Our Yoga kula is saddened … we lost Laura. When death arrives, I always have to remind myself that the strong emotions of sadness and the unfairness I feel are really selfish. If we wallow in our own misery, we turn someone’s death into making it about ourselves and our loss instead of using the gift of memory to honor and keep the spirit of the person who passed living on.
Laura’s physical presence may no longer be among us, but her spirit of helpfulness will reside in me! She loved her Yoga and loved to be around people. She missed very few of my retreats and workshops over the past years and was always a quiet presence in the background offering me help setting up and cleaning up. She was soft spoken but her fighting spirt was loud. She would always be up for a challenge in class, never giving up. I can remember talking with her after many challenging classes and even if she didn’t do as well as she wanted, she had words of acceptance for her limitations which is truly a Yogi’s spirit.
Laura was a stickler for keeping things neat and tidy, including the area where the Yoga props are kept. After learning of Laura’s passing, a student asked me, as she was putting away her yoga blankets and blocks in the closet after class, “Cathy, who will straighten out the Yoga blankets and blocks now that Laura’s gone?” She said it softly and all I could do was smile softly knowing without a doubt that every time I go to straighten out the Yoga props, Laura will be there helping me…
For those of you who knew Laura, I would love to hear how her spirit resides in you.
Cathy this is such a touching tribute to our fellow Yogini, Laura. How we will miss her. She was such a great example to us all.
R.I.P. Laura
“I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.” Jeremiah 31:13
Diane