort of a new administration. We've got wildfires in California. We had two really sad plane crashes last weekend. And it was just feeling really heavy, really overwhelming, and really stressful. I don't know if you're sort of feeling the same way.


00:03:41  

Wendy McConnell  

I am trying to find some joy where I can here and there.


00:03:46  

Abbey Henderson  

Well, you have to.


00:03:47  

Wendy McConnell  

Yeah.


00:03:48  

Abbey Henderson  

But I also think there's another thing that is worth talking about. And you know, when I was thinking earlier this week about sort of what's going on in the world and how I'm sort of to some degree accidentally dealing with it, I realized that we had never really talked about meditation on this podcast. So I thought, what better moment?


00:04:11  

Wendy McConnell  

Yeah, for sure.


00:04:14  

Abbey Henderson  

Have you tried meditating?


00:04:16  

Wendy McConnell  

Well, I have tried meditating. What I found is I'm a very bad, unstructured meditator. But when I discovered guided meditation, I did enjoy that. Now I have been off of it for a little while and I know that I feel better when I do it, but yet I haven't been able to get myself to do it. But I liked it a lot when I found some good guided meditations.


00:04:47  

Abbey Henderson  

So I have a similar experience as I think actually most people do, that you can be a dabbler and you can get on a good streak and then fall off the wagon. And I hear a lot that people very much prefer guided meditations because it helps with monkey mind when your brain just sort of goes off in every other direction, which is especially, I think, problematic at the moment.


00:05:15  

Wendy McConnell  

Yeah, it's a lot.


00:05:17  

Abbey Henderson  

So I've had the same thing. I've, you know, I sort of go on streaks and then I fall off and that's despite the fact that I actually run a weekly meditation group at Abaris Financial Group for clients and friends that actually started back in Covid. And if you asked me back in 2020 if I would still be running this group this many years later, I would have said for sure no. But here I am still doing it. And I actually sort of recommitted to meditation in 2025 because I'm doing a year-long leadership program. And one of the commitments you sign your name to is that you will meditate for at least 10 minutes every day.


00:06:06  

Wendy McConnell  

Okay.


00:06:07  

Abbey Henderson  

So I am on a 31-day streak so far.


00:06:13  

Wendy McConnell  

Okay.


00:06:14  

Abbey Henderson  

And so I think that's actually a lot of why I feel. I don't know that I feel good about the world at the moment, but I feel maybe calmer than I would otherwise.


00:06:29  

Wendy McConnell  

Okay. Now, do you do this first thing in the morning?


00:06:33  

Abbey Henderson  

So I have found, and I think we've probably chatted about this on other podcasts. I think we've mentioned the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, and one of his strategies is habit stacking. So if you want to create a new habit, you attach it to an existing habit. So I've had really good luck in my short little streak so far of doing it in the morning after I take the puppy outside and feed her breakfast. So the breakfast is distracting her and I can sit down and close the door for 10 minutes and not feel bad.


00:07:08  

Wendy McConnell  

Okay, that's good. That's a good strategy because often we don't think about what will interrupt the process. For example, when I work out and I'm on the floor, the dog all of a sudden thinks it's playtime and I'm like, I'm doing push-ups here and you are in my way. So I want to help. Lick my face, go down. Lick my face. Go down.


00:07:33  

Abbey Henderson  

I will help you.


00:07:34  

Wendy McConnell  

Yes. So that is a very good strategy. I like it a lot.


00:07:38  

Abbey Henderson  

It works really, really well. And I find my old strategy was, well, I'll just find 10 minutes at some point during the day and then it gets to be bedtime and you're like, oh, I'm too tired to do this. So really attaching it to something else, especially if it's something else you have to do works like a charm.


00:08:00  

Wendy McConnell  

So where do you find your guided meditations? Is there certain places that you go?


00:08:05  

Abbey Henderson  

So I have a bunch of favorites which we can link to in the notes. There's one app called Insight Timer and it has, it's built for everybody. You can either do just the timer, so some bells and you set the time 10 minutes and you go. And it's silent or has like a background music. But they've also got a huge library of all sorts of guided meditations. Because as you may have discovered in your exploration of this, there's all sorts of different types of meditations and then there's also all sorts of voices and music and just lots of different things. And some things really turn people off, and some things really help you sort of get into the right mindset to do it.


00:08:57  

Wendy McConnell  

Okay, well, looking forward to checking out the list that you have.


00:09:01  

Abbey Henderson  

Yes. And there is science behind this. This is not completely sort of woo woo. Meditation is in fact scientifically proven to lower cortisol, which reduces anxiety. It lowers your blood pressure, and it does great things for your brain. It increases neuroplasticity, which is increasing gray matter density in your brain in the areas associated with memory, learning, and emotional regulation. And there's evidence that it slows down the aging of your brain. So it's for real.


00:09:41  

Wendy McConnell  

I like it. Those are some big words too, Abbey. I'm very impressed.


00:09:46  

Abbey Henderson  

Ten dollar words. And you don't have to be good at it. And in fact, there's really no good or bad.


00:09:54  

Wendy McConnell  

Well, I was gonna say if there's a way to be good at it, I'm sure I'm not you.


00:09:59  

Abbey Henderson  

I know what. There is no bad. I've heard this before. There is no bad meditation as long as you are getting benefit from it. And the other thing that I like to say when I'm leading meditations is every time your mind wanders, it's just a great opportunity to practice refocusing, sort of getting back on track. And I know I for one need all the practice in the world with that skill.


00:10:25  

Wendy McConnell  

Yeah. So I agree.


00:10:28  

Abbey Henderson  

So aren't you wondering why a financial advisor is talking about meditation?


00:10:33  

Wendy McConnell  

Yeah, but you know, I like it.


00:10:36  

Abbey Henderson  

Well, you also know I'm a little different to begin with.


00:10:40  

Wendy McConnell  

You're a little woo, as some people describe it, life coach wanting to get the whole experience. And I love that about you.


00:10:49  

Abbey Henderson  

Well, thank you. But there is actually a direct connection between meditation and being a financial advisor and helping clients make good financial decisions. And you can just, you know, and it's part of what made me think about this at the beginning of the week because the stock market got a little volatile. Shall we say on Monday or Friday?


00:11:15  

Wendy McConnell  

It was Monday overnight.


00:11:17  

Abbey Henderson  

You know, I was thinking like, what can I do to help clients get through this? Because almost always my recommendation to clients is to stay the course. You know, we've created a strategy that is meant to see you through all sorts of ups and downs in the stock market. And meditation is actually one perfect thing for this because what it helps you do is sort of install a pause. So install a pause between your reaction and then actually doing something about it. Because you never really want to make a financial decision from a place of reactivity, especially about your investments.


00:12:01  

Wendy McConnell  

Right.


00:12:02  

Abbey Henderson  

So from that perspective, it's a perfect fit for financial planning and financial decisions. And then we are different. So as we've talked about a million times at Abaris, we want to help people align all of their resources, not just their financial resources. So we're looking to help people with both their health and their mindset, which I think the connection there is pretty obvious.


00:12:27  

Wendy McConnell  

Yeah.


00:12:28  

Abbey Henderson  

All right, so shall we give it a try? I have a 20-minute, just actually a little bit short, about 17-minute body scan meditation. Should we give it a whirl?


00:12:40  

Wendy McConnell  

Can't wait.


00:12:41  

Abbey Henderson  

All right, one tip for people listening, please don't do this driving. So if you're listening to this in the car or it's just not a good time to do a meditation, just put it on pause and come back to it when you have 17 minutes to sit with some peace and quiet. And my last tip on this is this is a great skill too, if you're one of those people like me who wakes up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep. So you can always sort of pull a body scan meditation out of your hat and it helps you shut off your brain in the middle of the night.


00:13:18  

Wendy McConnell  

All right.


00:13:20  

Abbey Henderson  

All right, we're off. When you're ready, find a comfortable position. It can be whatever calls to you today. Sitting in a chair, lying on a couch, lying on the floor. You could even do a walking meditation. And just begin by taking some long, slow, deep breaths into your nose and out through your mouth. Maybe play with making your exhale just a little bit longer than your inhale. Inhale. Begin to let go of your surroundings. Begin to focus your attention inward. And as you breathe, feel your stomach expand and contract. And as you shift your attention inward, if you're distracted by any sounds in the room, simply notice them and bring your focus back to your breathing. When you're ready, begin shifting your awareness down to your feet and your toes and just notice any sensations you find there. You may want to wiggle your toes, point and flex your foot. Maybe you notice how your feet feel as they meet the ground or the furniture. Just notice any sensations or feelings without any judgment, without unpacking a story as to why you feel that way. With each deep inhale, imagine sending that breath all the way down to the tips of your toes as if your breath is traveling through your nose, to your lungs, through your belly, and all the way down to your feet and then back out again. And as you notice, maybe you don't actually feel anything at all and that's fine too. Just allow yourself to feel the sensation of not feeling anything. And on your next exhale, shift your awareness to your ankles and your calves. Maybe do some ankle rolls, maybe point and flex your foot again and just notice any sensations that you find. If you notice any discomfort or pain or stiffness, don't judge this. Just simply notice what it is in this moment. And as always, if you notice that your mind has wandered, just gently bring it back to your body and your breathing, being grateful for an opportunity to practice beginning again. When you're ready, begin to shift your attention to your knees and your thighs. Just observing any sensations or feelings you find in this moment, just as they are. And on your next exhale, shift your awareness to your belly and lower back. Maybe you notice how your belly rises and falls with each inhale and exhale. Just become curious about any sensations you find. You may notice sensations in your muscles, or the temperature or the points of contact between your body and the furniture or the floor. With each exhale, as you let all of that air go from your belly, just let go of any tension you're carrying. Do take a moment to check in on your breathing. Make sure you're breathing deeply in through your nose, letting it go out through your mouth, letting any tension go with each exhale. And when you’re ready, begin to shift your attention to your upper back and your chest. In your heart, maybe put your hands over your heart and feel your heartbeat. Just notice how your chest rises and falls, the pattern of each beat of your heart. And as always, just notice. And if you feel any judgment or opinions cropping up, just gently let them go. On your next exhale, shift your awareness to your hand, hands and your fingers. Maybe make a fist and let it go. Just notice any sensation as you breathe deeply. Imagine sending the breath down to the tips of your fingers. Your mind wanders. Just gently bring your attention back to your breathing and your hands. When you're ready, shift your awareness to your wrist and your forearms. Maybe circle your wrists. Just observe what you feel. On your next exhale, shift your awareness to your elbows and your upper arms. Maybe you notice. Notice a difference between the left and the right. Just notice without judgment. When you're ready, shift your attention to your neck and your throat and your shoulders. Shrug your shoulders up and then push them as far away from your ears as possible, imagining any tension just rolling off of them. On our next exhale, shift your awareness to your face and your head, relax your jaw, relax your eyes, relax the space between your eyebrows. Maybe you notice the feeling of air moving in through your nose and out through your mouth. Just observe what's true for you in this moment and now let your attention expand out to include your entire body as a whole, bringing into your awareness everything from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. Feel the gentle rhythm of your breath as it moves throughout your body. Just take a moment to notice how you feel. As we begin to bring our practice to a close, take a moment to take a few more long, slow, deep breaths into your nose and out through your mouth. You exhale, let everything letting go. Wiggle your fingers and toes. Gently blink your eyes open if they've been closed, and gently allow your surroundings back into your awareness. And as we conclude, take a moment to express gratitude to yourself for making time in your day to meditate.


00:31:24

Voiceover

Thank you for listening to Wealth Beyond Riches. Click the Follow button to be notified when new episodes become available and be sure to visit our website at www.abarisfinancialgroup.com. The information covered and posted represents the views and opinions of the guest and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Abaris Financial Group. The opinions voiced in Wealth Beyond Riches with Abbey Henderson are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine what may be appropriate for you, consult with your attorney, accountant, financial or tax advisor prior to investing. Guests on Wealth Beyond Riches are not affiliated with Abaris Financial Group or New Edge Advisors, LLC. Advisory services offered through New Edge Advisors, LLC, a registered investment advisor.