This post is available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.
“The years teach much which the days never knew.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Last week, I went to New York Methodist Hospital to meet with the Recreational Therapist in the Geriatric Psych Department. She was interested in having a yoga instructor come into the department to do chair yoga with the patients that have the mobility to exercise. The Department is an acute care facility, meaning that patients are there following some incident that requires close monitoring by a medical staff. Their average length of stay is 3 weeks, and many of the patients are in their 70s and 80s.
I had my first class today with a small group of patients. “We don’t allow children here,” said Wesley*. In the next breath be threatened to kill me (in words only – he is physically harmless and apparently says that to everyone). He read the paper cover to cover every day of his life. Now he can no longer read (that is one of the saddest parts of dementia to me) though still insists on leafing through the paper and cutting out pictures that interest him. Another patient, Lola, told me she is 4 months pregnant and going home tomorrow. Minnie, the most coherent of the group, rolled her eyes at every comment made by the other patients. There was something both sweet and sad about the class.
My emotions on the train back to Manhattan were complex and jumbled. I’m fascinated by how the brain functions (or malfunctions), and supremely interested in how yoga, meditation, and breath work can alter the brain’s long-term health. “Where did they do?” I kept asking myself. Why can’t Wesley read any more? Why does this beautiful, blessed machine of a brain have to unravel?
If I could find a way to use yoga to help a mind stay calm and balanced and among us just a little while longer, then I would consider myself so lucky to have done work worth doing.
* All names have been changed to protect the patients’ confidentiality.
Published by Christa Avampato
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
View all posts by Christa Avampato
This post is available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes. 
Christa Avampato 
What a wonderful idea – I hadn’t heard of this being done, but it makes sense at least on a gut level that it could help. (I am aware of using yoga practice to help cancer patients and survivors, and PTSD patients.) It sounds like this is an area that could really be of interest to you.
I imagine this may be something that is at least as difficult sometimes as it is rewarding other times, and will be a challenge on an emotional and psychological level. It sounds to me like that this is an effort that is so filled with compassion, and also with what I understand is the spirit of Namaste – whether it’s immediately obvious to the outside world or not, there are still divine beings inside the aging bodies and challenged brains, and you are honoring them by trying to help and connect.
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Hi MJ – so true. It is both inspiring and heart-breaking. You said it so perfectly – there are still divine beings in those bodies and they should be honored just as we honor all people. I really do think yoga can do so much good in the medical field and I hope to be a part of that movement.
Cheers and thanks so much for your encouragement!
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Christa –
After I posted, I read a piece in the Washington Post’s Sunday magazine about a musician touring in unexpected places – it made me think of your post. I thought you might enjoy it (link below) and a quote at the end (substitute the word yoga for the word concert):
This is no place for a concert, and it’s the perfect place for a concert.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/07/AR2011010704495.html
best,
MJ
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Quite a challenge, Christa – my prayers are with you as you search and research an answer. I have faith you can make a difference.
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