2020 Happened

2020. The year COVID changed how we do things. The year started with Support Group Presentations on the schedule; Kathy in Taiwan for a Continuing Education training; at least five other teacher trainings scheduled across the world - to include Toronto, Canada and Belgium; and our yearly scheduled presentations at The Scleroderma National Conference in Seattle, Washington.

In January and February our presentations in Arizona were canceled because Lori was experiencing issues that didn't allow her to travel and immediately upon Kathy's return from Taiwan, the world essentially went into lockdown for COVID. 2020 wasn't we had planned in any way, shape, or form. Nobody was ready for what it threw at us.

We did what we do and we figured out how to make it work. We took it all virtual and joined the Zoom community, offering weekly guided relaxations, meditations, and breath-work. These sessions were how we decided we would serve the community in 2020.

One weekly session soon turned into two weekly sessions, one held for folks in the far-East - members of Scleroderma India. This session continues to be well attended and continues to grow - with the 3rd Wednesday each month being translated in Hindi. Those two sessions spawned the creation of a weekly podcast.

When we started this new virtual endeavor we had no idea how that would evolve. We had no expectations. We only knew we had to try to continue to reach the community and offer what we could, how we could, so that we could continue to help people. Go “where the need is so great” as Lisa Dalberg, Kathy’s mentor taught her. So, we did. We now have a reach farther than we could have ever dreamed of.

From September to December 2020 there were 1,000 downloads and we were feeling like we had really accomplished what we had set out to do - help the Scleroderma community. 1,000 downloads in five months is a great reach for such a “small” community.

Things have continued to grow and the reach continues to expand. As of June 2021 the podcast was at over 3,200 downloads, across 66 countries, and 782 cities. As of mid-July 2022, the podcast has over 13,000 downloads, in 99 countries, and 2160 cities!

Additionally, as a result of joining the virtual yoga world, we are still able to offer some "live" instruction (as we deem safe) by attending support groups and offering virtual presentations and webinars to chapters both here in the U.S. and for folks abroad.

This is our largest outreach to date. 2020 forever changed how we will operate - and that’s not a bad thing!