Namaste, Larry

I found out on Facebook last night that Larry Schultz, my yoga certification teacher and the founder of It’s Yoga, passed away recently. Such sad, sad news.

It was four years ago in March 2007 that I graduated from the It’s Yoga teacher certification program in SF. I have such fond memories of practicing in the studio. I can still hear Larry saying, “Where are your hands and feet?” as he walked around with his yard stick making sure we were paying attention to our alignment. You could tell who was an It’s Yoga TT because we all had a black sharpie line drawn down the center of our mat with dots for, you guessed it, our hands and feet in downward dog. But mostly I remember his mellow spirit and sage wisdom.

I was fortunate enough to lead several Dream Box Workshops through the teacher training program. Larry invited me to run these sessions after I shared my wish box with him during one of our training sessions. I’m forever grateful for that opportunity!

Larry was a pioneer in bringing Ashtanga yoga to the states and in particular growing the vibrant Ashtanga and power yoga community in the Bay Area. He was also the yoga teacher for the Grateful Dead for many years. And he trained teachers from around the world and developed an amazing practice called The Rocket.

Larry’s life and passing remind me how important it is to be living your passion and making a difference. He was doing his legacy work and his teachings will forever remain in the hearts and minds of all the people he has touched. Namaste, Larry!