About Mary
Meet Mary
Holistic Wellness Practitioner
More than anything in the world, I care about love and being present with and fully enjoying this ride we call life. I am head over heels, crazy excited to help women nourish themselves through deep Soulful Self care in every moment of their life.
And there is one thing I’m really, really good at, reminding women how to come home to themselves and how they can finally put themselves on the top of the list and live a more joyful, heartfelt life.
Prior to doing this work, I worked as a registered nurse in many capacities, most recently as a healthcare executive. As a nurse I have witnessed the birth of new life and the transition of death and just about everything in between. During this time everything looked great on the outside. I seemingly had it all...the big title, the big salary, a nice car, big house, a committed marriage and 2 amazing kids and yes… even two Labradors.
But the truth is… on the Inside… it was a very different picture.
Mary Shackelford
I was miserable.
I felt trapped in the system, abiding by all kinds of “rules” and beholden to all the “should’s” of life. I always had this knot in my stomach, had no energy and felt chronically irritable. I felt lonely in the most crowded room even if I was laughing right along with everyone. Mostly, I was filled with fear…Fear of failing in some way, of disappointing others, of just not measuring up. I felt like my “real” life was passing me by.
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And then one day everything changed in an instant. I was 30,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean and suffered my first panic attack.
Over the next few years, I would have hundreds of these attacks. I felt like a prisoner to them.
In my journey of healing, I came to realize that I had been spending my whole life focused on playing it safe, staying in the box and taking care of everything and everyone but me. Holding back. Living small. Coloring in the lines. I was paralyzed by internal fears. I was not really living at all. The joy in my life was in a coma…fading.
I know now, the panic attacks were my body’s signal to me that something in my life had to change…
Because of them, I finally had the courage to discover my deepest truths and learned how to take care of myself and to make myself a priority in my own life.
Eventually, I quit my job and followed my heart.
It breaks my heart to see women going through life like I did… not really feeling alive…. only half here. Feeling depleted, flat, focused on everyone else. Never opening her heart to her own inner wisdom or allowing her secret dreams to see the light of day.
Today I work with women who feel overwhelmed, anxious, stressed, depleted, and have been giving too much and are finally ready to get to connect to the woman she knows she really is. One who feels alive…One who puts her needs and wants at the top of the list… finally coming home to herself.
Sometimes my work looks like powerful and compassionate one-on-one coaching or energy sessions. Sometimes it looks like a teaching a yoga class, finding just the right essential oil for someone, a blog post, workshop or speaking gig. Other times it looks like gathering for luscious retreats where we get off the grid, connect with nature, nourish ourselves deeply.
Ultimately my work is about empowering women to live life with passion and awareness to create a life of peace and pleasure they crave.
Because the world is way better when women live their own truth.
So that’s me. Now that you’ve got the low down on who I am + how I got here, why not stay connected!
