“Afoot and lighthearted I take to the open road, healthy, free, the world before me.”
~ Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
When I have an intense day of activities I try to take lunch by myself. This is especially true when I’m in yoga teacher training sessions. I need that hour in the middle of a day of learning to just sit, be, and absorb with as much silence as possible. I find that if I can do that, I can be completely present with people in the morning and afternoon sessions because my batteries are recharged with that tiny amount of “me” time.
Falling in love again on Perry Street
I took some “me” time last Sunday, grabbed my lunch, and found a sunny spot along Perry Street, one of my favorite streets in New York. A few days ago I was watching Part 2 to the New York documentary series done by PBS. In that episode there is a discussion about Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman’s love letter to New York City. In hearing those words, I was reminded of how many people have come and gone along these streets, and how for everyone there is a new discovery of their New York City experience that mirrors what so many people have felt before. Those dreams with a light and airy quality are the ties that bind New Yorkers together across time.
Where did the air go?
A few days ago, I took a dosha test – a personality test of sorts that has its roots in Ayurvedic medicine. I was a little alarmed to see how much the “vatta” or “air” quality of my personality has been pushed aside. I’m grounded and action oriented, but a little bit more of that dreamer would be good for me. On Perry Street, I was able to remember that feeling of being very young and new to New York. Even though my love affair with this city has gone on for a dozen years, I still find something new here every day. Feeling my way through the development of Compass Yoga, and the therapeutic yoga training at Integral Yoga Institute in particular, I have been able to find some of that air again. I have a new skin, a new outlook on this city and my role in this community.
Somewhere in this 12 year relationship with New York, I’ve lost a bit of that dreamy, airy quality. I’ve been so focused on paying my school loans, striving, and achieving in a city that moves at an unstoppable pace that I’d forgotten how good it feels to just let the mind wander for a bit. It’s fun to see where it goes.
Dreaming helps the living
And the best part is that after even just a short period of dreaming over lunch on Perry Street, I could get back to the business of my yoga teaching training at Integral with a renewed, open sensibility. I could be more present with my classmates and teachers. My teaching was spot on and it felt amazing. So much for the theory of idle time being truly idle. In those dreamy moments, there is serious work going on that makes the rest of our time that much more valuable to those around us.
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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2 thoughts on “Beginning: A Little More Air, Please”
Christa,
Thank You.
I think this is exactly what you needed, and for quite a while now too.
You are spot on. Your introspections are insightful, perceptive.
It’s not your fault, though. It is the nature of the Big Apple to encourage action oriented pragmatists; people who are well-grounded and get things done.
Dreaming is something that you do on your own time–a bit unfortunate–because our most valuable work can be a product of our more dreamy states of mind. In the Big Apple, however, dreamers may be considered “lazy” or worse.
I have a suggestion: why don’t you go on a mini-vacation on the weekends.
I wonder if you could re-vist the rural place where you grew up, or even Ithaca, home to Cornell University.
You will fall in love with Ithaca. It is such a beautiful place–very scenic and green and open spaces there. And it is not too far from where you live and work too. You can take a friend or ask a guy on a date and hang out there.
It is like a picnic spot and you can have plenty of time to dream over there.
That’s what weekends are supposed to be for anyway–just to relax and unwind and enjoy. Sometimes, it is necessary for all of us to seek out change. That may do you a world of good, in the end. Have a great time. Best wishes. Cheers.
Christa,
Thank You.
I think this is exactly what you needed, and for quite a while now too.
You are spot on. Your introspections are insightful, perceptive.
It’s not your fault, though. It is the nature of the Big Apple to encourage action oriented pragmatists; people who are well-grounded and get things done.
Dreaming is something that you do on your own time–a bit unfortunate–because our most valuable work can be a product of our more dreamy states of mind. In the Big Apple, however, dreamers may be considered “lazy” or worse.
I have a suggestion: why don’t you go on a mini-vacation on the weekends.
I wonder if you could re-vist the rural place where you grew up, or even Ithaca, home to Cornell University.
You will fall in love with Ithaca. It is such a beautiful place–very scenic and green and open spaces there. And it is not too far from where you live and work too. You can take a friend or ask a guy on a date and hang out there.
It is like a picnic spot and you can have plenty of time to dream over there.
That’s what weekends are supposed to be for anyway–just to relax and unwind and enjoy. Sometimes, it is necessary for all of us to seek out change. That may do you a world of good, in the end. Have a great time. Best wishes. Cheers.
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