I’m just about 4 months into my year of writing about new beginnings. This writing intention has brought a lot of clarity to every aspect of my life and as I look back on these four months of posts, I’m truly surprised to see all that I’ve been able to begin and how much I’ve been able to share about the beginnings of others. I feel more inspired by the topic of beginning than I have ever felt about any writing intention. Perhaps this is because the very word “beginning” carries with it one of my very favorite sentiments – hope.
With all these new beginnings, I’m focusing on how and where I’m of the best possible service. This means that some endings are within sight now, and with every ending there is some kind of sadness, some kind of mourning and loss. Endings are deaths, and they deserve to honored. Without them, we wouldn’t have new beginnings.
In the past few months I’ve been finding a number of opportunities to share my yoga practice and teaching. Some of those experiences have been more satisfying than others. Many times, I’ve been able to find people whom I can truly help. I am the right students for their needs at this time. And other times, I’m exerting a lot of effort to no avail. I just don’t have what some students need. I am not the right teacher for them, and so I need to release them in the hopes that they can find a new teacher.
This fact became apparent over the weekend as I taught a regular gig I’ve had for some time now. It was actually my very first teaching assignment after I finished my 200-hour certification. It’s a very long distance from my house and I’ve learned a lot there. I’m grateful for the time I’ve been able to spend with those students and all that they’ve taught me, but I can’t take them any further. I sat in the treatment room after both classes, took a look around and felt a profoundly peaceful feeling. My work is done there.
This is in complete contrast to the teaching I’ve done at Columbia Medical Center, Columbia Law School, at the New York Pubic Library, and with my handful of private students. In those situation I feel alive, and I know I have more to offer. In the situation over this past weekend, I could feel the book closing, could see the credits rolling. I just knew deep within my heart that I was needed elsewhere by other students.
For a moment I felt very sad. I wanted to make a bigger impact there. I had hoped for a longer amount of time with those students. I was reminded of a scene in You’ve Got Mail when Jean Stapleton says to Meg Ryan that closing her book store and starting fresh is the brave thing to do. The right thing to do. It was time to move on. And then I also thought of The Gambler by Kenny Rogers. “You gotta know when to fold ’em.” That made me giggle, but he’s right.
In my meditation later that day, I made sure to give thanks to this wonderful opportunity that was now past. I thought of each of my students and how much they helped me grow. They opened my eyes to the power of therapeutic yoga and all the gifts that it has to offer. I’m grateful that I had the time there, and will always be grateful for it. And now with that door closing, I see a new window opening already. We’re all needed somewhere.
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/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
4 thoughts on “Beginning: You Have to Go Where You Can Help”
Christa:
I like that song too by Kenny Rogers. Moreover, Meg Ryan is one of my favorite actors and I enjoyed watching You’ve Got Mail. It was a hilarious movie but also made you want to think.
It’s okay if you can help some students and it is okay if you can’t help some students. That’s just life. Let me explain.
In life, we find like-minded people who seem to be on the same wavelength and others who seem to live on another planet.
The teacher-student relationship is a fine, balancing act. If it is not working, either the teacher can help another student or the current student can choose another teacher. The important thing for both is to be comfortable with one another and to be able to create a win-win situation.
I think you have helped a lot of people with your yoga teaching program and you need to be congratulated for those efforts. You are making a positive difference in the lives of the people you have helped.
I wish I had a guru like you, years ago, but I could not find one. So, I had to learn meditation on my own by taking the initiative and learning from books by famous authors/writers.
Hi Archan,
You’re absolutely right. There is a teacher for every student. I really feel honored that I could help those students for as long as I did and now it’s time to pass the reigns to their next teacher. I also love the saying that when the student is ready, the teacher appears. I also believe the reverse is true as well.
Thank you so much! I am so thrilled and honored! Of course I accept and want to start spreading the goodness to 15 other bloggers. Do I just post the 15 bloggers in a post on my own page, notify them, and then list 7 random facts about myself? And of course wil thanjk you in spades on my blog as well 🙂
Christa:
I like that song too by Kenny Rogers. Moreover, Meg Ryan is one of my favorite actors and I enjoyed watching You’ve Got Mail. It was a hilarious movie but also made you want to think.
It’s okay if you can help some students and it is okay if you can’t help some students. That’s just life. Let me explain.
In life, we find like-minded people who seem to be on the same wavelength and others who seem to live on another planet.
The teacher-student relationship is a fine, balancing act. If it is not working, either the teacher can help another student or the current student can choose another teacher. The important thing for both is to be comfortable with one another and to be able to create a win-win situation.
I think you have helped a lot of people with your yoga teaching program and you need to be congratulated for those efforts. You are making a positive difference in the lives of the people you have helped.
I wish I had a guru like you, years ago, but I could not find one. So, I had to learn meditation on my own by taking the initiative and learning from books by famous authors/writers.
Cheers.
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Hi Archan,
You’re absolutely right. There is a teacher for every student. I really feel honored that I could help those students for as long as I did and now it’s time to pass the reigns to their next teacher. I also love the saying that when the student is ready, the teacher appears. I also believe the reverse is true as well.
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I nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award. If you accept you comment that you accept and nominate 15 other bloggers.
http://athursdayschild.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/the-versatile-blogger-award/
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Thank you so much! I am so thrilled and honored! Of course I accept and want to start spreading the goodness to 15 other bloggers. Do I just post the 15 bloggers in a post on my own page, notify them, and then list 7 random facts about myself? And of course wil thanjk you in spades on my blog as well 🙂
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