Last weekend I went to Marco Rojas’s yoga class at Pure Yoga. It’s listed as “Vinyasa 2” but it was nothing like any vinyasa class I’ve ever been to. We held poses for a LONG time, dug deep to explore them, and paused after each one to examine how it affected us. I had done all of the postures before, many times in fact, and yet each one felt new. Marco took us to the very edge of our physical practice to suspend our judgment and stop the chatter of our minds. And then he asked to stand on that edge with our eyes closed. We went through the entire class as if we had lost our sense of sight. We were breathless when he gave us the challenge.
How did Marco get this idea to ask us to close our eyes to raise the bar? He was on the top of his game, teaching at Yoga Works to classes filled with 70+ students. His ego was getting the best of him, and then a woman came to his class one day with a dog, a seeing eye dog. Instead of modifying for this woman, he made everyone else in the class modify and have her experience of yoga. He said it changed his teaching and his students forever. They could no longer look outside for a dristi, a focal point. They had to find their focus within. We all do.
If you look within your own heart, where does your focus lie?
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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.
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Last weekend I went to Marco Rojas’s yoga class at Pure Yoga. It’s listed as “Vinyasa 2” but it was nothing like any vinyasa class I’ve ever been to. We held poses for a LONG time, dug deep to explore them, and paused after each one to examine how it affected us. I had done all of the postures before, many times in fact, and yet each one felt new. Marco took us to the very edge of our physical practice to suspend our judgment and stop the chatter of our minds. And then he asked to stand on that edge with our eyes closed. We went through the entire class as if we had lost our sense of sight. We were breathless when he gave us the challenge.
Christa Avampato 
hey christa,
since i started with yoga a year ago i’ve always experienced these eyeclosing postures. in december it was a month of holding the postures for up to 8min – during this time you just have to close your eyes. and the feeling is amazing – when you get so deep on the ground of the sea, well your soul, it feels amazingly.
i always close my eyes for the postures (esp. headstand), eventhough we are just holding the postures fpor shorter times. you can always close your eyes. do it! the result will surprise you!
thanks for sharing your experience though!
enjoy your weekend.
love from germany,
pam
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Hi Pam – the results were shocking! I couldn’t believe how much I didn’t know where my body was with my eyes closed. It was truly amazing – thank you for the encouragement! 🙂
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