The similarities between yoga and technology continue over at ISHTA.
Last week, I wrote about yoga as a form of spiritual technology. In our Saturday lecture, Alan Finger talked to us about the subtle body (the energy lines within us that connect us to a greater intelligence), and its linkages between our karma and our physical body. He spoke about these energy bodies as things waiting to be double-clicked. Once we open up these energy channels, we find they are able to pull in information that is beyond our own experience. By freeing these channels, we literally tap in to something greater than ourselves.
Sound too hippy dippy yoga for you? Steve Jobs didn’t think so.
Think about your computer, and specifically think about a Mac (just because Alan and I both love our Macs.) Think of its intelligence and the way it ladders information. We don’t have code cluttering our desktops, do we? Of course not. The code is contained in programs. We open programs and we’re able to tap into different capabilities and functionality available at different levels within the programs installed on the computer. Computers pull from different systems, guided by our physical directions, our double-clicks from the mouse or track pad.
Our yoga is the same way. Our physical actions, our asanas, allow us to link into the different layers of programs installed in our being. Some of them relate to our physical body, mind, spirit, or energy channels. How a computer works is based very much on how we work, and yet we are so much more intricate, so much more amazing, than any machine will ever be. Steve Jobs understood that fact to a frightening degree and it fueled his creativity. He made machines more human.
The technologies we love so much are a reflection of our fascination with things so complex that lie at the outer edges of our comprehension. We are our greatest experiment, our greatest tool for discovery. Go within and really wonder at what you find. We are amazing!
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 “Leap: Steve Jobs Built the Mac Based on Yoga”
I love these parallels. Thanks Christa. (I love my Mac, too.)
I love these parallels. Thanks Christa. (I love my Mac, too.)
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Me, too! I love them!
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Thank you Christa. As a yoga teacher and spiritual seeker who has just taken a job in technology, I greatly appreciated finding these wise words.
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I’m so glad it was helpful to you. I love drawing parallels between yoga and technology in my life and work!
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