Month: April 2010

choices, decision-making, dreams, history, television

Step 120: Forget the Odds

Christa Avampato

“All quests worth undertaking … require audacity. And willpower. (Of course.) And persistence. (Of course.) But frankly, a persistent misreading of the odds.” ~ Tom Peters

The History Channel is running a series called America: The Story of Us. In each episode, the series talks about a specific chapter of American History. VSL highlighted it last week in their daily listing and I added it to my calendar. I could always use a little more history in my life.

I saw the series premiere and thought about how unlikely it was that we’d ever become a nation. The odds of success at the beginning of the Revolution had to be near zero. We are the most unlikely story ever told, and lived. This week I’ve been thinking about that episode in the context of pursuing my most unlikely dreams. The quote above by Tom Peters showed up in my inbox, and it reminded me how much courage comes from consistently misreading the odds, or seeing them and paying them no mind. If the people who fought for our early nation got out some paper, drew up a business plan, and calculated the NPV of America, risk factors and all, we’d have British accents.

I’m not suggesting that we throw every caution and hesitation to the wind. I’m suggesting that we have this one life, this one opportunity to do something extraordinary. People may not understand where we’re going. They may not understand why we’re making certain choices or taking a chance on a dream. That’s okay. They don’t need to understand. They’re crunching numbers and drawing up pro-cons lists and calculating odds. You’re out there living the life that you want to live, the way you want to live it. And in that scenario, there’s so such things as odds. You either live fully, or you don’t.

nature, yoga

Step 119: Finding Beauty

Christa Avampato

“Real beauty isn’t about symmetry or weight or makeup; it’s about looking life right in the face and seeing all its magnificence reflected in your own.” ~ Valerie Monroe

The beauty industry is a funny one. We spend gobs of money on creams, gels, cleansers, toners, and coloring to cover, extract, fill-in, pluck, nip, and fade every trace of experience from our physical appearance. I’m as guilty of it as anyone. I have a stash of products that I love and use every day. But I don’t feel my most beautiful with a face full of make-up and my hair done up. I find the most beauty on my yoga mat where I can see and feel the strength of my body, the clarity of my mind, and the joy of my smile. The rest is just a nice cover-up.

My yoga teacher, Jo, talks about aging in our teacher training. We’d all like to reverse the lines that time is leaving on our faces, and yet, those lines make us who we are. The experience they reflect allows us to connect to one another. And it is amazing to look at people who are truly joyful – they literally glow. Jo is one of those people. All of my yoga teachers are. Their beauty comes from being on the path.

Part of being on the path involves recognizing that we are a reflection of the world we live in, and that the world we live in is a reflection of who we are. There is no separation. It’s a gentle, continuous give and take. Real beauty isn’t in a jar, bottle, or tube. It’s out there, living, moving, and breathing through the world. You want to find real beauty? Go into the heart to see what lies there, and then get out into the world and share it.

The image above is not my own. It can be found here.

learning, yoga

Step 118: Getting What We Need

Christa Avampato

“Some people say, ‘I’m really inflexible so I don’t do yoga.’ That’s like saying, ‘I’m really hungry so I don’t eat.’ Silly.” ~ Will, my yoga teacher

Will told us this quote as we were talking about the importance of a regular practice, whatever it is we’re practicing. Regularity breeds mastery. To shy away from developing a practice because of something we lack isn’t logical. We practice so we can learn something. There’s no point in practicing something we already do perfectly. There’s no such thing as more perfect.

As we consider taking up a practice of any kind, what if we turned our attention toward something we want to improve or learn from scratch? I wanted to be a better writer, so I decided to write every day. Some of the pieces I wrote were terrible, and after a while I really started to see progress. By continually working on my craft, I did get better. Same is true for my yoga, and most recently for my meditation.

We all have to start somewhere; sometimes we start at zero. My friend, Brooke, has a great line about learning: ‘At birth, we all started at zero.’ Everything we can do now at one point didn’t exist at all. Go get what you need in order to achieve what you want to achieve. Don’t worry if you’re not any good at it now. You’ll get better.

The image above is not my own. It can be found here.

family, story, yoga

Step 117: Storytime and Yoga

Christa Avampato

When I was a kid, I loved story time. My mom would make up little characters and stories for my brother, sister, and I to hear before bedtime. One particular string of stories involved little fictional characters called the hoochie goochies who would run around in the forest and have all kinds of adventures. She’s make them up on the spot, and we could add in little details along the way. We’d read books like Superfudge, Tales of a Fourth Grace Nothing, and Dr. Seuss. Now when I go back and read those books, I can still hear my mom reading them and my siblings and I cracking up. This is the great thing about storytelling, particularly when it’s done out loud – the memories last a lifetime.

Storytelling has found its way into every area of my life – as a product developer, managing theatre shows, as a freelance writer. And now as a yoga teacher. Yoga, I am learning, is largely about stories, particularly when studying its philosophy and Eastern heritage. Even in my own teaching when I describe the energetics of an asana (pose), I give illustrations from stories. And in that way, my yoga comes from my life. Just like this blog. Just like the products I develop. Their commonality is story.

With this lens, yoga teaching isn’t scary at all. It’s just service – I offer stories and lessons I have by providing a physical expression of those stories. In Ujjayi breath, I hear the calling of lions that we tracked in South Africa. In asanas like Anjaneyasana, I see the excitement that my niece, Lorelei, gets from every day experiences like taking a walk outside and checking the mail. During Adho Mukha Vrksasana, I think of the simultaneous strength and freedom I needed to hang glide across the Tennessee mountains. My mom’s storytelling effected my life forever; it shaped who I am, what I do, where I go, and who I spend time with. And now every time I practice or teach yoga, I take her gift with me and pass it on.

The image above is not my own. I can be found here.

business, happiness, media, school

Step 116: Where the Hell is Matt Meets Darden

Christa Avampato

Inspired by the videos “Where the Hell is Matt”, a Darden student, David Shepro, made his own version, C’ville style. I went to business school at Darden so this video has very special meaning for me, but it’s got so much joy that it would bring a smile to anyone’s face, Darden grad or not. There’s something really unifying about a bunch of people dancing around with wild abandon in unexpected places. I don’t know why. There just is. We love the unexpected.

Welcome to the lighter, more joyful side of life at one of the world’s very best schools with one of the very best communities I’ve ever been a part of. For four and a half minutes, David showcases Darden’s amazing characters. I’m keeping this one in my archives to pull up whenever I need a great big smile. I’m so inspired, I think I’m going to do a little boogie break in my office right now. We could all use a little more dance in our day. Here’s to hoping this video makes you smile today, too. Enjoy!

Click here for David’s YouTube video.

Many thanks to my friend, Abhilekh, for passing this link to me.

commitment, meditation, yoga

Step 115: Making Time

Christa Avampato

“I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” ~ Martin Luther

I have so many ideas for blog posts from this weekend of yoga teacher training. Most of our work this weekend was about Eastern philosophy. Some of it I agree with. Some of it I don’t agree with. Some of it I’ll keep with me, and I’ll let go of the pieces that don’t serve. I find all of it useful to stimulate conversation and consideration.

Will, our philosophy teacher, gave us this quote by Martin Luther when we talked about how to balance our practice with the rest of our lives. It helped me. In the past, I have said to myself that I don’t have time to meditate or to do yoga on some days. Tonight was one of those nights. I wanted to get a lot of writing done, to catch up with friends on the phone, to clean my apartment, to make dinner, to get myself organized for the week. Every minute of teacher training that ticked by gave me another item for my after-yoga to-do list.

When I went to the store Scent Elate to get my little statues of Nataraj and Ganesha for my home altar, Mo, the owner gave me some sage and incense matches, without me even asking. “Make sure to burn some sage first before placing these on your altar.” This small gesture stopped me in my tracks, asking me to see my “gallopy” nature, recognize it, and tell it to be quiet down. ” Despite all of my to-do’s, I have time for practice,” I said to myself. “All I have is time.” Maybe Mo was channeling Martin Luther. Maybe the Universe needed me to hear the message a bit more loudly, and so it used Mo’s voice to give me exactly the learning I needed exactly when I needed it. Maybe it was just coincidence. Regardless, the message was heard loud and clear. “This practice is important. Make time for it.”

So I came home, burned a little sage, placed the statues, and did my 18 minutes of meditation. And you know what? The pathway to my writing opened. I made a delicious, simple meal, I got myself ready for my week. I caught up with some friends. There was time for all of it. But first, I had to take care of my own spirit, my own heart, through my meditation. Now, I can see. Really see. Now, I can do. Really do.

The image above is not my own. It can be found here.

home, religion, yoga

Step 114: Little Altars Everywhere

Christa Avampato

After a few months of thinking about creating an altar, I finally made one. It’s simple: no extra furniture required, a colorful cloth dish towel, 2 tea lights and holders, 2 small Chinese Buddha statues, a Nataraj statue, a Ganesha statue, some sage leaves, incense matches, a tiny bowl ceramic bowl from Japan that my friend, Rob, gave to me, a mala bracelet, and a set of Tibetan prayer beads that were given to me by a Buddhist priest in Salt Lake City. S small blue bindi from my teacher, Tracy, sits in the center.

All of a sudden, it all came together. I finally just decided it needed to be done, and the pieces fell into place with practically no effort on my part. A friend of mine in my teacher training told me about a store called Scent Elate in Hell’s kitchen. There I found two of the statues of Nataraj and Ganesha, as well as the matches and the sage (which were a gift from Mo, the owner of Scent Elate). I bought the mala bracelet in Whole Foods on a recent grocery shopping trip. The two Buddhas I bought in San Francisco’s Chinatown a long time ago. Along with the Tibetan prayer beads, those two Buddha statues survived my apartment building fire. In many ways I felt that they protected my life. Despite that they were out in the open, surrounded by smoke, there was never a speck on them and they didn’t ever smell of smoke. I found the tea lights, tea light holders, and towel at Crate and Barrel while redeeming a $15 gift card.

I love this altar in my home and it reminds me that everywhere out in the world, we can find little altars, places where we have tiny, holy moments that show us the way to enormous learnings. Ella’s community lemonade stand. Each of those gorgeous flowering tress in Riverside Park. The tables of restaurants where I share meals and laughs with friends. My tiny cafe table where I do most of my writing. The flower bed that used to be in my grandmother’s backyard. My niece’s high chair where I’ve fed her meals. These are little places where the universal divine rose up to the surface to show me the way. My way.

If you’re out in the world finding places that provide you with little glimmers of truth, I’d love to hear about them.

adventure, business, entrepreneurship, fear, feelings, yoga

Step 113: F.E.A.R.

Christa Avampato

“F.E.A.R. – false evidence appearing real.” ~ Tracy, my yoga teacher

Whenever I have class with my yoga teacher, Tracy, I keep my pen close by. She always has pearls of wisdom that she carefully places before us as an offering, wisdom that has been passed down to her from her own practice and meditation and her teachers. Last night she laid the quote above before us and asked us to consider why we would hold any fear at all give this acronym. I couldn’t think of any good reasons.

It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of letting our thoughts get the best of us. Certainly they should make us considerate of our actions, though we can’t allow them to prevent us from finding our true way. Lately I’ve been feeling my way toward my path with a little more spring in my step than usual. I’m growing increasingly aware that my life’s work, that elusive things I’ve been rummaging around for, is just around the corner, and so every day I wake up with the feeling that today might be the day when all these pieces that seem to be heading toward one another finally coalesce so beautifully that I wonder why I didn’t see their connection all along.

Every once in a while I catch myself believing in my false evidence appearing positive: “There are lots of yoga teachers in this city, all over the world. What will you do that’s so different?” or “There are people who are professionally trained industrial designers who develop products. How can you produce something as elegant as their work?” During my 18 minutes of meditation a day, my mind’s eye recognizes these F.E.A.R.s, acknowledges them, and then politely moves on. This doesn’t mean they go away completely; I certainly have moments of self-doubt. Can I really make a go of my own business? Can I really offer up something special and unique? And the answer I keep hearing, “well what else are you going to do with your time here if not create something special and unique.” Prana has a sense of humor. And it’s blunt. It’s got no time for messing around.

So I’ve started cranking along, planting lots and lots of seeds in all of this rich soil in my life. Every once in a while an early shoot sprouts up, I go over and water it, and despite my best efforts it just doesn’t root down properly. That’s okay. I thank it for making an appearance, showing me a way, knowing that its possibility put me one step closer to finding my way.

False evidence is all around us, and its a very good actor. But if we take the time to really sift through, to really match up the opportunities we find with what we truly want, it’s easy to detect which options are distractions and which ones we really need to cultivate. The next little adventure I’ll be cultivating is a trip to Santorini, Greece for a yoga retreat and teacher training with Shiva Rea. I have been looking for a retreat for some time now that really offer a nice combo of downtime and practice, in a place I’ve never been, with a teacher I really respect and admire. It just happened to work out that the week Shiva’s going is the perfect time for me to take a vacation, the price is perfect, and the theme “radical relaxation” is just what my curious soul needs. Synchronicity: a sure sign that I’m going exactly where I need to be. F.E.A.R.s be gone…

The image above is not my own. It depicts the sunset in Santorini, Greece, hopefully similar to the ones I’ll be seeing very soon. It can be found here.

environment, yoga

Step 112: Every Tree is Beautiful

Christa Avampato

“I’ve never seen an ugly tree.” Tracy, my yoga teacher

We had another divine Thursday evening with our yoga teacher, Tracy, and for an added bonus Jeffrey was there as our yoga model. To see them team-teach was a treat. Tonight we focused on balancing poses, and Vrksasana (tree pose) is one of my favorites. Very appropriate for Earth Day.

As we were exploring the different kramas (phases or stages) of Vrksasana, Tracey encouraged us to show all of the kramas as we’re teaching. The lower kramas are every bit as beautiful as the more advanced ones. “I’ve never seen an ugly tree,” Tracy said. “Inside and outside. They’re all beautiful.”

I thought about that idea in relation to the phases of so many different parts of our lives. There’s so much power and beauty in the phases we go through as we’re striving toward a goal. Even in the difficult moments, the beauty is there. It may be harder to uncover, it may be harder to appreciate. Within every moment there is a way to learn and grow and evolve. And that’s a beautiful thing.

The image above is from Google’s homepage today in celebration of Earth Day.

children, education

Step 111: Everyone Needs Kids

Christa Avampato

“Adults are always asking little kids what they want to be when they grow up because they’re looking for ideas.” ~ Paula Poundstone

“When we approach children with the awareness that they are our teachers, we become more present ourselves.” ~ DailyOM

“Everyone needs a 14-year old,” my friend, Brian, said to me tonight at dinner. Kids and teenagers have their finger on the pulse of what’s cool, new, and will someday be widely accepted. We don’t give our little gurus enough credit. I’m convinced that a room full of teenagers has a whole lot more creative brainpower, and therefore potential to build something of value, than a room full of Fortune 500 executives.

Today at work we had our annual Bowl-a-thon to raise money for Junior Achievement, a nonprofit that helps professionals volunteer in public schools to teach financial literacy courses. We had a great time (even though it was made painfully clear that I’m just never going to be a good bowler), and I would have liked a small plug about the organization and their mission. Supporting education, and public education in particular, is crucial to our nation’s future. Without it, we might as well throw in the towel now.

This week I came across the quotes at the top of this page, and combined with my conversation with Brian and the bowl-a-thon, I was reminded how important it is to have kids in our lives. I’m not sure that I want to have children, but I’m so glad they’re a part of my life through my volunteer work and my family. We have so much to learn from them, and they need us to champion their rights. If kids aren’t a part of your life in any way, I highly encourage finding a way to spend time with them. Here are some ways that can help get you going:

1.) Volunteer. There are so many opportunities to teach a class, coach a sports team, or be a mentor. You can learn from them and they can learn from you. Check out TakePart Social Action Network, to find volunteer opportunities near you.

2.) It takes a village. Offer to spend time with the child of a family member or friend. Your friends and family can use the down time, and their kids will benefit from having you as a great adult role model in their lives.

3.) Check around the office. At work there may be a way to do some research about the youth demographic or work on a product or service whose primary users are kids. Being a part of the market research, or just having to put yourself into the mindset of a young consumer, can effect your entire view of the world.

4.) Read books meant for a young audience. When I’m in bookstores, I do a little spin through the young adult reader section and I always find a book I like. It’s become a huge market for book publishers (thank you, Harry Potter) so the content is very rich. If you can’t find a way to get real kids in your life, just reading the books they’re reading, watching the TV shows that intrigue them, or listening to music they like can give you enough of their perspective to start to expand your own horizons.

If you have kids in your life, I’d love to hear your stories about what these kids have taught you.

The image above is not my own. It can be found here.