Photo by Elwanderer“One learns to fall gracefully in order to roll.” ~ Matthew Sanford
Two weeks later, I’m still thinking about Matthew Sanford’s talk at the Yoga Journal Conference. His book, Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence had a profound effect on me, how I see the world, and how I see my own yoga practice and teaching. The quote above is one of my favorites from the book. It’s the lesson Matthew learned from one of his yoga students who has cerebral palsy. The man explained that falling is a regular event for him, particularly as he gets in and out of the shower. He had hoped that yoga would help him improve his balance so he wouldn’t fall so often. And then one day he did fall and his body lightly landed on the ground without much pain. At that moment he realized that what yoga really taught him to do was how to fall with grace so that he didn’t get badly hurt when he fell.
The Universe has a wonderful way of handing us exactly what we need, though the method by which we get it isn’t always apparent to us. Matthew’s student end goal wasn’t to fall less; he wanted to get hurt less. He thought that would happen, and logically so, by falling less often. Instead, he learned to have grace on the way down and built strength to lift himself back up. Same goal accomplished, just a different path than he planned.
This time around Memorial Day is always a powerful one for me. There are changes and shifts that seem to happen in my life every year at just about this time. I make decisions and plans about what to do and what to stop doing. I always meet new people, some of whom end up becoming an integral part of my life. I’m confronted with new areas of learning and challenge that engage and inspire me. There is always a period of new beginnings for me that finds its roots on the doorstep of summer. I’m conscious of the end goals of these new beginnings, and open to the different paths that may lead to them.
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
2 thoughts on “Beginning: Yoga Teaches Us to Fall with Grace”
Christa,
You are like a wild flower in the dessert, an oasis in the dessert. That dessert is life. Your journey makes this clear.
If yoga means union with the divine, what is remarkable about you is that you always try your best to stay engaged with this process. You watch and wonder and slowly unfurl like a flag fluttering in the gentle breeze–that is who you are; it is your nature. That is what I find is wonderful about you.
Stay in this state of consciousness, always, and even if you fall from grace, once in a while, well, that is only human. Nobody’s perfect. Even so, we can strive for excellence.
Christa Avampato 
Christa,
You are like a wild flower in the dessert, an oasis in the dessert. That dessert is life. Your journey makes this clear.
If yoga means union with the divine, what is remarkable about you is that you always try your best to stay engaged with this process. You watch and wonder and slowly unfurl like a flag fluttering in the gentle breeze–that is who you are; it is your nature. That is what I find is wonderful about you.
Stay in this state of consciousness, always, and even if you fall from grace, once in a while, well, that is only human. Nobody’s perfect. Even so, we can strive for excellence.
Cheerio.
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Thanks for all of the encouragement, Archan. I’ve learned a lot from my falls, not the least of which is how to get back up and try again. Cheers!
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