A Fond Farewell

When Allie was ten months old, we took our first Mommy/Infant yoga class. The teacher, Sally, was a gentle, soft-spoken woman who was also the mother of two toddler boys. Sally's tender and compassionate teaching style is one of the reasons that Allie has loved yoga nearly all of her life. Sally inspired us to continue our yoga practice as a path of good health and spirituality. She was an excellent example of beauty, fitness, serenity, and calm. For many months, we had no idea that Sally was dying. She never mentioned it and she seemed so alive! When we learned, three years ago, that Sally had End Stage breast cancer which had spread to her bones we were stunned. But Sally seemed to live on as though she didn't know the cancer was there. I actually thought she would somehow be the one who survived this fight.

Today we learned that Sally has moved on to the next phase of her journey. Her energy remains a part of us, as energy never goes away but simply changes form. I remember the message that Sally wrote on the dry-erase board in our yoga classroom: "THE UNIVERSE IS AS IT SHOULD BE." Thank you, Sally, for being on this earth long enough to teach us "balance." Go in peace, Sally Canfied (1968-2009).