Matthew SanfordAs a yoga teacher, I’m very interested in getting involved with trauma recovery. I have some personal experience with post-traumatic stress disorder having endured it for a period of a few months following a fire that happened in my apartment building in September 2009. My experience doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the trauma that so many people go through not for months, but years, decades, lifetimes. My yoga and meditation practices have been with me now for over a decade, and they have never failed me. They helped me forgive, others and myself. They helped me grow and thrive, when I thought my very best hope was only to survive from day-to-day. Now having experienced their tremendous power, I want to gift them to others as a way of paying forward my gratitude.
My Uncle Tom recently sent me the URL for Matthew Sanford’s site. I had never heard of Matthew but from the moment I read the first line of his story I knew he would become a teacher for me: “It took a devastating car accident, paralysis from the chest down, and dependence on a wheelchair before I truly realized the importance of waking both my mind and my body.” Now a yoga teacher, author, speaker, nonprofit founder, and sustainable investor, Matthew’s wisdom gained from his own experience is transformative for anyone who comes into contact with him through any medium. He shares his own traumatic and harrowing story of tragedy and redemption, and how that journey brought him true awareness.
I encourage you to take a look at his website, read his book, and attend one of his events. He has much to share and we have much to learn.
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
1 thought on “Beginning: Meet Matthew Sanford”
Christa,
Yoga is like comfort food when you are emotionally needy. Yoga is like a warm security blanket on a cold, wintry night.
Yoga is therapy without having to meet an actual therapist.
Your wonderful and absorbing post reminded me about the power of yoga to cure and to heal our suffering and our pain.
I feel happy for you that you managed to recover from the fire that engulfed your building. Such traumatic experiences can leave an indelible impression on our mind. It can make one feel less than one, in the immortal words of Joseph Brodsky.
Recovering from that shock must have knocked the wind out of your sails, but you persisted in your yogic practice. In that sense, yoga is like a catharsis: it helps you to purge emotions and leaves you feeling like a whole person again.
More power to you on your yogic quest and please do continue with this journey. Life is full of challenges. These stumbling blocks and tasks come to us thick and fast–oftentimes, without warning. Yoga helps us to cope. Thanks.
Christa Avampato 
Christa,
Yoga is like comfort food when you are emotionally needy. Yoga is like a warm security blanket on a cold, wintry night.
Yoga is therapy without having to meet an actual therapist.
Your wonderful and absorbing post reminded me about the power of yoga to cure and to heal our suffering and our pain.
I feel happy for you that you managed to recover from the fire that engulfed your building. Such traumatic experiences can leave an indelible impression on our mind. It can make one feel less than one, in the immortal words of Joseph Brodsky.
Recovering from that shock must have knocked the wind out of your sails, but you persisted in your yogic practice. In that sense, yoga is like a catharsis: it helps you to purge emotions and leaves you feeling like a whole person again.
More power to you on your yogic quest and please do continue with this journey. Life is full of challenges. These stumbling blocks and tasks come to us thick and fast–oftentimes, without warning. Yoga helps us to cope. Thanks.
Cheers.
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