Marsha Therese Danzig

It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Marsha Therese Danzig, aged 59, who succumbed to her battle with Covid 19 on January 8, 2022. She was born on November 4, 1962, the daughter of the late Robert James Danzig and Patricia Brady Danzig. She was raised in Albany New York, and South Orange, New Jersey. Marsha resided in Oakwood, Ohio for the last eight years of her life. Marsha joins her loving father in heaven, Robert James Danzig, who passed away in 2018.

Marsha was a gifted and fascinating woman, who overcame almost insurmountable medical challenges which began at the age of 5 years old when she was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. She never knew the fullness of physical health, but she fought for her joy fiercely, and radiated that joy in the life she created. Marsha’s impact on the many people she knew both personally and professionally was deep and meaningful.

Notwithstanding all Marsha had to overcome, her body of work and education were vast. Marsha attended Oak Knoll High School in Summit, New Jersey, and then went on to Mount Holyoke College. She graduated from Union college in Schenectady, New York with a degree in Art History and then received her M.Ed. from Harvard. She studied French at the Sorbonne, worked at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, became the first amputee yogi, was a Somatic Movement and Dance Kinetics teacher, wrote several books including Yoga for Amputees: The Essential Guide to Finding Wholeness After Limb Loss, a spiritual memoir of embodiment, From the Roots, and The Tiniest Acorn, a children’s book illustrated by her brother Matthew. Marsha spoke three languages, and created the first limb loss yoga teacher training in the world. Marsha also created Color Me Yoga, a yoga teacher training for teachers of children, and Yeshua Yoga, a practice based on deep Christian principles. She was a 500 hour RYT trained yogi as well as a Yoga Therapist and Reiki practitioner.

Marsha was the walking personification of resilience and zest for life. She was a passionate dancer most recently studying Flamenco, and gave a TedX talk just six weeks ago about the genesis of Flamenco as a rebel act of female empowerment, and her relationship to the dance as a chronic illness survivor. She was full of light and life, and celebrated groundbreaking, empowering yoga and dance for all bodies.

Marsha lived in many places in her lifetime including Manhattan, L.A., Paris, Boston and Cape Cod. Although Marsha lived in many fascinating and sophisticated cities in her lifetime, Dayton was her favorite, and she considered it home. She will be very missed by all who knew and loved her.

Marsha is survived by her mother, Patricia Brady Danzig of South Orange New Jersey, her sister and brother in law, Mary Beth and Dr. Ron Hartfelder of Salem, Mass., and their three sons, Charlie, Miles and Jack, her sister and brother in law Darcy and Gary Plunkett of Oakwood, Ohio, and their children, Maddie and RJ, her brother and sister in law, Steven and Jennifer Danzig of Portland Maine, and their three children, Declan, Brogan and Moira, and her brother and sister in law, Matthew and Susie Danzig of Menlo Park California, and their two children, Luke and Mackenzie.

A Memorial service will be help in the spring when it is safe for far away friends and family to travel. Details to come. In the meantime, donations can be made on Marsha’s behalf to her favorite charities, Doctors without Borders and / or The Yoga Alliance Foundation