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.
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
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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,
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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