Mindful Wealth: How Breathwork & Presence Create a Happier Path to Retirement

Mindful Wealth: How Breathwork & Presence Create a Happier Path to Retirement

David Lundberg MBA MSCJ and Ashley Lundberg MSBL both Pranayama and Mediation Certified written 12/10/25

For many people and families, money is not just a financial matter; it is an emotional, energetic, and nervous system experience. It lives in the breath, the heart, the mind, and the subconscious stories passed from one generation to the next.

A retirement plan of financial freedom might appear logical on paper, yet still feel heavy, stressful, or unclear. Not because the numbers are wrong, but because the inner environment guiding those decisions is overwhelmed and not truly understood.

At Awaken Financial Designs, we believe true financial clarity doesn’t begin and end with just numbers and math on charts and spreadsheets.
It begins with presence.
With breath.
With awareness.
With alignment.

This philosophy became the foundation of our signature system “ The 7-Stage Awakened Wealth & Life Alignment Method™”. A holistic framework that blends mindfulness, emotional clarity, spiritual grounding, and strategic financial planning to help families retire earlier, wealthier, and happier.

A Personal Journey: How David and Ashley Found Peace, Clarity & Purpose

Before our work evolved into a conscious wealth practice, we were simply two humans doing our best to navigate the stressors and expectations of modern life. As adults, as parents, as workers, as business owners, and so much more. Like many, we carried seasons of anxiety, overthinking, emotional fatigue, financial worry, and disconnection from presence.

It wasn’t until our own journey of meditation and breathwork entered our lives that everything began to shift. Through these practices, we found silence within the noise, clarity within the confusion, and a deeper sense of trust in life’s unfolding. Our relationship strengthened. Our parenting softened. Our sense of purpose awakened and expanded in new light.

In addition to David and Ashley having various Financial and Business Master’s Degrees and Licenses, they wanted something more deeply meaningful to guide others. These experiences led us to pursue formal training in a different way:
• Both became Meditation and Pranayama Certified through Yoga Alliance.
• Together we enrolled in a Yoga Alliance 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training, deepening our knowledge of nervous system regulation, somatic awareness, and mindful leadership.

This wasn’t about adding a credential. It was about honoring the truth: “Money is emotional. Planning is energetic. Wellness shapes wealth”. We believe families need an advisor who understands all of it.

Why Wealth and Wellness Must Be Integrated

Stress triggers a physiological reaction long before it becomes a financial one. Neuroscience shows that when the brain enters fight-or-flight, the prefrontal cortex (responsible for long-term thinking and balanced decisions) partially shuts down.

This is why money can feel overwhelming, even when the math is simple.

Chronic financial stress leads to:
• avoidance
• impulsive decisions
• emotional spending
• tension within relationships
• procrastination around retirement
• fear-based market reactions
• distorted perception of risk

When breath deepens, when the nervous system settles, and when mindfulness returns… The entire financial landscape comes into focus.

As Thich Nhat Hanh wrote: “When the mind is calm, everything becomes clear.”

This clarity is the foundation of confident retirement planning.

Breathwork as a Gateway to Better Financial Decisions

Pranayama is the ancient yogic science of breath. It has been shown in Stanford and Harvard research to reduce cortisol, stabilize heart rate variability, and reopen the brain’s decision-making pathways.

A simple breath sequence like inhale for 4, exhale for 6 can shift the nervous system in less than a minute.

Breathwork gives families the clarity to:
• make intentional choices
• discuss money calmly
• understand options clearly
• avoid fear-driven mistakes
• plan early retirement with confidence

The breath becomes a compass; returning us to presence so our decisions arise from clarity rather than stress.

Mindfulness Aligns the Inner World With the Financial World

Mindfulness invites us to observe without judgment, to see our thoughts as passing patterns rather than fixed truths. When applied to wealth, it dissolves emotional heaviness and creates space for wise, spacious thinking.

People and Families who practice mindfulness often find:
• they spend more intentionally
• they communicate more clearly
• they feel safer discussing finances
• they become more goal-oriented
• they experience less fear in market cycles
• they approach retirement with confidence rather than confusion

Mindfulness is not separate from money; it is the state from which healthy money decisions arise.

Meditation Strengthens the Mind for Long-Term Wealth

Studies from Yale and Harvard consistently show that meditation improves emotional regulation, long-term thinking, and resilience. All qualities essential for early retirement planning.

Meditation trains the mind to:
• pause instead of react
• see patterns clearly
• stay grounded during uncertainty
• make values-aligned choices
• hold a long-term vision
• release fear around the unknown

Wealth requires clarity and meditation cultivates clarity.

The Family Ripple Effect: Conscious Wealth Begins at Home

When adults transform their relationship with money, children feel it. They learn emotional regulation not from instruction but from observation.

When parents discuss finances with calm energy, presence, and intention, children develop:
• healthier money beliefs
• stronger self-regulation
• confidence around financial choices
• a balanced perspective on spending and saving

A family aligned in wellness becomes a family aligned in wealth.

This Is Why Our Events Include Breathwork, Meditation & Visualization

Our in-person events are not “financial seminars.” They are immersive experiences.

Before and after we talk about taxes, retirement, or wealth-building… We guide participants through:

• grounding breathwork
• mindfulness meditation
• visualization exercises
• intentional presence practices

Why? The nervous system must be open before the mind can receive wisdom. When people relax into their bodies, their financial questions soften, their fears dissolve, and clarity rises.

This is the heart of the “7-Stage Awakened Wealth & Life Alignment Method™” a system that blends ancient wellness practices with modern financial planning to help families create a retirement that feels peaceful, purposeful, and deeply aligned.

Happiness: The Final, Often Forgotten Pillar of Retirement

Retirement is not only about wealth. It is about how you feel while living it.

Happiness research shows that emotional well-being:

• improves financial discipline
• increases resilience
• enhances long-term decision-making
• strengthens relationships
• elevates overall satisfaction in retirement

This is why our mission is to help families retire: earlier, wealthier, and happier. Wealth without happiness is incomplete.

A Soft Invitation Into Conscious Wealth

Whether you are here locally in Cary, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Apex, or connecting with us virtually across NC, Arizona, or anywhere in the U.S., Awaken Financial Designs was created for individuals and families seeking a different kind of financial guidance.

Something calmer. Something wiser. Something more human. Something aligned.

If you feel called to blend wellness with wealth…
If you desire to plan your retirement with clarity and peace…
If you want a guide who honors your emotional, spiritual, and financial well-being…

Let’s Awaken together.