It is with an incredibly heavy heart, teary eyes, and several boxes of used tissues that I share the news that Compass Yoga, the nonprofit I started 4 years ago with the lofty dream to bring yoga to every person on the planet who wasn’t able to access yoga through traditional classes, has dissolved. Though I tried many avenues to make it financially successful, none of them worked and that stings.
Knowing what to do is important, but knowing what to stop doing is just as important, if not more so. Yoga teaches us that change is inevitable and that we must do our best to see change as an opportunity for growth and learning. Even though I know this is the right choice, it doesn’t make it any less painful to let go of the dream I had for Compass and admit that it just didn’t go the way I had hoped.
We helped hundreds of New Yorkers through our free classes every week, and without our classes our students wouldn’t have been able to learn yoga at all. Compass Yoga received a considerable amount of good press over the years that helped us reach an audience far outside of New York City. We also gave close to 50 new yoga teachers their teaching start by finding and cultivating opportunities for them to teach free classes in our community. It has been an absolute honor to work with all of these people to play a small part in helping them live happier and healthier lives. And goodness, did I learn so much about business, myself, community activism, the economic climate for nonprofits, and yes, yoga, along the way.
In time, I hope all of the good we did overshadows the enormous disappointment and sense of failure I feel right now. These are the tough choices that no one tells you about, the possible conclusion when we try to stretch far beyond what we know how to do or what we think we are capable of doing. When we go way out there into the unknown, we find our edge. And I, without a doubt, have found mine in this realm.
On the upside, I will continue to explore ways that I can personally continue to teach yoga and meditation to the people who need it most. Somewhere in this rain there’s a rainbow and I look forward to finding and following it. Thank you to everyone who has supported Compass Yoga and my dream of it over the years. The light that is in me honors the light that is in each one of you. Namaste.
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.
View all posts by Christa Avampato
2 thoughts on “Inspired: Compass Yoga Closes Its Doors After 4 Years”
I’m sorry to hear this. I have no doubt you helped many and may have inspired others to take similar actions.
Christa Avampato 
I’m sorry to hear this. I have no doubt you helped many and may have inspired others to take similar actions.
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Thanks, M. Xo
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