“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.
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
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.
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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