healthcare, meditation, teaching, yoga

Leap: ISHTA Yoga Will Be My 2012 Yoga Home

Christa Avampato

After months of deliberation, I finally chose to take the next step in my wellness career and pursue my next level of yoga teacher training. It’s been almost 2 years since I finished my 200-hour training at Sonic Yoga. I got an excellent base from Sonic and I treasure my teachers and friends from the program. After taking Cheri Clampett and Arturo Peal’s therapeutic yoga training at Integral Yoga last summer, I knew I needed my next level of teacher training to be deeply rooted in therapeutics. And so, I chose ISHTA Yoga‘s program.

Last week, yoga teacher Rodney Yee gave a speech at the San Francisco Yoga Journal Conference on yoga and healthcare. His message aligns with my feelings about who I am best equipped to serve in my teaching through Compass Yoga. It’s wonderful that 5% of Americans are practicing yoga, but what about the other 95% who would greatly benefit from it if there were more teachers willing to bring them into the fold? That is where the teaching opportunities of the future lie. The 95% are the students I am meant to serve and the ISHTA program is the best in New York City to help me fulfill that mission.

Many teacher training programs aren’t preparing teachers who can teach those who need special consideration. ISHTA is one of the great exceptions, and though I’ve spent a lot of my time since Sonic teaching and training to help introduce modified yoga and mediation to brand new practitioners, I know I need additional, intensive training to really up my skills. I’m so excited for this next leap with ISHTA!

ISHTA’s program dovetails with my teaching intentions perfectly. This beautiful storm of circumstances fell into place more seamlessly than I ever expected. I begin my first classes at ISHTA on January 31st. Along this next leg of the path, there will be many moments of insight, wonder, and discovery. I promise to share them all with you. Stay tuned! Namaste, baby!

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Published by Christa Avampato

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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