“Anyone can be an instructor; what you need to work on is being someone’s teacher.” ~ Mel Brasier, ISHTA Yoga Senior Teacher
“I don’t teach what I own. I own what I teach.”~ Mona Anand, ISHTA Yoga Senior Teacher
Today, I’m halfway through my advanced yoga teacher training program at ISHTA. I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about what makes a teacher. Anyone can learn material and the words to communicate it to someone else. Anyone can stand at the front of the room and give directions from memory. But that doesn’t make someone a teacher.
A teacher can take what she knows, discover what her students need, and then find a way to dynamically marry the two.
There’s a lot to be said for preparation, for planning out a safe and purposeful class. It requires a tremendous amount of knowledge and practice. But it doesn’t make someone a teacher.
A teacher is someone who is prepared as much as he is aware. He has the courage to take everything he planned to do and throw it away for the sake of serving his students and their needs in the moment. He can bravely change course when he sees that there is a better way forward.
Teaching has very little to do with the teacher and everything to do with the student. Teaching is service. It requires that we show up, tune in, and give freely to those around us.
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: The Making of a Teacher”
I’ve been focusing my meditation on preparing to enter teacher training and thanks Universe and you for this blog post. I’m printing it out and putting in my teacher training folder. Much love to you.
Christa Avampato 
I’ve been focusing my meditation on preparing to enter teacher training and thanks Universe and you for this blog post. I’m printing it out and putting in my teacher training folder. Much love to you.
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Mary, I am so glad it was helpful. I can’t wait to hear about your teacher training journey!
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