Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chris Shelton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Chris, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?
Throughout my 23 years of clinical practice, the majority of clients I’ve seen have been adults. Although, interestingly enough, over the past 4-5 years more children are being brought into clinic for various conditions. One of the most heartwarming and memorable experiences I’ve had was with a boy named Raj.
Raj was four years old when he first came to see me. He was highly intelligent and active, yet he couldn’t speak. To communicate, he would make grunting noises and point to what he wanted or needed. He was also very standoffish and didn’t like people touching him. Establishing a good rapport with Raj and his mother, who is from India, was very important in order for him to gain the trust he needed for me work with him.
To help with his condition, Raj’s mother had tried everything she could think of from a Western medical approach, including a speech and cognitive therapist. But, nothing was working. She was desperate for a solution and was open to anything that might help.
I explained to her that, according to Chinese medicine, oftentimes an impediment in speech is due to an underlying Heart dysfunction. Clinically, when I use the word “dysfunction,” it’s not something that can always be picked up from blood work or an EKG, but from thousands of years observing the human organism, and an understanding of the connection between the internal organs and the environment along with the sensory organs of the body.
After getting his history, I explained the treatment strategy I would use, and Raj’s mother had to cajole him into getting on the treatment table by keeping him distracted with some sort of game. I noticed quickly that he was very sensitive to my touch. I initially wanted to perform a cupping technique, but he was having none of it!
So, instead, I started off with a gentle cranial-sacral technique which allowed him to relax, almost immediately. I followed this with Tui Na massage on his back and some light Gua Sha on the Urinary Bladder and Small Intestine meridians.
Raj and his mother returned for his next session a week later, and already he was starting to make little rhymes and began speaking intermediate words. By week three, many more words were coming out, although his parents were having trouble understanding exactly what he was saying. I considered it a success that he was talking and felt confident he would continue to progress.
Within a month, Raj was combining more words in greater frequency, and he was getting excited when he knew he was coming in to see me for a treatment. (I believe this is because he knew it was helping him).
Even though he was making progress, his mother had concerns. She wanted him to be “normal,” and was anxious to know how long it would take for him to be at “grade level.”
She asked me if I thought Raj was possessed by sprits. I said no, but that when I feel him, I sense a lot of sadness. So, I began to inquire about their home life. She told me he had a traumatic birth and that there was a lot a stress at home. Also, both of his parents worked full-time with highly demanding schedules in the high-tech industry. This was in addition to other stresses in the household, and on top of this, his father was gone a lot.
I said maybe Dad being gone is affecting him, or maybe Mom carrying the brunt of things is affecting him too, because they were all three still sleeping in the same bed.
I gave his mom some Qigong practices and some for Raj to do as well. In particular, I recommended the Heart Healing Sound, or HAA.
Within about two months, he was still developing motor skills but was talking and articulating his words much better. Within four months of treatment, the little boy who wasn’t talking and didn’t like people touching him would now get so excited to see me that if I was running late with a patient before him, he would become agitated and antsy. As soon as I would walk out into the lobby, he would run into my arms and call me “Chris Uncle.” He became so comfortable with me that, during his sessions, while I would go over a Q&A period with his mom, Raj would sit on my lap and go through my computer.
Six months later, he was talking a lot more, and within a year Raj was up to grade level! Then, within a two-year period of time, this inspirational little boy went from not talking and having to point for what he wanted, to becoming a young fellow who’s Mom said, “he’s talking so much that we can’t shut him up, and he’s developed his own unique and lovely personality.”
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’ve been in the health and wellness industry for over 30 years. Originally, I didn’t have the intention of becoming a healer, but through the various challenges and circumstances I faced in life, my path led me to where I am today. If you can believe it, my original training was as a butcher, freelance artist, and mechanic! Fast forward, I met my wife and business partner, Parisa. Together, we share the same vision of giving people the tools they need to help improve their quality of life. Working as a team helped us to build Morning Crane Healing Arts Center into what it is today.
We help natural remedy seekers relieve pain, reduce stress, and access higher levels of well-being. Our services include private healing sessions, group classes, teacher certification courses, a subscription membership, and a mastermind program.
We are experts in understanding the body, and we help clients heal without pain pills, medication, or surgery. Our work is effective in all types of conditions, ranging from chronic pain and disease to emotional issues like depression, and even the common cold, viruses, etc.
Through our practices and courses, we’ve helped countless people reclaim their health and enjoy their lives again. We’ve also been fortunate to work with Special Olympics teams, professional athletes and celebrities.
Our mission is to raise the consciousness of all people. We teach simple practices with profound results—movement, breath and mind focus techniques that improve health, bring happiness, and promote self-healing.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I have built a solid client base through consistency and showing up for the people I serve. This, in addition to the effective and lasting impact of the treatment services we provide.
If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
If I could go back, YES I would choose the same profession. As I mentioned earlier, I started working to become a butcher when I was 15 and-a-half years old. I was also a freelance artist and, in addition, I completed training as a mechanic to get my Class A break license in addition to my license for tune-ups, electrical systems, and engine rebuilding. I thought that if I didn’t make it as a butcher, I would be a mechanic, and if I didn’t make it as a mechanic, I would be an artist. Healer and author was not on my radar.
The benefits of Qigong and Chinese medicine saved my life, and I got to witness firsthand how powerful these ancient practices really are. After studying for my first four years of Chinese medicine as a single father of two and a meat manager, I didn’t know how I was going to go from cutting up dead cows all day to healing people.
When I started my clinical practice, I was full of self-doubt, and it didn’t help that one of my mentors and teachers actually tried to discourage me from moving forward in this field! Yet, rather than giving up, I persisted.
I finally realized I discovered my true path one day during a seminar at Yosan University, where Dr Mao Shing Ni said, “Before you come into this life form, you sign a contract with heaven that you are to find your life purpose. When you find your life purpose, that is how God shows itself thought you.”
That’s when it dawned on me how blessed I’ve been and that I’ve found my life purpose in working with the ancient wisdom of Qigong and Chinese medicine. Through these practices, I’ve been blessed to help people around the world heal from physical pain, emotional trauma and illness.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sheltonqigong.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrissheltonqigong/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrissheltonqigong
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-shelton-qigong/
- Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-shelton-qigong/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/morningcrane1
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/morning-crane-healing-arts-center-burbank
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@chris_shelton_qigong