We were lucky to catch up with Dr. Shannon Zingel recently and have shared our conversation below.
Dr. Shannon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Taking risks comes in many forms. All through our lives, we find ways to push ourselves outside of our comfort zones. I was born in Calgary Alberta, Canada. It’s where I met my husband, and where we started our family. For almost 20 years, we lived where we were all born. We had life-long friends, and people that knew all of our stories. People that cared about us, and supported us in countless ways. We raised two boys from babies to strong young men. In 2021, when the kids were in High School, an opportunity presented itself to completely upend our lives, and relocate to Southern California. We have always been open to the thought of doing something daring like moving to a completely different corner of the world, but now it was a real possibility. It was scary to think about, but also very exciting. Moving from a place that we all knew so well, and had such deep roots planted required our whole family to be completely committed to the adventure, or it would surely end in disaster. We sat the family down to dinner, and discussed our options. Stay in Western Canada, or take on the adventure of a lifetime and move to Los Angeles or Orange County. With almost no hesitation, both kids immediately jumped at the opportunity to live in a place like Los Angeles! We sold almost everything that we owned, saving only the most important sentimental items from our home, and moved 2000 miles south to one of the most vibrant areas on earth. There were unforeseen challenges along the way, but the kids (being athletes) almost immediately bonded with their new team mates and we were received by people that quickly became great friends. Now, almost two years later, we have made great friends, the kids are thriving, my business is growing, and we couldn’t be happier!
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 always wanted to help people. I started in business working in different levels of administration and human resources. In the corporate world, I wasn’t able to have the impact on people’s lives that I wanted, so I started to think about what helping people really meant to me. I eventually came to realize that I wanted to help people live healthier, happier lives, so I enrolled in a school in Western Canada to become a massage therapist. I went through 3,000 hours of training and started a business. I was helping people that had muscle and joint issues. I was noticing that a lot of my clients had concerns that no one was able to help them through. This feeling ultimately led me to Manual Osteopathy. I found a school that would build upon the principals that I had learned through massage, expanding my ability to work on the body. For example, one of my clients had plantar fasciitis. If you’re not familiar, it’s when the bottom of your foot tightens up and doesn’t function properly. She struggled with this for YEARS, and had seen her Doctor, a Physical Therapist, a Chiropractor, and had different massage therapists look at it. No one was able to get her foot working properly. One of the body’s systems that I work on is the fascia, and scars can impact its ability to work properly. I asked if she had any surgeries in her past, and she had a C-Section when her son was born. I worked on the scar tissue, and the plantar fasciitis went away. A lot of the clients that come to see me have been dealing with complex issues that they have had for a long time and have seen many different practitioners for. Using my vast knowledge in human anatomy and physiology along with the manual skills I have honed over my years in practice, I’m able to formulate a plan to address the root cause of what is going on, allowing my patients to see results. Basically, using various forms of manual therapy, I help the body’s systems align so that it can heal naturally.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
In Osteopathy, the symptoms are only part of the problem. Of course we must address the symptoms but we must also find the root cause in order to completely get rid of the symptoms. I work hard to not only ensure my knowledge is up to date but also, that I can identify when someone may need support outside of what I can do for them. It’s important to me to have a network of other professionals such as Functional Medicine Doctors, Naturopathic Doctors and mental health professionals to collaborate with to address symptoms and causes outside of my scope. I also believe that your time is valuable and your concerns deserve my undivided attention. When you book in to see me, you’re the only patient that I will be working with during our time together. Most of the appointments I have are 60 minutes long. You get my undivided attention for a whole hour, where we work on you, and only you.
Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?
Absolutely not! Being a BCDMO gives me a unique perspective on how the body functions. I help people with issues that they have had for years in some cases, and watching my patients be able to live the way they want brings me so much joy!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.beyondbetterwellnes.ca
- Instagram: @beyondbetterwellness