From the KYTA Newsletter, a sweet memorial peace to Lila Ostermann. I was interested to note, she introduced Breath of Joy, one of my favorite pranayama. Did you know Lila? Have a memory, comment or reflection about her? Leave a comment and share.
In Memory of Lila Ostermann.
Beloved friend and yoga teacher Lila Ostermann, a resident of Kripalu in the 1970s, passed away on June 24 at age 90. Lila touched many people throughout her years of teaching yoga, and truly lived what she taught. Fittingly, she was the teacher who introduced the Breath of Joy, which has been a staple of the Kripalu experience and teaching curriculum for many years.
All of us who knew her have a “Lila memory” that makes us smile or laugh, or brings a tear to our eye. Lila allowed compassion to move into our lives and taught us to think about the words we spoke to ourselves. She made us laugh, as when she marched us into the ladies’ room to show us how to do a proper squat, should we ever find ourselves in India! She was the first teacher who exposed us to Laughter Yoga—she would start to laugh and, before we knew it, the whole class was in laughter. Lila’s presence will be greatly missed, but her memory is forever etched in our hearts.
—contributed by Sharon Smith-Carter, Path to Stillness Yoga Studio, Ontario, Canada
