Believe Her
Brutal Legacy
In 2018 I joined an educational legal conference hosted in Johannesburg South Africa.
One of the conference participants was Tracy Going.
Tracy Going was a well-known South African TV personality in the late 1990s.
I remember watching her on TV as a young woman.
It has taken her TWENTY YEARS, 20 YEARS!!! to speak her Truth.
View this post on Instagram
She was brutalised by a man she loved and then also brutalised by the legal system.
People from different professions gathered in the same conference.
Lawyers, high court judges, the police, social workers and psychologists gathered together in the same conference, and we all heard exactly what is going on in society.
Thankfully a lawyer from Ontario was also there to learn from South Africans.
After meeting this lawyer I started educating myself on Gender-Based violence statistics in Canada, which previously I was not aware of.
Reciprocity.
Her community in Ontario will benefit from this educational experience in South Africa and I benefited learning about Canada from her.
Previously I had no idea about the prevalence of this in Canada.
I found the statistics both informative & shocking.
The Violence against women topic is relevant in both Canada and South Africa.
As a woman who has worked in healthcare in South Africa & The UK and as a trauma-informed masseuse, trauma-sensitive yoga teacher & trauma-informed mediator, this educational experience was enriching & Enlightening for me.
I always tell people to stay positive, stay in the Light.
I am also Rational and a Realist.
Yoga practitioners cannot go through life being naive.
Satya:
While we’d all like to believe only beneficial experiences are had within the Yoga industry, Reality is, that is NOT the case.
Many of us know that!
Within the yoga industry I have worked with women who experienced sexual assault which took them years to heal.
In 2016 Montreal-born yoga instructor Kristin Johnston was murdered by a man who loved her.
These life experiences are not pleasant.
I believe we educate & empower ourselves by knowing this instead of going through life in denial, or Yogic spiritual escapism.
Brutal Legacy is a non-fiction book about a power-hungry man filled with rage who used alcohol, drugs, deception, & psychological games for his own self-serving purposes.
More importantly, this is the Truthful life experience of a Woman who FINALLY chose to speak her Truth & HEAL.
The #metoo movement, the Reeva Steenkamp murder, the Ford story and many other reasons bring violence and abuse to the forefront of our society.
In 2021, Babita Deokaran, chief director of financial accounting in the Gauteng department of health was assassinated outside her home on 23 August 2021 by 6 men.
A women who, in my mind & in my Heart, obviously cared about people and her profession, was assassinated.
It doesn’t surprise me that South Africans live under a great deal of stress every single day of our lives.
Even more so if we truly care about people.
How could the consequences of her truly caring about people, her community & her society, result in her own assassination?
As a woman who has worked in the healthcare industry myself, I find this incredibly disturbing.
Human dynamics & Human Behavior.
Slowly but surely the thread of societal trust; which is The Most Important Thread of All within our societal fabric is being eroded.
This worries me not only as a trauma-informed yoga teacher trainer & trauma-informed masseuse, but also as a Human Being who has traveled to places of genocide & crimes against Humanity.
I still believe that conflict and violence can be prevented and I will continue to offer stress reduction services to people in South Africa to help manage our stress levels as we navigate life in The Rainbow nation, as well as my global online clients.
My intention as always is to lower our stress & anxiety levels, all the while being fully aware that we DO NOT live in lala land.
I will have to read and process this book Very slowly.
I read a few lines in the book store and immediately had tears pour down my face.
I tried again in a coffee shop and almost vomited.
Similar to visiting Auschwitz and the S22 Khmer Rouge torture facility in Cambodia (both of which I have experienced), harrowing human life experiences must be read and must be known, Specifically to educate ourselves & to prevent the harmful cycle from continuing instead of burying our heads in the sand.
Ideally, to Also HEAL.
View this post on Instagram
For me, My Truth is this.
Women in relationships with men who carry rage are At Risk!
Regardless of how much you may love him.
Men’s capacity for physical harm & destruction must be taken seriously.
The sooner this reality is understood, the better.
This is really important to me, hence I am writing about it.
Some outstanding books are being published in South Africa these days.
They are not pleasant to read, but they are educational.
Thankfully Tracy Going has received a great deal of community support to get her Own Truth OUT THERE with the help of Theatre Director Lesedi Job, actress Natasha Sutherland and actor Charlie Bouguenon.
View this post on Instagram
Tracy’s 702 interview can be heard here.
Hopefully, this short blog post inspires you to read the book & LEARN something in the best interest of your Own Wellbeing.
I am aware that both men and women have the potential to suppress emotions which can turn to rage.
Both men & women can be abusive.
Therefore for my own safety and Peace Of Mind, AND for the safety & Peace of mind of others I DO NOT accept massage appointments or trauma-informed yoga teacher training applications from people who have the potential for rage.
Thank you for your understanding.🙏
I also DO NOT post videos of myself doing Yoga or Pilates online.
Satya
Satyagraha
Brahmacharya &
Being True To Myself
In 2023
While I know posting online yoga & Pilates videos is considered completely normal by modern society in 2023, that doesn’t mean I will follow the herd & do it.
As an informed educated woman with traditional values and understanding societal risk factors, I would rather maintain Peaceful Embodiment & NOT have the general public watching me doing yoga online.
I have been WHOLE within myself & comfortable in my Own skin for many years now.
I’d prefer to keep it that way.
In late 2022 I decided to NO LONGER offer massage to men as of January 2023 due to numerous unpleasant experiences during Covid.
I realize not all men pose a risk, and not all men will do harm, AND the potential risk with men is too high for me to take with my Life.
Over the years every time I have considered this decision I have thought of Anthony Bourdain and Robin Williams.
Many people loved both these men and believed they were ok, when in reality they weren’t.
Based on them as icons, I decided to continue offering massage to men AND Life is Life.
I do not take risks with my Life.
Deep Tissue Thai Kahuna Bodywork Massage with me is for women only NOW.
Thank you for your understanding.🙏
Trauma-informed Yoga Teacher training groups with me are kept small and private retreats are 1:1.
Before you leave this Instagram post is worth taking a look at and considering for your own wellbeing.
View this post on Instagram
As Johnny Clegg sung, it is a Cruel Crazy Beautiful World.
In my Heart & Soul I still have Hope for HumanKind and I still Believe that our Human Race across the plains of The Human Serengeti will E V O L V E,
will H E A L &
one day we’ll All live happily ever after in a world of Peace, Love, Joy, Compassion & Harmony.
That sounds like a Great Option to me.
As a woman with a lot of patience & compassion who has heard a lot and seen a lot I ALWAYS Say
Love Doesn’t Hurt You.
I’ll Keep on Believing and keep on STRIVING with people in That direction because 1 person CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
If The Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, & Thich Nhat Than believed that AND walked that path, THEN my Dear Yogis and Yoginis so can we!
If Yoga Practitioners & Bodhisattva’s give up on Our World what then?
Our World is Interconnected more NOW than ever before.
For the Future Wellbeing of the Human Race the decision to do the healing work within ourselves must come from WithIn ourselves and must be done in a safe way.
If you have read this far. Thank you for doing so.
I appreciate you & your Time.
Thank you to the massage, yoga students & retreat participants who have chosen to work with me so far.
Together, each of us on this website have made a Healing difference, within ourselves, within our families and within our global communities.
Enriching People’s Lives Since 1994.
Once a person is determined to help themselves, there is Nothing that can stop them.
Nelson Mandela
Thank you to a retreat participant for sharing that with me.
Namaste’🙏🌐♥️🌐
Colleen
🌐♥️🌐
P.S Even though all of this IS serious.
I’ll be the One to end things with a silver lining & a Light Note.
Every now and then baggy pants & a healthy Dose of Feel Good Kumbaya IS incredibly helpful to keep Our Spirits Lit.
May you EnJoy a Beautiful World with a Blue Sky
As often as possible.🙏
As Way leads on to Way, you might read this On Any Given Day.🌐
Please note Yoga does not replace the advice of a doctor.
ALWAYS see your doctor FIRST.
© Colleen McClure
