Category: meditation

health, meditation, wellness

Leap: The Cure Within Reach Right Now

Christa Avampato

We want to be well. Unfortunately, we’ve been told for too long that the way to wellness is often through a pill, treatment, supplement, or some other external force. Sometimes, these methods are necessary but they are corrective. They wait for us to be sick rather than keeping us well.

There’s something you can do, something we can all do, right now that can help us be as well as we can be in this moment. Power down the computer, sit comfortably somewhere – on the couch, the foot of the bed, or on the floor. Close your eyes, tune in to the sounds all around you, and then tune in to the sounds within you. That’s it. Just a few moments of time and the will to be well.

future, meditation

Leap: Mind to Body, Body to Mind

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest member http://pinterest.com/lorrinzm/

“Connecting the mind and body is not just a health strategy. It is a movement of consciousness that can change the world.” ~ Matthew Sanford

This morning I read several news stories about the latest medical news on annual physicals. A number of doctors are now saying that annual physicals below age 50 are a waste of time and money, for individuals and for the entire healthcare system. I paused when I heard this information as I have been going for annual physicals my entire adult life. These medical professionals aren’t saying don’t go to the doctor nor are they saying don’t get recommended routine exams. They’re just balking at going to the doctor for the simple sake of going to the doctor. If you aren’t feeling well, get checked. If you’re feeling good, you’re fine.

Just after reading these articles, I came across Matthew Sanford’s quote. I’ve been a fan of Matthew’s since reading his book Waking a few years ago. He changed my yoga practice and informed my teaching through his words and experiences. The connection between mind and body, and it goes evenly in both directions, is critical to our health and happiness and has a tremendous impact on the world around us.

When we’re tapped into our essence, when we’re on our path, the world rises up to meet us. It supports us in our pursuits. We come into contact with exactly the people we are supposed to meet. We end up being in the right place at exactly the right time to learn exactly the lessons we are meant to learn.

When considering this pursuit, the question I most often hear is “How will I know when I’m on the right path?” I can only tell you how I knew. I knew it in my bones. My body could sense when I was going in the right direction. I overrode its wisdom for a long time until I was finally so tired and worn down that I had to sit still and listen. My mind was so good at covering up my tracks on the wrong road that I didn’t even know I was tired. I thought I was fine. And I wasn’t.

As I sat and listened, I could hear a whispering way off in the distant. It had an urgency but not the clarity I needed to hear its message. Over the course of several years, I had to keep sitting and listening. I had to keep getting quiet to get another small piece of the puzzle. I would hear that small bit of wisdom and then try it out to see how it felt. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it worked for only a short time, and sometimes it didn’t work at all. And still I would listen; I would wait for more information; I would tap in.

I offer to you the same opportunity. It’s there for all of us. All it requires is patience, curiosity, and perseverance. Your road is out there, too. It will call to you and when it does, you’ll be ready.

change, clarity, courage, meditation, yoga

Leap: When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Keep Breathing

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest member http://pinterest.com/pntdhorses/

“Sometimes when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling into place.” ~ Marilyn Monroe

I went to meditation class on Monday night and settled in to my seat as I’ve done many times before. Nothing seemed unusual about the beginning of my practice but I was in for a roller coaster of surprises. This is a short story about riding the wave, never giving in, and committing to the long haul.

In a couple of weeks I’m meeting with an accountant to get myself set up as a corporation as I transition into doing more freelance work. I need to come up with a name for my company and I’ve been running up against a wall because of some underlying angst. Since making the leap last week, I’ve been wrestling with how to reconcile my professional interests in product development, writing, and teaching yoga under one corporate roof. I hoped that my meditation class would bring about some inspiration.

As soon as I settled down and closed my eyes, I knew something was wrong. In less than a minute my eyes were tearing up and tears were rolling down my face. My whole body began to feel very heavy and weak, my legs were falling asleep, and I started to feel dizzy. I stretched my legs out in front of me and pins and needles started firing from my feet to my knees. I took a long forward bend in hopes of re-grounding myself. It helped a bit, but not much. I contemplated leaving the class but decided to try to breathe through it. And I’m so glad I did.

With each breath, I felt myself releasing something that was old and stale, something that needed to be sent out to pasture and never heard from again. I’m not even quite sure what it was. Maybe old perceptions of myself or the world, maybe fear and anxiety, maybe a hard shell that had outlived its protective purpose. Underneath, I could feel the green sprouts shooting up, struggling to break new ground, reaching for some air and sunlight. A new day was dawning.

Change is hard. It hurts. It’s scary ad int’s uncomfortable. But if we are willing to hang in there and do the work to cross the chasm, something amazing is waiting for us on the other side and that something is us. We are making our way to exactly who we are meant to be and once we arrive home to our own authenticity, we will look back and realize that all of that work was worthwhile. The journey is long and arduous. It’s full of surprises, good and bad. Don’t turn back. Breathe, and keep going.

meditation, yoga

Leap: A Call for More Meditation in Yoga Classes

Christa Avampato
Image from silverwitch.tumblr.com

“Why set the stage without having the show?” ~ Alan Finger, Founder of ISHTA Yoga, on the importance of meditation

This week ISHTA Yoga and my teacher, Alan Finger, were featured in the New York Times. The article shed some light on a recent trend at yoga studios – an increase in the demand for and attendance in meditation classes. Considering that yoga is a very physical practice here in the U.S., this recent increase of interest in meditation is causing some many people to rethink the reason we head to the mat.

In India, the birthplace of yoga, the physical and breath practices were a means to an end, and the end was samadhi, or the bliss state, achieved through meditation. The physical and breath practices were used as important components to get the body and mind quiet. In Alan’s words, they set the stage for the main show – the meditation.

This recent uptick in meditation interest has caused me to consider re-formatting my own classes and my personal practice. Maybe more quiet time is needed by all of us, now more than ever. The eye alone use 80% of the body’s sensory energy, so by closing the eyes in meditation we take all of that energy back inside and direct it toward strengthening the mind. It’s a reallocation of our most precious resource. Imagine the possibilities.

I’m excited for the revolution of consciousness that awaits us on the meditation cushion.

calm, feelings, free, meditation, yoga

Leap: Catch and Release – a Lesson in Breathing and Letting Go

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest member http://pinterest.com/waltonchrissy/

“Why do we work so hard on the (yoga) mat? We concentrate and focus so that we can then let go. It’s why we practice the limbs of yoga. It’s the reason for everything we’re doing here.” ~ Mel Brasier, ISHTA Yoga Senior Teacher

On Sunday, we studied bhastrika, a pranyama (breathing) technique in our yoga teacher training. It requires that we fully let go on the exhale, catch the breath, and then fully engage on the inhale. We need both pieces to feel the full benefits of the technique. It’s challenging because if we don’t catch the breath on the bottom of the exhale, then the inhale happens automatically rather than intentionally.

Mel explained to us that this intention of full concentration and full release mirrors the limbs of yoga that we study. First we focus, through our actions on and off the mat, and then we let it all go. We don’t get cold; we release heat. We can’t try to relax; we release our tension. We can’t draw breath in; we create a vacuum within our bodies that makes room for breath. We can’t try to reach samadhi, or the bliss state; we just allow our concentration to fade and then disappear to create a blank screen.

The difference is subtle but powerful. It’s like riding a bike – we concentrate so hard as we’re learning to balance, then we get it, and then we can let it go to fully enjoy the experience of the ride. We begin by gaining control over our own bodies and minds, and then we understand that control so well that we’re able to let it all fall away so that we’re left completely free. Freedom and bliss are found in that pause between the inhale and exhale when we stand on the very edge of our pure potential. All we need to do is show up and let ourselves be.

learning, meditation, yoga

Leap: Learn Your Scales – How the Lessons of Music Class Relate to Yoga

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest member http://pinterest.com/cierafaye/

“Variation is great, but make sure you’re grounded in the basics first.” ~ Wendy Newton, ISHTA Yoga Senior Teacher

On Sunday, I went to a session on meditation techniques at ISHTA Yoga as part of my advanced yoga teacher training. Wendy, one of our teachers, fielded questions from us about the basic meditation techniques we’re learning. One of my classmates asked about using and teaching modifications to meditation techniques as we’re learning them.

Wendy encouraged us to get grounded in the basics. She used the analogy of learning to play music. All musicians want to play complex, complicated pieces right off the bat but in order to find the richness in those compositions, they need to start with the scales. There’s no way around that. We build a house on top of a foundation rather than trying to squeeze the foundation underneath a constructed house. We learn to create grands meals by first learning to make toast, boil an egg, and chop vegetables.

Learning meditation is no different. We would do ourselves a favor to know the basics, get grounded, and grow from there in everything that we do. Of course it’s entirely possible to move through this beginning phase very quickly, but everyone moves through it in some fashion. Have patience and diligence in equal amounts and everything becomes possible.

career, choices, decision-making, meditation

Leap: Making a Big Career Choice Earlier Than I Expected

Christa Avampato

I’ve got some career choices to make in a shorter time frame than I planned.

The company I work for is going through some reorganization. Minimal reduction in headcount lots of reshuffling. This comes as no surprise; what surprised me was that I would have options. There are several different places that I could land in the organization. It may also be possible for me to opt-out, wish them well, and be on my way into the unknown. I’ll spend the next few weeks gathering information, assessing possibilities, and asking for a lot of advice from the smartest, most creative people I know.

In many ways, I wanted someone else to make the first move – to place me in a role and then have me decide if I wanted to stay or go. That’s how I had it mapped out in my head – node of decision tree and then just two branches depicting my choices. We should never underestimate life’s ability to surprise the hell out of us. I must be the first mover in this case.

Brian, my coach, and I talk a lot about the hero’s journey in which the hero chooses between different roads without any of them obviously being the better choice. It’s about choosing the road that is the best for us, at this moment, with the imperfect information we have. It comes down to trust. Trust in us.

I’m going over to my meditation cushion now, closing my eyes, breathing in, and breathing out. The answer will rise up if only I am ready to hear it. When it appears, you’ll be the first to know.

healthcare, meditation, teaching, yoga

Leap: ISHTA Yoga Will Be My 2012 Yoga Home

Christa Avampato

After months of deliberation, I finally chose to take the next step in my wellness career and pursue my next level of yoga teacher training. It’s been almost 2 years since I finished my 200-hour training at Sonic Yoga. I got an excellent base from Sonic and I treasure my teachers and friends from the program. After taking Cheri Clampett and Arturo Peal’s therapeutic yoga training at Integral Yoga last summer, I knew I needed my next level of teacher training to be deeply rooted in therapeutics. And so, I chose ISHTA Yoga‘s program.

Last week, yoga teacher Rodney Yee gave a speech at the San Francisco Yoga Journal Conference on yoga and healthcare. His message aligns with my feelings about who I am best equipped to serve in my teaching through Compass Yoga. It’s wonderful that 5% of Americans are practicing yoga, but what about the other 95% who would greatly benefit from it if there were more teachers willing to bring them into the fold? That is where the teaching opportunities of the future lie. The 95% are the students I am meant to serve and the ISHTA program is the best in New York City to help me fulfill that mission.

Many teacher training programs aren’t preparing teachers who can teach those who need special consideration. ISHTA is one of the great exceptions, and though I’ve spent a lot of my time since Sonic teaching and training to help introduce modified yoga and mediation to brand new practitioners, I know I need additional, intensive training to really up my skills. I’m so excited for this next leap with ISHTA!

ISHTA’s program dovetails with my teaching intentions perfectly. This beautiful storm of circumstances fell into place more seamlessly than I ever expected. I begin my first classes at ISHTA on January 31st. Along this next leg of the path, there will be many moments of insight, wonder, and discovery. I promise to share them all with you. Stay tuned! Namaste, baby!

animals, dogs, learning, meditation, teaching, yoga

Leap: My Dog as My Teacher and Healer

Christa Avampato

Buddhists believe that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

Native Americans believe that when a soul comes into our lives it is because it has something to teach us and when we lose someone close to us it is a signal we learned all we could from them.

I believe in both philosophies.

A year ago, my dog, Phineas, came into my life unexpectedly. He was found in the woods, abandoned by his owner and starving. He is perfectly trained in every way except one – he has horrible separation anxiety. He isn’t destructive in any physical way – he just cries a lot when I leave the apartment. He will go long stretches of time without making a peep when I leave, but then goes through terrible spurts of discomfort and stress.

On Saturday, I enlisted the help of a trainer through the company Barkbusters. Though pricier than other trainers, I chose them because they specialize in separation anxiety and they come with a lifetime guarantee. Yes, you read that correctly. A lifetime guarantee – they will return as often as I need them to for the remainder of Phineas’s life and help with any behavior challenge we may have wherever we may live. And my trainer is available at any time, day or night, by email or phone. A worthwhile investment. My only wish is that I had found them sooner, though finding them now, at this point in my own healing journey, brought home a very important realization that only now can I understand and appreciate.

I thought Phineas’s anxiety was from the fear that once I left I may never come back. And while that’s the base fear, here’s the nuance that our trainer taught me: Phineas isn’t worried for himself; he’s worried for me.

He’s on security detail and as such, he feels that he needs to protect me and keep me safe so that way I can continue to take care of him. When I go out into the big, scary world, he’s worried I will be harmed because he isn’t there to protect me. He has no way to control the situation and that lack of control mixed with fear is causing his anxiety. He’s taken on the job of being my body-guard and it’s not a role he is equipped for, nor a burden he should be responsible to bear. He hates this job, but he thinks it’s the only way he can assure that he won’t be abandoned again.

Isn’t that wild?!

Not really. I understand that feeling all too well. Dogs and children process information in such a similar way.

When I was a very young child, I was very aware that my father would never be able to take care of me. I knew that my mother was the only one in our household equipped to take care of me until I got big enough to take of myself. I worried constantly that something terrible would happen to my mother and that I’d be left with my father, which effectively meant I’d be on my own to take care of myself before I was ready.

It was a horrible burden to bear – I developed insomnia, headaches, and intense stress. I did my very best to compensate and cope, but as a young child there was no way for me to logically process my fears. I didn’t have the skills to do that. So I worked very hard in school because I linked doing well in school with getting a good job that would give me the income to provide for myself. I fought very hard to become as independent as possible as soon as I could. And while to the outside world I was a wonderfully adapted and well-adjusted child, I would argue that this adaptation and adjustment came at a very dear price. A price I still pay though am now able to articulate, understand, and repay as I heal. My yoga and meditation practices went a long toward than end. They still do.

Phineas and I are in the same boat – different cause, same effect. And if I can help him heal, really heal on a very deep level, then that will go a very long way toward healing my own inner child who still worries that she’ll be abandoned and still struggles to believe that I will always be able to take care of myself. Truly believing this last piece is the key to the confidence it takes to leap into entrepreneurship. Phineas was part of the Universe’s great plan for me and my work.

I thought by adopting Phineas that I was changing his life, and I certainly am doing just that. But he’s also changing mine, far more than he knows. As I watch him at this very moment sleeping peacefully in his bed, I’m even more determined to help him if for no other reason than to thank him for his soul’s incredible sacrifice for the sake of my soul’s healing.

Cesar Millan is famous for saying that he rehabilitates dogs and he trains people. This is certainly the case for me and for Phin. The calmer and more confident I can become through my own yoga and mediation practice, the more I can help him. And his healing will speed my healing. It’s a virtuous cycle that I am finally ready to begin.

business, medical, medicine, meditation, yoga

Beginning: What It Really Means to Invent

Christa Avampato

Estimates now show that there are 70,000+ yoga teachers in North America. 70,000 people do exactly what I do. We all have roughly the same basic level of training and seek to do the same type of work.

On its own, a statistic like that could be enough to scare me into hiding. But here’s the real trick of inventing, whether you’re trying to invent who you are, a new business idea, or any new adventure:

We don’t need to reinvent the wheel – it’s a damn fine piece of machinery. What we really need to do is invent a new way to make it roll.

Yoga is my wheel.  

I’m grateful for the 6,000+ years of yoga teaching lineage that is available to all 70,000 yoga teachers in North America. What I want to do with Compass Yoga in expand reach. I want yoga and meditation teachers to stand side by side with MDs, medical scientists, and pharmaceutical companies in the collective and collaborative pursuit of optimal health for all people everywhere.

And that’s how I roll.