Category: yoga

creativity, technology, yoga

Step 231: My SXSW Presentation Submission – Yoga and Creative Focus

Christa Avampato

During my yoga teacher training I spent a lot of time thinking about the link between yoga and creativity. Then I took it one step further and began to wonder if yoga could be a tool to call for creativity at will. To further explore this interest with a creative audience, I submitted a presentation idea to the 2011 SXSW Interactive Conference. SXSW Interactive is a collection of ridiculously talented people in the digital space who get together every March in Austin, Texas to share, learn, and create.

In my presentation, Taming the Money Mind: Yoga and Creative Focus, I would teach conference attendees about getting into the creative zone at will as opposed to waiting and hoping for creative inspiration to strike. Attendees would walk away with answers to the following questions:

1. What is the scientific link between yoga and creativity?
2. Can yoga help us to access our creative inspiration at will?
3. What physical techniques are useful to cultivate creativity?
4. Can I practice these techniques anywhere, anytime, regardless of my physical condition?
5. Can I teach these practices to my team to help them cultivate their own creativity?

A portion of the decision-making process that determines which presentation ideas will be accepted involves voting by anyone and everyone who cares to vote. It does require you to do about 30 seconds of work to create an account and log in, but it’s pretty painless. I’d love (and greatly appreciate) your support!

To read more about my presentation check it out by clicking here. Thanks for taking a look!

change, choices, courage, discovery, encouragement, frustration, gifts, gratitude, loss, opportunity, yoga

Step 201: Obstacles as Path

Christa Avampato

“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.” –Alfred D. Souza

I keep thinking about the idea of “the path of least resistance.” I don’t know what that path looks like. I work and work and work, and eventually a pathway opens, but never constitutes taking the easy road. This quote helped me put this idea in perspective. When I think about the things I’m most proud of in my life, they all resulted from overcoming obstacles. It wasn’t always a fun journey, but the results were worth it.

I’ve written about Ganesha, the Hindu god of obstacles, and how much I learned about him during my yoga teacher training. Some people have interpreted his role as a remover of obstacles. That view is mostly right. It needs the addition of “removed of obstacles on our life’s path.” Sometimes, as Alfred Souza so eloquently states, obstacles need to be placed in our way to help us realize our path.

There’s no shame in having obstacles; there’s no need for us to bemoan their presence. They can be our reasons to be grateful. They show us our strength, and if we can recognize their gifts and their reasons for being, we can often find our way around them.

career, choices, decision-making, education, teaching, yoga

Step 198: Decisions, Iriquois-style

Christa Avampato

I heard Jeffrey Hollender, CEO of Seventh Generation, speak at the World Innovation Forum and he explained his company’s decision-making philosophy with respect to the environment: they consider how their decisions will impact the world in seven generations (roughly 70 years.) Seventh Generation took a page from the law of the Iroquois. After Hollender’s inspiring talk, I created a similar decision-making rule for myself: when making important decisions, I think about how I’ll feel about my choice 7 years from now.

This has brought up some interesting effects that may seem small on the surface, though are huge underneath:

1.) I had a hard time figuring out how to fit my yoga teacher training into my schedule. I had to make trade-offs with some other projects like Innovation Station and finishing my first e-book. Ultimately, I decided that the yoga training could lead to a service that I could offer independently, giving me more flexibility to pursue so many of my interests. 7 years from now, I will be very happy I gave entrepreneurship a shot with Compass Yoga.

2.) I went to Greece a few weeks ago and soon after I made those travel plans my sister asked if I would visit for a week only two weeks after I returned from Greece to help her out with her kids while my brother-in-law was out-of-town. I usually wouldn’t ask to take my vacation days from work so close together. I’m in Florida now having a blast with my little nieces. 7 years from now, I will be so grateful for this time – I am already grateful for it now. Work will manage without me just fine.

3.) When the opportunity to teach at LIM College presented itself, working the class into my schedule was difficult. I could have just passed on the chance to make things easier at work. However, I’ve been wanting to teach a college level for the past few years, and that opportunity can be tough for a young professional to come by. So even though it was difficult to re-work my schedule, I knew that if I didn’t accept the teaching assignment 7 years from now I would regret it.

4.) Now 34, I’m considering how I spend my work life. For some time, I have wanted to turn more of my career toward the field of education in some way. It would be easy to just continue down the professional path I’m on, even though I know it’s not my passion. I make a good living at a popular company. 7 years from now, I know that I will wish I had made the move to education much earlier on. So even though making a career change can be challenging, particularly in this economy, I have to go for it.

This decision-making philosophy is helpful, but not easy to implement. It requires trusting my gut much more often than my head. The heart can take the long-view; the head can’t. In recent years, my head has won more often than my heart. The practical side of me has taken a bit too much control. I need a better heart-mind balance in my decisions. Thinking 7 years ahead helps me do that. I’m grateful to the Iroquois and Seventh Generation for the lesson.

The image above can be found here.

business, entrepreneurship, yoga

Step 195: The Speed of Impossible Tasks

Christa Avampato

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” ~ Nelson Mandela

Compass Yoga feels like this to me right now, but my history of finding a way through keeps discouragement at bay most of the time. I struggled a bit to find a yoga studio that provided comprehensive, affordable teacher training with a flexible schedule. A very logical service to provide seemed unattainable as I flipped through the glossy pages of Yoga Journal. Sonic Yoga made that type of training possible for me – it just took me a while (and lots of internet searching) to find my way there.

Then I started to think about how I could us yoga to help the world and attract students, either private or in small groups, that wouldn’t require me to open up my own studio. I took a page from companies like Print for Change and Design 21 who donate a part of their proceeds to nonprofits. I do the same, giving the tax deduction to students and giving them the option to choose what charity to fund.

I put up a website – which I thought would also take a while to craft and was actually done in a weekend. WordPress, and my experience with this blog, made that task easy, or at least relatively easy. Now I’m working on a plan to market myself as a teacher by applying to do some speaking engagements, writing for well-known yoga sites, and offering some free classes to nonprofits in public spaces. The progress is slow – actually at this moment it’s crawling along though moving forward. Sloooowly and steady. After all, that is what yoga teaches us: the beauty of slowing down.

I get frustrated when I think about just how slow it’s going, despite the many hours of work cultivating and following leads. I think about how I’ve transitioned quickly into new parts of my career, to new cities where I’ve lived, to new hobbies and projects I’ve taken on. My life, for as far back as I can remember, has been about speed. Starting and running a business is more about what’s right than it is about what gets me the quickest win.

It seems impossible to me – this idea that slowing down will actually serve me better in the long run. I constantly battle the idea of “if I don’t do these 10 things right now someone else will.” I have SBP – small business paranoia. Though when I force myself to stop racing, when I stop trying to be one (or 100) more step(s) ahead, I can think more clearly and the task at-hand doesn’t seem poised to crush me under its hefty weight. It’s just sitting there, a mountain of work, waiting for me to carry away one stone at a time.

There are a lot of stones. Some of them are really heavy and I’m going to need to ask for help to lift them – yet another thing I am not so good at. I do see the benefits of taking my time with this new venture. The question is did I really learn to master my mind to exist, at least for a little while, in stillness.

The image above can be found here.

finance, money, yoga

Guest Post on Elephant Journal: Yoga and Personal Finance

Christa Avampato

I have been considering the idea for a book about yoga and personal finance. Here are the very needs of the idea in a guest blog post on Elephant Journal. Showcases what the yamas and niyamas taught me about managing my money. Let me know what you think!

change, future, yoga

Step 193: Changing Course

Christa Avampato

“How much pain they have cost us, the evils which have never happened.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

“Fear paralyzes; curiosity empowers. Be more interested than afraid.” ~ Patricia Alexander,
American educational psychologist

Thomas Jefferson and Patricia Alexander talk to us about worry and its cohort, fear – that nagging little voice in the back of our minds that has us concerned with circumstances we cannot control, imagined scenarios, or thoughts akin to “what makes you think you can do (x)?” I’ve had this ill of worry since I returned from Greece. Greece and the Greek people I found to be a beautiful; the yoga retreat fell short for a variety of reasons – the biggest being that I just didn’t fit with the school of thought being promoted. The yoga, as defined by the retreat, was not my yoga.

I’ve been on the worry path wondering, “now what do I do? How do I move forward? Or worse yet, do I not move forward at all?” After a number of conversations with friends, the worry has subsided. I won’t move down the path I thought I was going to be on. I’m hopping off that train and looking for a new road. My yoga doesn’t exist where I thought it should be. It’s out there somewhere – destination TBD. I’m not standing still, just making the conscious decision to move on.

It’s hard to leave the nest, the nurturing home that felt right yesterday, and today which I recognize is not my own. For the next little while, I’m going to try out a few different styles and follow my gut to find what’s right for me. My friend, Laura, and I have talked about planning a retreat in the near future, the kind of retreat we’d like most to be on, because we don’t need permission any more to “do”, just the will to give it a go. Details to follow.

Worry can paralyze us – it has certainly paralyzed me for the past week. I slept a lot, talked to friends who could help me reason through my disappointment and disillusion, and considered how the future may take shape, a different shape than I’ve been planning. At the moment it’s a tiny speck out there in the distance. The next few weeks, I’ll be trying to bring it closer and more into focus.

travel, yoga

Step 187: A Greece Recap

Christa Avampato

I’m finally back from Greece! Despite 24 hours of flight cancellations, delays, security issues at the Charles de Gaulle airport, and too-long lines for luggage and customs, I prevailed and made it back in one piece. I wasn’t actually home until today but the fact that I’m not still in Athens (thank you, Air France) is somewhat of a miracle. I feel like I’ve been away for a month.

The yoga retreat was entirely different than anything I expected it to be. Greece is beautiful and I practiced with a group that has many more years of yoga experience than I do. Most of them are teachers so I was able to get to the edge of my practice every day. I did write in my notebook daily, though I have to admit I really didn’t enjoy the unplugging. I missed being on this blog every day and interacting with my on-line pals.

In Greece, I did learn quite a bit about myself, and for that I’m extraordinarily grateful. The retreat environment is interesting, though I have to admit that I am so happy to get back to my life. Here are the lessons I reflected on each day that lead me a bit closer to an extraordinary life:

Step 179 – June 28th:
Life is a balance of being and becoming. Too often I get hung up on where I am or where I’m trying to go. The key is to balance out the two on a daily basis.

Step 180 – June 29th:
If you let go, you will float. We had a boat and swimming trip in the Caldera just off the coast of Santorini. I was nervous about it because I only learned to swim a few years ago and feel very uncomfortable in the open water. No one in my family swims so the open water is not a natural medium for me, despite my love of being near the ocean. In Santorini, I put myself into the open water, trusted I could swim, and be okay. And I was. I trembled and released my grip on the shore and swam in those crystal blue waters. I let go of fear and disappointment and the need to know exactly what would happen. I learned that if I give myself the space, I will rise.

Step 181 – June 30th:
Knowing what not to do is helpful. There were some things that I loved about the retreat, and some things that I really didn’t like at all. At first, I grew very disappointed with some experiences on the retreat, and then I realized that these disappointments were tremendous opportunities for learning. They taught me how to be a better teacher, and ultimately if I end up ever organizing a retreat of some kind, I’ll keep this list of “do-not-do”s handy.

Step 182 – July 1st:
Take unexpected invitations. I met a fantastic group of women that I think I’ll be doing some traveling with in the future. I was loping home from practice one afternoon, exhausted, when I was greeted by one of my fellow yoginis on Santorini’s main drag. She was going to dinner with a few others and asked if I wanted to go, too. I was planning on just slinking back to my room, and instead took the kind offer for dinner. So glad I did. We ended up going on a fun road trip around the island, hanging out at the local beaches, and swimming in the ocean. Their presence made my retreat so much better!

Step 183 – July 2nd:
While I enjoy vacations, I love my life. After a few days, I grew tired of the oppressive afternoon heat and the split shift yoga sessions. Santorini is beautiful but it didn’t hold my attention for long. I found myself re-invigorated about living in NYC, something I very much needed. I met a woman from France who explained that she has 9 weeks of vacation and she spends all of the others weeks looking forward to and planning vacations. Sad. 80% of her life is lived for the other 20%. I never want to have that. If 80% of my life isn’t working for me, I need to change something in that 80%.

Step 184 – July 3rd:
I really am a city mouse now. I grew up in the country surrounded by trees and grass and squirrels. I loved it, though now I’m glad I live in a vibrant, dynamic city with loads of variety. The city is the place for me, and that was helpful to learn. Santorini was beautiful, but Athens made me feel alive.

Step 185 – July 4th:
Yoga is a path whose ultimate destination is a happy, fulfilling life. If I can use yoga to improve the lives of others, I’ll be thrilled. And if I find that someday yoga doesn’t make me happy, then I’ll stop doing it. On the retreat, I found that I have no interest in being the world’s most flexible, accomplished yoga superstar. I have no desire to devote my entire being to everything yoga and nothing else. Some people do, and I support them in that quest. For me, it’s a tool and a way to let the light into my life in great quantities, just like my writing and the people I Iove.

Step 186 – July 5th:
You don’t have to take what you’re given. The powers that be at Delta airlines told me I’d get home on Thursday, two days from now. I spent hours running back and forth between Delta and Air France trying to get a flight back to New York City yesterday. There were a lot of hurdles, starts, and stops. And for some reason, despite the long lines and constant stream of no’s, I kept persisting and it paid off. It took me over 24 hours to get from Athens to New York, but I made it. If we really want to get home, we can always find our way.

I hope you had a lovely week and holiday weekend. I’m back in full writing force, and so grateful to be here with you.

art, religion, travel, yoga

Step 178: Greek Expectations

Christa Avampato

“The proper response to a great work of art is to enter into it as though there were nothing else in the world.” ~ Huston Smith, religious scholar, on the occasion of his 90th birthday

I’m leaving for the airport in a few hours to head to Santorini, Greece for a yoga retreat with Shiva Rea. Because I’ve never been on a yoga retreat, I’m a little nervous about what I may find. Is it really a personal journey or is it a collective group journey? Is it both, and if so, where is the line? Is my purpose to connect with others or to tap into my own sense of well-being?

In preparation for my trip to Greece, I stopped into the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art yesterday. They have a set of exhibits now that reflect many of yoga’s historical and spiritual teachings that I studied while in my training program. There were Kali and Durga and Shiva. There were the familiar and powerful lotus and warrior asanas. The sculptures that truly captured my attention depicted Vasudhara, the Buddhist goddess of abundance.

“She is beautiful, isn’t she?” said a voice behind me.

George, a museum guide, appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He must have noticed how taken I was with the Vasudhara statue. With his kind eyes and seemingly unlimited knowledge of Hinduism and Buddhism, George walked me through the exhibit on the 3rd floor, giving me historical context, explaining the casting process of the sculptures, and describing the meaning of the intricate details of each piece. He closed out impromptu tour by explaining that Heaven and Hell are not considered destinations to Hindus and Buddhists; they are within. They are a daily choice.

I thought about that idea as I walked through the other floors of the exhibit. A question came to me as I looked at some of the other installations. I went back down to the 3rd floor to ask George about it. He was gone. Nowhere to be found (and the Rubin Museum is a very small museum with nowhere to hide.) It’s possible he went on break or maybe his shift was over.

For a second, I thought maybe he had been placed there just for me. He showed up just when I needed him, even though I didn’t know that I needed him, and he enriched my experience. Our encounter showed me that it’s possible to be on your own road and still connect to others in a meaningful way. Maybe the two are not separate at all. Just show up with everything we’ve got, as if there is nothing else in front of us except this next step, and see what we find. A little real-time foreshadowing for what’s to come in Greece? I hope so!

I’ll be off the grid while I’m away. I’ll be writing every day in my notebook and sharing those experiences when I return on July 5th. Να είναι καλά!

community, yoga

Step 174: Yoga Just Means Union

Christa Avampato

On Tuesday, my friend Sara and I headed to Central Park for Flavorpill’s attempt to break the record for the largest organized yoga class ever held. Sara and I chatted throughout the hour-long wait: spirituality, school loans, and every topic in-between. The time passed quickly. I imagined us on the Great Lawn, doing our sun salutations actually to the sun, breathing together, OMing together. Yoga done anywhere is an amazing experience. Yoga done outside is glorious.

Except when it rains, and rain it did. If it weren’t for the slipping on yoga mats, I may have wanted Flavorpill to stick it out and have us practice through the rain. At first it was just a light sprinkle so we pushed through. Then the torrential downpour started. Literally buckets of rain. Everyone went running, grabbing extra mats and snacks, pushing, poking others with their feeble umbrellas. Apparently yogic behavior doesn’t always survive the rain.

I was just trying to dodge through the crowd to reach the west side of the park. I didn’t much care about getting wet – once you’re soaked, you actually get more soaked – I just don’t like the feeling of being trapped in a giant crowd. While bobbing and weaving (and cursing a little inside my head), I passed by a man on arm crutches. He looked to have cerebral palsy. There he was, plodding along, not complaining, not taking any extra mats or snacks or bags the way so many others were.

At first I rushed past the man and said a little prayer for him. After a few more steps I thought, “Christa, now that’s a lousy thing to do.” I pulled over to the side and waited a few seconds for him to catch up.

“Would you like to share my umbrella?” I asked him.

He smiled the most beautiful smile, and said, “Oh no. I’m fine in the rain, but thanks for asking. No one ever asks.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. “I don’t mind at all.”

“No but thank you, really. That’s very nice of you,” he replied.

I walked a little more slowly now and held that interaction in my mind. His smile was the sunshine I had come to the Park looking for. I didn’t need a mat to do a sun salutation. Yoga is lived as much as it is practiced.

business, courage, entrepreneurship, yoga

Step 151: Shouting Dreams

Christa Avampato

Courage means being scared to death…and saddling up anyway. ~ John Wayne

Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow”. ~ Mary Anne Radmacher

These two quotes were used by two of my lovely yoga teacher training pals, Vivian and Courtney, during their practicums on our last day of class. They have stuck with me this past week, and I thought of them often as I considered what I will do now that we have completed our 200 hour training. My friend, Amanda, reminded me of them again when she wrote a blog post this week about prayers and challenges and courage. Amanda shouts out dreams in her post in her articulate, poetic voice, and that voice inspired me to shout my dreams, too.

Dreams have their greatest power once articulated publicly. So here goes my professional dream: “By my 35th birthday next year, I want to earn at least half of my income from my own business.” And look, I didn’t self-destruct by making that proclamation; I actually brought it a little closer into being.

At the start of her teaching career, my yoga teacher, Johanna, worked so hard building her business though she completely avoided making a website, a key piece of her marketing plan. Later, she realized she had some pent-up fear about putting herself out into the world in such a public manner. Once she released the fear, she built the site (which is beautiful!) and she has a thriving career now. She saddled up when she was scared to death, and it paid off in spades.

I took a cue from Jo and built my website for my business, Compass Yoga, in a few days. I could have labored over it some more before flipping the switch, scrutinizing every word. I could have hired a copy writer, a professional web designer, and a graphic designer, delaying the launch and spending a lot of money in the process. Instead, I just used what I know how to do from my own blog, bought a domain for $14.97, wrote all of the copy myself, and stepped on the gas. It’s totally me, mistakes and all. As Dr. Seuss would say, I had to get on my way.

Thank you Jo, John Wayne, Mary Anne Radmacher, Vivian, Courtney, and Amanda, for inspiring me this week to just close my eyes and jump and shout from the hilltops how I want my career to unfold. I’m scared to death and it feels great!

Take a look at the Compass Yoga site and let me know what you think!