I’m what’s termed an over-preparer. My years as a Girl Scout could be to blame for this neurosis. It could also be that I have an enormous fear of people staring at me waiting for some kind of answer. Ever since I was a very young child, I’ve had horrible stage fright. I wouldn’t say I prepare for every event in my life – only the ones I care about. My yoga and meditation classes fall in that camp.
For the first few years that I taught yoga, I would prepare for hours. I would develop the sequences and then practice them over and over again until I was dreaming about them. No matter how much I prepared, I found myself having to change everything in every class. My students needed something different than what I had prepared, and in an effort to meet their needs, I’d completely adjust the sequences. It felt like all my preparation was worthless, and yet I couldn’t help myself. If I didn’t prepare, my anxiety went right through the roof.
Then about a year ago, Brian asked me what would happen if I didn’t prepare for a class at all. (Mind you, I used to prepare for my sessions with him by making a list of subjects to discuss. I think this annoyed and amused him in equal amounts.) What if I just showed up, surveyed the room, and taught from my heart?
“What if I fail?” I asked.
“What if you do?” Brian asked. “Would that be so bad?”
Against my better judgement, I gave it a whirl. It wasn’t great, but I didn’t crash and burn either. All my preparation over the years had given me tools I didn’t even know I had. I was a better improver than I thought I was. I was better able to connect with my students in real-time than I ever thought possible. My nerves were on a bit on edge at first because I didn’t have the crutch of my preparation, but it got much better in a very short period of time. I started to pay attention more closely, on and off the mat. The less I prepared, the more present I was forced to be. It was beautiful to learn to be spontaneous, more alive, and have the confidence to know I could make it work.
I’ve yet to give up my preparation habit altogether, but I do prepare a lot less than I did in my earliest years of teaching. And though I’m always a bit on edge at the start of a class, I find that preparation doesn’t help to calm my nerves. What does help is to simply and honestly look into the eyes of my students, to recognize their humanness, their vulnerability, and their courage. And I’d miss all those things if I taught from a script.
By all means, prepare until you feel like you’re ready to take the stage in your life. But also be prepared to toss it all out the window in favor of what’s needed in the moment.
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.
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2 thoughts on “Leap: Prepare, and Then Be Prepared to Change”
I always have a rough outline in mind, but I realised how much students appreciate the simple question: “Any requests?” 🙂
Key for me was getting to know sequences and postures that work well together – just so that I have some tools at hand should I need them.
Thanks for your post!
Christa Avampato 
I always have a rough outline in mind, but I realised how much students appreciate the simple question: “Any requests?” 🙂
Key for me was getting to know sequences and postures that work well together – just so that I have some tools at hand should I need them.
Thanks for your post!
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I agree – those pieces that then can be practiced and cobbled together are so helpful!
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