Sats = Satya

Sats are the smallest denomination of Bitcoin. 1 sat will always = 1 sat. That is the truth inherent in Bitcoin that doesn't exist in ever-inflating fiat money.

If you don't like how the rich get richer while the majority do not, stop blaming corporations, CEOs, and general greed. Although those things do likely suck, they aren't the real culprit.

As your dollar continuously loses value, your time and purchasing power are stolen. But with Bitcoin, your currency holds its value. Satoshi designed Bitcoin to not merely hold value, but have it increase over time as there is a finite supply of 21 million. With the dollar? The U.S. government keeps printing it, increasing the money supply and this, in turn, debases the currency. This is what causes inflation.

Bitcoin remains unaffected by central planning. Governments don't affect or control it. It stays truthful and honest, like the code on which it's based.

We can't legislate or regulate our way out of the fiat disaster that's causing the inflation affecting us all. It's the printing of the money that's caused this. Money printing is not a feature of Bitcoin, which is why 1 sat will always equal 1 sat.

Where Bitcoin Once Again Aligns with Yoga

In yoga, satya means truth. I've always loved how "sats," short for Satoshi, the creator of Bitcoin, remind me of satya. What about "sat" as a root word?

The Latin root sat means "enough" or "full."

A look at common meanings behind this root word gives us further insight into the connection between "sats" and "satya."

Bitcoin satiates so it will always be enough. Fiat currency, on the other hand, is the currency of insatiable greed. We see this in how fiat prefers high time preference, or instant gratification, over slow saving and satiety. Fiat, ever debased, encourages us to consume endlessly. Bitcoin encourages us to save.

The money we uses influences our behavior. We can be satiated with saving or over-consume via the currency that will never be enough.

My cost of living has more than doubled since the pandemic. That's time theft. I spend time working at a certain rate, producing certain work of a certain value. A decade ago, I could have worked half as much to finance my lifestyle. That's inflation.

My first apartment cost around $600/month. Find an apartment that costs that now; it's almost impossible. My first car? That was $1,169. Today it costs me $933 just to replace my windshield. When I began smoking cigarettes, a habit I've thankfully quit, a pack of Marlboro Reds cost $2.50. Today, I'm told they cost around $12-13 per pack. That's inflation.

Thank the Fed, an unelected body. Thank central planners. Thank the U.S. government and politicians who say whatever they need to say to get elected while they do nothing to fix the money. Keynesian economics got us here with the dollar. Bitcoin and Austrian economics will help us fix this problem. But guess which one is taught in school? So the problem continues through generations. But Bitcoin is the way out.

Satya Means Truthfulness

In yoga, we have practices that are congruent to the truth brought to us by the way Bitcoin and sats eternally hold value. Satya is the practice of truthfulness. In Sanskrit, satya means "essence" or "truth."

Truth is yoga's second yama. Yama means "restraint." The yamas are the first of yoga's eight limbs. They are yoga's social ethics. In addition to satya, there is also:

🪷 Ahimsa - non-violence or non-harming

🪷 Asteya - non-stealing

🪷 Brahmacharya - right use of energy

🪷 Aparigrha - non-stealing

If we're to detox from fiat, these yogic principles are a good spiritual place to start. Fiat currency is harmful time theft. It's a waste of energy while Bitcoin conserves energy through curtailment, or grid stabilization, and utilizing stranded or wasted energy in mining.

Fiat currency, since it is endlessly being printed, funds things we cannot afford, like wars. This currency debasement steals not only lives, but our wealth and time. Think of something you don't like that costs money we don't have, from Flock Cameras to the war chest. The USA's FICO score should be in the negative, if it existed. If any of us spent money like the state does, we'd be far beyond bankrupt, credit scores in the negative.

Yet the government prints money it doesn't have to spend recklessly. If I did that, someone would never trust me with a dime again, let along 1 sat.

Want to see how far your money stretches? It doesn't when it's fiat, aka "money by decree," aka the US Dollar. I started working in 1994. My $100 back then wouldn't get me much today...

Where is the truth in the above?

I see only harm, theft, and energy waste. With an annual inflation rate of 4.2%, we must ensure we earn more than that each year to keep up. How many of us are? Very few.

I'm Just a Yoga Teacher

I'm an RYT-200, so I'm a huge nerd for yoga. I study, teach, and practice a lot. I'm also a huge nerd for Bitcoin and work in Bitcoin mining (in full disclosure). I'm no economist and financial adviser, and thank God, because I would have hated to turn out as a Keynesian one. That said, this is not financial or health advice. Don't take my word for it. You can and should do your own research.

As someone in long-term recovery from drugs and alcohol, I see most things in life through the lens of recovery. Recovery means "getting something back." When you give up addiction and choose recovery, you get your life back. When you choose Bitcoin over fiat, you get your time and money back. You begin to see everything differently because you finally begin seeing through the lens of truth.

I believe so much in a detox from fiat currency and the evil it supports that I created Radio Detox, a video podcast where I interview people about their fiat detox. What this looks like is me interviewing people who build with Bitcoin or in the Bitcoin space, such as artists, musicians, creatives, software developers, and business people.

In my latest interview, I talk with Right Said Fred. They aren't Bitcoiners, but they've stumbled onto a place where they can upload their music, earn Bitcoin for it, and find a new audience. I'll call them Bitcoin-curious. We all have to start somewhere. I'm just here to share their story with you.

If this message of how Bitcoin and yoga are congruent resonated with you, there will be more. This is just my second installment in the series of "21 Ways Bitcoin & Yoga Are Aligned in Their Values."

I wrote about personal responsibility in the first piece in the series. Next, I'll talk about Proof of Work in Bitcoin and yoga.