Facilitator Voices: Clare Pritchard
What an interesting and challenging time to be alive!
The COVID pandemic has affected every person around the globe – in different ways of course, but it truly is what I would call a Global Traumatic Event. Here in Australia the tagline once the pandemic reached our shores was “We’re all in this together!”. It didn’t take long, however, for politics to creep in, or for it to be painfully obvious that those on the bottom of society’s pile were likely to be impacted the most brutally.
I have worked within sexual assault services in Melbourne since 2000 – initially I worked in a counselling and advocacy role, but in 2010 I began to facilitate a trauma informed yoga program. I was thrilled to discover the TCTSY methodology and community, and in 2018 became a Certified TCTSY Facilitator. I have worked with many survivors of trauma, both individually and in group settings, and am humbled and honoured every single time I am trusted to share a yoga practice.
When we first went into a COVID lockdown in Melbourne I was immediately concerned for the participants in my yoga programs, many with very complex needs, whose access to services became limited or ceased almost overnight. I knew that those with a history of trauma were likely to be triggered in some shape or form by what was unfolding in this collective swell of anxiety and fear. I was determined to throw out a lifeline in the form of our ongoing yoga sessions, and within 3 or 4 days I had discovered Zoom, learnt how to use the platform, set up a small space in my studio, and was ready to continue sessions – “business as usual”. Being on a screen, seeing my own image in the practice, grappling with technology…..it was all far from my comfort zone. But people were registering for the practice. People were arriving online.
In fact, once I began to invite feedback through anecdotal comments as well as a short online survey, I discovered that offering TCTSY online was something I could have considered a long time ago. Many people found it so much easier to practice from the safety of their own home, were loving not having to deal with traffic or public transport following their session, enjoyed the anonymity of being able to practice without others seeing them on their mat.
Our online practice also provided a way in which we – all of us, including myself – could stay connected through this time of intense stress and isolation. We were able to share the moment, share the practice, when it felt like everything around us might be falling apart.
TCTSY is a rocksolid tool and resource, a gift to us as facilitators just as it is for so many people that we are able to work with. None of us know what the year ahead will hold – but I do know that whatever lies ahead, this yoga practice will be invaluable in navigating a way through.
Clare Pritchard : TCTSY-F (Melbourne, Australia)
Clare Pritchard lives in the beautiful Dandenong Ranges on the outskirts of Melbourne (Australia) with her family. She has been practicing yoga since 1995. She has also been involved in working in the regional Centres Against Sexual Assault (CASA's) in Melbourne since 2000. She began this association working as a Counsellor/Advocate at CASA House but her role in the field has now transformed into a role which provides support and healing to victim/survivors of trauma through yoga.
Clare has delivered the yoga component of the Body Based Therapy Program at WestCASA since 2011, and at CASA House since 2017. She has also delivered programs in the Northern, Eastern and SouthEastern CASA’s, and Counterpoint Young Women’s Refuge. In a voluntary capacity, Clare has provided yoga classes within the Maribyrnong Detention Centre, the Asylum Centre Resource Centre and the YWCA Girl Storey program for marginalised young women. She also works with private clients and is passionate about the personal and collective healing that can be available through the mindful and empowering practice of yoga.