Author: Christa Avampato

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.
choices, creativity, opportunity, passion, patience

Beginning: Renewing the Familiar and Waking Up

Christa Avampato

“The moment one gives close attention to any thing, even a blade of grass it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.” ~ Henry Miller

Every morning I walk 5 blocks to the subway, and some mornings I don’t remember a single step that I took to get there. I’m out ahead of my walk. I’m imagining the packed subway car that I don’t want to deal with or thinking about my morning meetings and deliverables. I’m checking Twitter and Facebook or planning out my evening activities. This is the downside of being hyper-organized and a creature of planning – I can miss the moment I’m in right now, and all of the learning that each one offers.

In the past month, I’ve been focused on waking up and being aware. I’m observing more consciously, and finding that Henry Miller was absolutely right. Right in my neighborhood, there are beautiful things happening. Small business owners trying to make a-go of their dream. Tiny sprout of life breaking through the cold ground as Spring makes its long slow climb out of obscurity in Riverside and Central Parks. Street musicians and artists decorating our sidewalks. And even all of those people packed in the subway car on weekday mornings – just watching them and taking note of their activities makes my commute a part of my day rather than just some means to an end.

It is possible to renew the familiar, and it doesn’t require any fancy equipment or class or certification. You can start right now, wherever you are. Observe the knots in the world flooring beneath your feet, the sunshine filtering through your window, or the simple mannerisms of the person sitting next to you. We always have the option to begin a practice conscious living.

This blog is also available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.

change, travel, yoga

Beginning: There’s So Much to Learn During Times of Transition on the Yoga Mat and in the World

Christa Avampato

“The way you arrive somewhere affects your experience once you’re there.” ~ Jason Crandell

How we arrive in a destination, the physical act of how we get to that first step at our destination is often an experience we barely consider. We’re rushing out the plane, train, car, or subway in effort to get somewhere, without consciously thinking much about how we got where we are and how we want to show up at our destination. The same happens in our yoga practice. In this month’s issue of Yoga Journal, Jason Crandell writes about transitioning between postures of ease and steadiness to postures that challenge us to maintain balance. He doesn’t focus on the completion of the transition, the actual arrival. In this article he’s focused on the many tiny steps in-between. He’s exploring the beauty, challenge, and strength of the transition.

It’s a challenging practice. I rush my practice all the time. My toes grip the mat as if I’m holding on for dear life in standing balance postures. My muscles tense and I have to consciously tell myself to breath. When Jason walks his readers through the transition, I realize how many opportunities for growth and reflection there are in the actual transition. To slow down and pay attention in that process is a focus in and of itself. All this time, I’ve been missing that opportunity in my teaching and in my own practice.

Transition will be the theme of my yoga classes this coming week in my private session, my group class on Sunday evening, and in my by-donation class at Columbia Law School on Monday night (which is now open to the public). I’m excited to see what we find in the in-between. There are adventures hiding there that have so much to teach us.

The image above appears at http://communityofmindfulparents.com

This blog is also available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.

costa rica, courage, writing, yoga

Beginning: Trust that Yoga Can Help You Find Balance On and Off the Mat

Christa Avampato

“Falling out of balance doesn’t matter, really and truly. How we deal with that moment and how we find out way back to center, every day, again and again – that is the practice of yoga…it’s about trusting that you will find your way.” ~ Cyndi Lee, Founder of OM Yoga

This month’s issue of Yoga Journal is packed with incredible articles and heartfelt quotes that made me stop mid-article and remember all of the wisdom available to all of us in this ancient practice. In yoga there is a disproportionate amount of emphasis placed on getting to a certain destination – a particular variation of a posture, an end goal of improvement in some area such as flexibility or strength, or the simple desire to stop the whirring of our minds. What I love about Cyndi Lee’s quote above is that she offers a goal accessible to everyone, at every level of ability. When we lose our balance, can we maintain our grace, learning from the fall, and find the strength to try again?

We all fall out of balance, on and off the mat, and when it happens there’s a gut reaction of frustration. We rant and beat ourselves up and immediately begin to draft up huge changes that we’re going to make so that this lack of balance never happens again. It’s a never-ending battle, this pursuit of balance, and here’s why: balance isn’t something we always have in a snapshot in time. Balance, sustainable and freeing, is something we have over long stretches of time, not in snippets. In a certain posture, we may find extreme ease and balance, but it the remainder of our practice, feels out of whack, that moment of balance in one postures won’t remain in our hearts. Conversely, if our whole practice feels balanced and we struggled at the edge of a posture here and there, then we feel more peaceful and grounded.

In our life off the mat our job, relationship, family, friends, or a particular project may require the majority of our attention. The next day, our focus may need to belong to something different entirely. The key is to think about life balance over many day, weeks, and months. Has it been too long since you’ve been out with friends or spent some quality time just taking care of you? Have you been consumed by one project while other activities that you feel passionately about languish on the vine? Balance is about tending to the part of our lives that needs us most at this moment.

The image above can be found at http://www.tiffanyyoga.com/index.php

This blog is also available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.

happiness, opportunity, patience

Beginning: Learning to Grow Happiness

Christa Avampato

“The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.” ~ James Oppenheim via my friend Sue’s Facebook page

“If only” is a dangerous way to begin a thought. If only we had more money, time, lived here, had this relationship, job, house, project, contact, opportunity. And on and on it goes. There isn’t an end to what we want (and mistakenly think we need). And there will never be an end. There will always be something out there that seems like a good idea for us to have.

When I saw Sue’s quote on her Facebook wall, I was having one of those particularly “wanting” days. I had just reached the end of my rope with a particular situation at work. I had resolved that I was going to pull a Gershwin and call the whole thing off. This would have been a very bad idea because when I made my way back to my desk the situation reached such a tremendous conclusion, one that had never even occurred to me as in the realm of possibility, that I had to sit for a minute in stunned silence to fully process my good fortune. All this time, I had thought my efforts on the project were for naught. I had no idea how much of an impact my efforts made.

I was so focused on what wasn’t going well, on my internal frustration with the situation, that I hadn’t bothered to take stock and appreciate all of the progress I had made. It was slow, incremental progress, but it was progress. Sure and steady, hard-won and not fully baked just yet. But surely there were many moves in the right direction. All the while, I forgot to notice the bright green grass growing right under my feet. I was too busy living up in the clouds.

What a lesson in staying grounded and having a very good look at the buckets of opportunity that are all around us. I’m reminded again of a favorite quote that always helps me to count my blessings – so often what’s needed is a change of self, and not a change of scene. Or as my lovely friend, Sharni, so beautifully states on her blog – “the grass isn’t greener on the other side, it’s greener where you water it.” Happiness is something we can cultivate, right where we are, right now.

This blog is also available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.

choices, decision-making, silence, simplicity, yoga

Beginning: Need a Sign? Try Idleness.

Christa Avampato

“It is in our idleness, in our dreams, that the submerged truth sometimes comes to the top.” ~ Virginia Woolf via Yoga Vibes


“The soul lives there in the quiet breath.” ~ Rumi

When we have a problem to solve, a challenge to overcome, or an important decision to make, we have a tendency to work double and triple overtime to get to a resolution. And if we can’t get to a point of arrival that feels comfortable, we start over and over again, wearing ourselves down, heightening the frustration until we can barely function at all. I had this experience on Thursday morning. I was trying to make some choices about my next step with Compass Yoga, and I could feel my anxiety mounting.

Idleness gives us the break we need to make a break-through
I had so many ideas at once that my mind experienced a sort of mental traffic jam before going completely blank. A moment of paralysis set in. And thank goodness it did! Right at that moment, I needed to stop. Just stop, breathe, and let the answers rise up. In my gut I knew what the next step should be, but my mind got in the way. Drawing a blank and being forced into a moment of idleness is exactly what I needed.

A Year of Living Your Yoga
For the past few weeks I’ve been using Judith Hanson Lasater’s book A Year of Living Your Yoga (thanks to a recommendation from Yogadork!) The book is filled with 365 very short intentions, easy sound bites to keep in mind, as I travel through my day. Thursday’s intention was to close the eyes, take 20 very deep breaths, and then observe. Nothing complicated. Nothing strenuous. Just breathe, be, and notice.

What idleness showed me
I took Judith’s advice and a flood of realizations about Compass came into focus for me. In short order and in no particular order, they are:
1.) I like to have my weekends free of commitments
2.) It’s okay to be picky about where and when and why to teach
3.) Sometimes offering something for free provides a bigger payoff in the long-term than asking for a nominal payment in the short-term
4.) Good karma is as good a currency as any
5.) Giving back offers its own form of payment
6.) I formed Compass to become a stronger teacher, to bring yoga to under-served populations, and to help new teachers get teaching experience. My decisions need to serve those purposes.
7.) Compass is an effort to broadcast, not narrowcast. Accessibility is more important to me than remuneration.

With those insights in mind, changes are coming to Compass. I’m just putting the finishing touches on these decisions and they will be announced shortly. And it’s all thanks to a few moments of idleness that cleared the way.

Has idleness helped you to realize the way forward? I’d love to hear your story!

This blog is also available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.

creativity, invention

Beginning: The Great Work of Remaking You & 3 Tips for a Successful Reinvention

Christa Avampato

“As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world as in being able to remake ourselves.” ~ Gandhi

This winter weather can really take the wind out of our sails. Today it’s heading to 60 degrees in New York City and I think Central Park may have a mob scene on its hands by the time happy hour rolls around tonight. I might be part and parcel to it myself. I need to literally stretch my wings and let the sunshine pour down over me. I’ve felt too-couped up for the past few months. I needed the rest, and now it’s time to put my new-found energy to work.

All this excitement of remaking my life comes on the heels of having paid down a huge chunk of my student debt. With that goal accomplished far ahead of schedule, I’ve turned my attention toward reinventing my day-to-day life. The options of what to do next are endless, and paired up with a multitude of interests I’ve got more options for re-invention than I know what to do with!

The process of remaking our lives can be a daunting task, and luckily I’ve made a habit of it so this path is a well-traveled one for me. I’ve found that the keys to surviving and thriving during the reinvention process are:

1.) Make it a game. Try out new ideas. Put them to use, tinker, and see how it goes. Play.

2.) Don’t take any of your mistakes or successes so seriously that you’re afraid to make your next move. Don’t beat yourself up for wrong turns or paths that didn’t pan out. It’s all good learning (and good writing material.)

3.) A loose plan of how to move forward helps to focus your energy, but also gives you room to learn and change direction as needed.

If all else fails, reinvent again
Like any new start, remaking your life will have its ups and down, moments of excitement and anxiety. The greatest joy we have in this life is a new start every day. We can wipe the slate clean and start from scratch, creating something new that the world has never seen before. It’s the blessing of being an individual, and should be exercised and celebrated.

Get out there and start something, anything, that gets your heart jumping. Don’t worry about having to change and impact the whole world. Just focus on impacting your little slice of it and build from there. Reinventing our own lives is more than enough work for any of us.

This blog is also available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.

friendship, gratitude, inspiration

Beginning: How to Make the Most of Everything

Christa Avampato

“The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything but they make the most of everything.” ~ Anonymous

This quote was posted on Twitter last week by @FamousWomen and retweeted by Kimberly Wilson, a yoga teacher I follow. I read it on a day just after hearing a friend of mine confess how small her life felt. She’s in a tough place at the moment, facing a lot of challenges that she doesn’t want to face because they’re painful and scary and overwhelming. Throughout the conversation I heard her lament about all of the things she doesn’t have and wants. I listened, though felt at a loss for words.

Twitter to the rescue
On the way home from seeing my friend, I scrolled through Twitter on my phone and found Kimberly’s tweet at just the right moment. We live in a society of deficits. We constantly obsess about what we don’t have and what we don’t feel. Money, material goods, time, space, fulfillment, peace. We want more and more, though when we get more where does it really lead us? Along the same circuit of attachment and attainment. Something wonderful happens, something we supposedly really wanted, and we barely give it a glance before we’re on to the next to-do list. That’s a lose-lose game.

Knowing how to really live
Whoever coined the quote above really knew how to live. There’s so much more joy to be found in being happy with what we have as opposed to striving for what we think we want. And that doesn’t mean settling and losing our ambition. I’m all for ambition and I’ve got it in spades.

Lately I’ve been feeling the soft and constant presence of true gratitude in my life. Thankfulness for my family and friends. For my apartment, as small as it may be, and my job. My yoga, writing, and art. My freedom and courage and strength and confidence that took so long to cultivate and really own. I live a blesses existence, despite its frustrations, set-backs, and disappointments. Those moments are a miniscule minority compared to the incredible number of opportunities and moments of happiness that are accessible to me all the time.

So that’s the message I’m going to give to my friend. Take the time and list out, on paper or simply in our mind’s eye, just how much you have, not what you lack. The more often we actively give thanks, the more we have to give thanks for.

Has that been your experience? Have you ever felt like you had nothing left to be happy about, and if so, how did you pull through?

This blog is also available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.

choices, decision-making, teaching, yoga

Beginning: So You Want to Teach Yoga? 5 Key Considerations When Choosing a 500-hr Yoga Teacher Training Program

Christa Avampato

“In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.” ~ Bhagavad Gita 2:40

What is all of this yoga teacher training for?
After completing my 200-hour yoga teacher training at Sonic Yoga in May, I immediately began to think about getting my 500-hour teacher training. I thought I would sign-up on the spot for Sonic’s training, though I decided to take a bit more time before jumping in. I wanted to make sure I fully understood why I wanted and / or needed this training, and that I thoroughly understood the financial and time commitments.

At that point I also wasn’t sure how my teaching would take shape and if I’d like to concentrate in a certain aspect of yoga. I needed to get clear on these points before moving forward, and since I didn’t have clarity at that moment, I waited. And waited and waited and waited for some wisdom, some sign, to arrive.

To hear the message, we need to quiet down
Recently, I’ve been staying in my daily meditations longer, practicing longer and more rigorous asana (pose) sequences. Every once in a while I would tap into something. A very soft voice, very far away. It had some sense of urgency though I couldn’t make sense of its message. Kind of like being at a cocktail party hearing lots of talking but not being able to decipher any specific conversations.

Discovering my path foward in my teaching required more patience than I originally thought I’d need. Eventually I knew the answer would surface in a way that I could understand. The Universe is like that – it’s on its own timetable, not ours. It will make itself known when it’s good and ready, and not a moment before.

So I went about my life, going to work, seeing my friends, walking Phin, teaching and taking yoga classes, following my own personal practice. I made pictures on my Wacom (see above!) and kept my eyes and ears open as wide as possible.

The Universe speaks in mysterious ways
The other funny thing about the Universe is that it has a marvelous sense of humor. It reveals itself to us in some hilarious ways, and when we make the connection we can’t help but chuckle. Just when I get clear on what I need, someone sends me a link or a message that points the way forward. Sometimes it’s through a random, unexpected conversation that comes about from just day-to-day living. It’s not that signs are scarce; it’s that we often miss them because we’re looking but not seeing.

After months of debating about how, why, when, and where to pursue my 500-hour teacher training, I’ve had a few revelations about choosing a program:
1.) My focus is most certainly providing yoga to under-served populations that are seeking yoga for therapeutic reasons that are vast and varied. It doesn’t need to officially be called “Yoga Therapy”, but that aspect of practicality is important to me. Because of my interest in anatomy, mechanics, and medicine, I need further training.

2.) The philosophy and reputation of the instructors is a critical factor to consider. Are the lessons and teachings that they have to offer what I need / want to learn? Does their teaching style fit well with my learning style?

3.) What’s the culture of the training, as well as the schedule and the cost? Here comes my rational brain that’s probing for the logistics. Can I feel comfortable spending many hours with the people in the program and at the studio? Can I get it to jive with the many other variable aspects of my life? It’s a heck of a lot of hours – they need to be enjoyable as well as beneficial.

4.) Ask questions. Lots and lots of questions. Of the instructors, students, yoga blogs and websites, and teachers using yoga in the way you’d like to use it. The world of yoga certification is murky and weird. Some of it’s legit and some of it’s a racket. There are incredibly humble and gifted teachers, and some who haven’t done their homework.

Ego gets in the way far too often on the teaching path, and you’ve got to be careful because this path can be expensive in terms of both time and money. Know what you’re getting before you buy because getting certified to teach is most certainly a business just as much as a spiritual path. There’s no lemon law when it comes to yoga teacher certification.

5.) Know what you want before you go shopping around. I have a nasty habit of just looking at the options out there and then choosing from that palette. Brian’s working with me to try to change that MO.

First, visualize what you want and understand your needs in a program. Then, and only then, begin scoping options. It’s like dating, finding a job, or getting an apartment. This is a search in the truest sense of the word.

If a program doesn’t fit into your vision, keep looking. Shop around. Go to classes. Take some workshops. We’re ridiculously blessed in this country to have more options for yoga teacher training that we know what to do with. Honestly, there are so many out there that I bet you don’t have to make a single compromise. Take your time – this isn’t a race. And as with any other aspect of life, we get what we settle for.

Do these tips resonate with you? Have you decided on a training program? I’m taking suggestions!

The image above is my latest doodle on my Wacom.

This blog is also available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.

profession, SXSW, technology, yoga

Beginning: Taming the Monkey Mind: Yoga and Creative Focus Is My Session at the 2011 SXSW Festival

Christa Avampato

Austin, I’m heading your way! A month from today I’ll be presenting at the SXSW Interactive Festival. Back in August I put together a proposal for a session entitled Taming the Monkey Mind: Yoga and Creative Focus. I’ve never been to SXSW, though from the description of it from friends who have gone it felt like the perfect setting to discuss my interest in helping creative professionals use yoga as a tool to spur their imagination at will. Plus, SXSW will allow me to indulge every nerdy tendency I have (and there are many!) In January, my session was accepted by the SXSW selection committee and I’ve been off and running on the planning and preparation front ever since.

As part of being a speaker, I have the opportunity to bring along a co-presenter. SXSW is such an incredibly inspiring experience that I felt selfish not sharing the goodness so I asked my friend Jennilyn Carson of Yogadork.com fame if she’d be interested in co-hosting the session with me. Thankfully she accepted, submitted to the SXSW committee, and was accepted. I couldn’t be more excited! Her blog on yoga pop culture is one of the funniest, savviest, and honest channels out there. She’s an incredible writer, community-builder, and meticulous researcher. I feel honored to have her join in the fun.

Our session will be on Tuesday, March 15th at 5:00pm, room TBD – the last slot of the interactive festival. It’s the perfect way to close out the SXSW experience – sharing ideas and thoughts about the creative process and the use of yoga to enhance our imaginations. No pressure, all fun. Stop by and see us!

I’ll also be teaching a yoga class on Monday, March 14th at 9:30am thanks to the gracious Ari Stiles. Again, it’s a very chilled out beginner level session that’s meant to help you relax and recharge for the last two days of the SXSW Interactive Festival. Come play!

Here’s a description of the session from the SXSW site:
The perfect way to wrap-up your SXSW experience: a lively and carefree conversation about how yoga can help you easily access your creativity and imagination at will. We all know this feeling of being under the gun with a deadline, needing to access our most creative ideas at a moment’s notice. When we really need our creative muse to show up, she somehow has the uncanny ability to hide like a needle in a haystack and then show up at 3:00am as we bolt upright out of bed, making our way in the dark to scribble down the ideas she’s handed to us. For too long we’ve accepted that’s just the way creativity and imagination work – unpredictably.

Yoga – physical postures, breathing techniques, and visualization – helps us tap into our imaginations at will and with ease, exactly when we need them. A regular yoga practice keeps our minds sharp, helps us make connections between seemingly disparate bits of information that may otherwise go unnoticed, and imagine solutions to complex challenges. It gives us a way forward. This session is helpful for everyone who needs to tap into their own creativity on a regular basis – from performers to programmers, in all mediums.

This blog is also available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.

business, social entrepreneurship, yoga

Compass Yoga Featured Today on SocialEarth

Christa Avampato

SocialEarth is a website and blog that gets the word out about businesses and social ventures that have a positive impact on the world. Thanks to a prompt from Tristan Pollock, co-founder of SocialEarth and a Twitter friend of mine, Compass Yoga is featured today as a business that make a difference. Check out the story here.