Category: yoga

risk, teaching, yoga

Step 313: No More Waiting

Christa Avampato

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ Mark Twain

The anticipation of beginning is always more frightening than actually taking the plunge. At the edge of the cliff, we hesitate. We look back and see all that we have to lose by moving forward. Even if what we have isn’t exactly what we want, it’s comfortable. So long as our dreams live “out there”, in our mind’s eye, they remain perfectly intact. No disappointment. No embarrassment. No potential admission of failure.

There are few things that make me cringe more than the possibility of regret. I’ve been putting off the effort I’d like to put into Compass Yoga because of the risk. “I have to wait to get space,” I tell myself, but the truth is that I’ve been scared to go for it. My biggest fear: what If I offer weekly classes and no one shows up? What if I can’t break even? Or worse, what if people come to the class and they hate it? These are the nagging fears that have kept me making only incremental progress in my yoga teaching.

On Sunday morning, as I was enjoying my extra hour in bed thanks to the end of Daylight Savings, I woke up with such a clear idea of what to do. I couldn’t think of a single good reason to continue waiting. It’s time for me to throw caution and fear to the wind, rent a space for a weekly class, and get going on the marketing of it. I’m going for it. Starting in January, I’ll be giving a weekly class for $10 / person, donating 20% of the class fees to charities selected by the students, giving them the tax deduction. I get to teach a weekly class, students get affordable yoga, and the world gets a little brighter with the donations made to nonprofits that the students care about.

Bye bye, safe harbor. Weekly class details to follow in the coming weeks. I hope you’ll join me.

care, health, teaching, yoga

Step 310: Healing by Example

Christa Avampato

“The physician who knows only medicine, knows not even medicine.” It would follow that the care-taker that does not care for themselves cannot care-“fully” for others.” ~ Mark Twain

Yoga City NYC is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in yoga and wellness, two giant common interests among many New Yorkers. In their newsletter last week they published this quote by Mark Twain. It reminds me of how important it is as a teacher to not only compose a well-organized yoga class, but to practice what I teach in my daily life for my own benefit. To give care, we need to receive care, too.

For the new year, I am exploring new opportunities to teach yoga to under-served populations in unconventional spaces. Caregivers are a population I’m particularly keen on because it would help me to lever up my impact. If I can help caregivers be well, then they can take care of others more effectively. Caregivers come in many forms – doctors, nurses, teachers, coaches, mentors. They give of themselves every day, but how often does anyone give to them?

I hear a lot of people, especially moms, say that they just don’t have time to take care of themselves because they’re too busy taking care of everyone else. The truth is that taking care of themselves is the best way that they can care for others. We can’t give from a deficit – the math just doesn’t work that way. So if we really want to heal and care for others, we need to heal ourselves first. And there’s not a single selfish thing about self-care; it’s actually the most generous thing we can do. What we give is rooted in what we have.

meditation, time, wellness, yoga

Step 304: Souls and Grocery Stores

Christa Avampato

“What is a soul? It’s like electricity – we don’t really know what it is, but it’s a force that can light a room.” ~ Ray Charles

It’s easier to know the soul of others than it is to know our own. We can look at other people’s actions, the people they surround themselves with, and the issues that ignite their energy and understand where their souls are rooted. The difficulty of knowing our own souls is akin to being able to rise up above our lives and observe from an outsider perspective. It is tough work.

We can, and often do, run through life. We fill up our schedules, load up our to-do lists, and dart from place to place, hoping that somewhere along the way we’ll find the path we’re supposed to be on. What I’m finding in my meditation practice is that the only way to know our souls, our light, is to sit still, close the eyes, and breath. We won’t find our souls, our purpose, out there. We will gather ideas from the world, options, and possibilities. But the only way to know which path is the right one for us is to look around inside. If we’re looking inside and moving about, chances are we’ll get a blurry image just like a camera gets when it’s shaken while snapping a photo. The image becomes clear in the stillness.

I will be the first to admit that I hate to sit still. I run through all the things I should be doing, rather than just sitting there. I feel like I’m losing time. And then I think about the grocery store. If I sit down and make a list of what I need to get, my trip is faster and more efficient. If I just run out the door without a list, I find I wander around the store for far too long, all because taking the time to make a list felt like time wasted. The journey to know our souls is the same as our journey around Whole Foods. Take some time to be still and collect our thoughts, and it becomes an easier process to get where and what we want. Below is my favorite meditation, the one that actually expands the time in my day and the knowledge of who I am and who I mean to be.

My favorite still meditation:
Sit in a comfortable cross-legged position
Deepen the breath
Lengthen the spine
Imagine with each inhale we grow a little taller and with each exhale we grow a little wider
Relax the face and jaw
Smile slightly and envision a tiny light right in the middle of the chest that gets a little brighter with every breath cycle. It’s that small light that will reveal our souls as it strengthens

The photo above can be found here.

faith, yoga, youth

Step 298: Someone’s Listening

Christa Avampato

“When you have come to the edge of all light that you know and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or You will be taught to fly.” ~ Patrick Overton

In the past few weeks, the press has continuously covered the recent rash of suicides among young people across the country. To contribute to a solution, I’m reaching out to a number of youth organizations and schools to see if there are yoga classes I can offer that would be helpful and to see if Innovation Station might be used as a tool to not only build creativity, but to also build community and understanding and tolerance.

On Sunday, I met up with my friend, Sara. We we were in the same yoga teacher training class, and Sara is now studying to be a holistic health counselor. We got to talking about her journey over the past year and how she came to realize that she wanted a career in the wellness field. Once she discovered her calling, she found that the world started opening up possibilities for her to live the life she wanted. Every day she’s amazed by the new opportunities coming her way as a result of articulating her dreams. Universal consciousness is a wise and generous listener.

I wish I could gather together every young person today who is struggling, who doesn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, who truly believes that life cannot and will not get better. I want them to know what Sara and I have experienced. Yes, it can improve, but more importantly I want to tell them something even better – that someone, somewhere is always listening. They may find that hard to believe when everything around them seems so gloomy. I can tell them from my first-hand experience that I have been listened to and that the world’s energy sprang into action when I needed it most. If we have the courage to give words to our greatest fears and our greatest dreams, if we can ask for help and then accept that help, the world will offer up a way forward. Even in our loneliest, darkest hour, we are not alone. And never will be.

learning, yoga

Step 297: Back to Basics

Christa Avampato

The beginning months of the school year make me think about getting back to fundamental pieces of learning. As we move along our path, it’s easy to get caught up in perfecting our advanced skills that we have layered on to our basics. To improve the whole of our abilities it’s important to revisit what started us on our journey.

I’ve been going to a Saturday morning yoga class at New York Sports Club for a few weeks. I’ve heard a lot of people down yoga classes taught at gyms. I first learned yoga through private instruction, but my first regular group classes happened as a gym so for me, a gym setting for yoga is perfectly natural. I kind of like the extra concentration I have to put in to drown out the clank of the weights just outside the group exercise room. Yoga classes are not as popular in New York gyms as they are in New York yoga studios so there’s always plenty of room to spread out at my class. I guess not so great for the gym, but plenty great for me!

Brian, my instructor, offers a comforting, easy-to-follow hatha class. No fancy vinyasa (flow) sequences. Some Sanskrit (the original language of yoga), a bit of meditation, and a focus on the breath. He’s kind and caring, and offers just enough challenge without overwhelming his students with options. He focuses on basic asanas (postures), which gives me the opportunity to remember why the foundation of our learning and our practice, in any discipline, is so important.

Focusing on basics in this yoga class reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, American Author. (This inspiration sparked one of my blog posts this summer about why it’s important to step up to a cause that calls us.) It’s fun to imagine wild and far out possibilities, to build ideal dreams. Brian’s class also helps me remember that the basics can be as fun as they are necessary.

education, learning, student, teaching, yoga

Step 286: Teaching to Improve Ourselves and Our Students

Christa Avampato

“Teaching is the greatest act of optimism.” ~ Colleen Wilcox

I thought about this quote on Monday night as I wrapped up my second yoga class at Columbia Law School. I was more familiar with the space this time, brought some new music, and recognized some repeat students. Teaching requires improvisation. We explain something a specific way, see if the meaning is registering with the students, and if not, we try something else. No time for judgment. We’ve got to get better with each moment. Teachers constantly seek to improve themselves and their students. It is an act of constant faith in our ability, in the journey, and in one another.

With each yoga class I teach, I find myself walking in and thinking “I want this to be the best class I’ve ever given.” Usually it falls short of my expectations, no matter how much effort I put into it. I always end up jotting down a page of notes that detail things I could have done better. I take that page and plow into the next class, confident that there will always be another page of improvements from that next class. The cycle of continuous improvement never ends in teaching. It is the gift that truly keeps on giving so long as we keep showing up.

creativity, determination, inspiration, writing, yoga

Step 283: Meeting Inspiration

Christa Avampato

“When inspiration does not come to go me, I go halfway to meet it.” ~ Sigmund Freud

Twyla Tharp quotes Freud in her book The Creative Habit. I read this book about two years ago and worked through the exercises faithfully. I flipped through it again last weekend, reading about my creative journey through the eyes of my 32-year old self.

Two years ago, I wanted to find more outlets for my writing. That’s happened to an even greater extent than I imagined, though not by accident, or hoping for that good fortune to find me. I had to go out there, dig it up, and then persist, persist, persist. I had to risk rejection and all that comes with it in the hopes that there would be some breaks here and there.

I followed a lot of leads to a very dead end, and considered just throwing in the towel. “Maybe the world doesn’t need my voice,” I thought more times than I’ll ever admit. And then here and there I got a bit of encouragement, which helped me to keep trudging out there again for more inspiration and more leads. Creativity, writing, hope, inspiration – they are all more easily cultivated with practice.

This has been true of my yoga teaching as well. I tried lots of avenues to get regular gigs, but the work didn’t come pouring in as I had hoped. This was going to harder than I thought. Stubbornness can pay off. It keeps us reaching up, even when the world seems to be pushing us down. On occasion, good luck shows up on our doorstep, but more often it’s up to us to get out there and discover it. Recognizing luck in all its disguises requires preparedness. Eventually a few things broke and now I teach at NY Methodist Hospital and Columbia Law School, with a possible third regular gig on the way. (More info to come if that pans out.)

I used to think of inspiration as a thunderbolt that reaches me at my dining table in front of this laptop. Sometimes that does happen, but more often it’s sparked by something I’ve witnessed or done outside these safe haven walls of my home. Being out in the world more by walking Phineas, my pup, has helped me see the gifts that lie just around the corner, literally. So now when I find that inspiration just isn’t flowing, I don’t get frustrated. I just pick myself up out my my chair, and go get it.

learning, teaching, yoga

Step 280: Don’t Judge a Yogi By Her Appearance

Christa Avampato

I went to a yoga class last week and immediately felt I had made a mistake. A seemingly out of shape instructor walked into the studio with a high-pitched voice. I started plotting my exit strategy.

And then I remembered a comment my yoga teacher, Jeffrey, said during my teacher training at Sonic Yoga. “Every yoga class is a gift, no matter who the instructor is.” So I stayed, and karma taught me that appearances can be deceiving. For the next hour I was challenged and pushed to my limit more than I’ve been in any yoga class in a long time. She had me trying some feats that I have never attempted before. And after my hard work, my body floated into pincha mayurasana for the first time ever. I was astonished. How did this happen?

There’s a time and a place for confidence and ego, and there’s a much more frequent time and place for humility and the squashing of the ego. While we think our ego lifts us up, I learned very quickly in that yoga class that the ego actually weighs us down and prevents us from achieving the heights we’re capable of. I vowed to stop judging anyone, particularly yogis. Thanks, Jeffrey.

school, teaching, yoga

Step 264: Teaching Yoga at Columbia Law School

Christa Avampato

A few days ago, I posted a piece about some shifting priorities and the need for editing in my life. One of the things I’ve been considering is my interest in focusing Compass Yoga on populations that have a hard time accessing yoga classes through traditional studios. Right after I completed my teacher certification, I sent out a load of emails to schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and for-profit companies, some of which yielded some interesting possibilities that never materialized. Getting a regular teaching gig was tougher than I realized.

My friend, Sara, suggested that in addition to reaching out to law firms that I also reach out to law schools to help stressed out students. I started my yoga teaching path with this type of population, teaching a once-a-week yoga class at Darden where I was an MBA student. I offered it up as a free class to help my classmates and to build community. I really liked working with grad school students so Sara’s suggestion got me back on track.

I have one piece of advice for entrepreneurs, and more specifically for teachers who want to teach in unconventional settings: persistence pays. It’s easy to get discouraged and to go running for another piece of certification because somehow we think if we had more credential that then we’d be able to do the work we want to do. Sometimes, this is absolutely true. I’m grateful for my BA, my MBA and my yoga certification – those education experiences changed my life and my view of the world. And then I thought I needed more and more and more certificates to make myself REALLY qualified, when in truth all I want to do is teach yoga to people who can’t, won’t, or choose not to show up at a traditional studio. With this yoga mission, I’m not sure if I need more certifications. There is always more to learn, certainly, though I feel my yoga path going more toward learning by doing.

On the heels of getting my gig at New York Methodist Hospital, I recently heard back from Columbia Law School’s Yoga Club. The founder of the club is a 3rd year law student and up to her eyes in work. She heard about me and my desire to teach donation-based classes to university students after I contacted about 10 departments at Columbia trying to get my foot in any Columbia door I could find. I’m meeting her next week to get a tour of the space and learn more about the Yoga Club. My first public class at Columbia will be Monday night, October 4th. (There’s a possibility that the class will be open to the public. If that happens, then I’ll be sure to get the word out.)

Shouting dreams and priorities really does help bring them into being. I’m thrilled by this recent connection and grateful to Sara and so many of you who have been cheering me on along this path. You’ve made my work feel lighter.

With gratitude,
Christa

health, healthcare, hope, hospital, New York City, teaching, yoga

Step 258: Teaching Yoga at New York Methodist Hospital

Christa Avampato

Yoga provides an incredible well-being practice for everyone. There are no physical or mental limitations that prohibit a yoga practice of some variety. If someone can breath, they can do yoga. I began my journey toward becoming a yoga teacher focusing on my classmates at the Darden School at the University of Virginia. They had stress and I knew how to relieve stress through yoga since I had been on a journey of self-study and yoga for close to a decade. A classic case of filling a need in the market.

In May, I made my teaching path “official” and received my 200-hour certification through Sonic Yoga and started Compass Yoga. During my teacher-training process, I turned my attention toward making yoga accessible to people who had few opportunities to experience it, namely people with serious physical and mental health ailments. Almost 4 months to the day after completing my training at Sonic, I will begin offering classes in the pediatric unit at New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn to patients, caregivers, and the hospital staff. This is exactly the type of yoga work I set out to do and it feels like such an incredible gift to do the work I know I was meant to do.

I begin on Saturday, September 25th with a trial run at New York Methodist. I will be sure to update this blog as I get further along the path, though wanted to share this wonderful news, for which I am infinitely grateful, as it happens. Where there’s a will there is most certainly always a way. Namaste.