We recently connected with Kate Shipp and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kate thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the story behind how you got your first job in field that you currently practice in.

When I graduated from my first yoga therapy training in 2012, I was already teaching yoga and seeing private clients at a studio I co-owned with two other women. I was looking to expand my private practice, and was referred by a yoga student of mine to apply for a position as a yoga therapist in the medical field. The position was working with a physical therapy practice on a new project funded by state insurance for people in recovery from chronic pain and addiction to pain medications. This was a functional restoration program, helping the patients after they went through an in-patient program to come off pain meds, I would be one of the practitioners supporting them through a 12-week program to increase their quality of life without heavy medications.

I had experience working one day a week as a yoga therapist for a chronic pain and palliative care center in Scottsdale, AZ, teaching yoga therapy classes for about 6 months and really enjoyed being a part of building the bridge between yoga therapy and modern healthcare. This opportunity gave me the skills and experience I needed to apply for this position with the physical therapy practice. When I met with the clinical director for the functional restoration program, I knew I was the right one for the job. He and I had similar understandings on the mind/body/spirit connection, and that addiction is more than a physical imbalance. In order to overcome addiction, someone must be willing to look at the mind, emotions, and spirit.

I was offered the position, and given the direction to create the yoga therapy portion of this program using my trainings, education, and experience. This was new territory as yoga therapy was not a highly-known field at that time, and is still emerging as a well-vetted option for those in recovery. I knew I was paving a pathway that no many had walked before, and I wanted this program to be successful.

I worked with them for several years on this program, and many patients found yoga therapy to be their favorite part of the 12-week program. The teachings and practices of yoga helped them to create a new relationship to their body and their pain, to learn how to manage their minds, and how to connect to the source of love that lives inside of them. Whether their pain went away or not was not the goal; the goal was to help establish a healthier way of living and that was accomplished.

I feel so very blessed to have had this opportunity so early on in my career as a yoga therapist. This opportunity was the foundation of understanding how unprocessed trauma causes severe suffering on all layers of being, and there are ways to repair, reprogram, and find resilience.

Kate, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Many years ago, I started on a journey to discover who I really am, longing to seek truth and healing for my aching heart, previously suffering with the daily effects of Complex PTSD. I was blessed with a beautiful life on the outside, while on the inside I felt empty, facing the world with many masks, living each day in anxiety and fear. I never felt good enough, and was always looking for ways outside myself to find fulfillment in my world. It was exhausting.

From a young age, intuitive holistic therapies and spiritual teachings have been a large part of my life. I worked with various healers and shamans, learning about meditation, self-awareness, natural remedies, the chakras and the energy body. I was blessed to learn that if our mind, body, and spirit are not in alignment, physical manifestations happen in our bodies in the form of dis-ease. This disease is simply a messenger of imbalance and disharmony in your being.

After having my first child, I needed a practice to help relieve stress and anxiety. I attended my first yoga class and finally found that alignment. Over several years and 1000s of hours of training as a yoga therapist, energy medicine practitioner, Christ-centered studies, all combined with experience and hard work, I am blessed to be working full-time doing what I love every day.

At about that same time i began working full-time in this field, the deepest held traumas in my body surfaced, some I did not even remember, resulting in a diagnosis of Complex PTSD, followed by 5 years of intense healing to reveal a new way of living. I had no idea I was living in the dark until I finally experienced life in the light.

It was blinding and brilliant, and honestly, scary at first. This life of love revealed a world of beauty, that I am still reveling in the miracle of choosing to forgive and heal. As I explored, healed, and integrated my inner world, my outer world began to shift in miraculous ways. It was difficult, transformative, and empowering!

By doing my deep inner work, and integrating past traumas, I realize that peace, joy, and love exist within and around me at all times.

I integrate the teachings of Jesus, yoga philosophy and practices, combined with the neuroscience of trauma to help others overcome painful pasts and create a life they love to live.

I will meet you where you are at all times, and teach you to create mindful steps forward to bring you where you want to be. The practices will empower you to cultivate safety within your body, and guide you to embrace your shadows by removing the veils of shame darkening your light.

My promise to you is to hold a safe, compassionate space for you to remember your wholeness, to see yourself from the lens of worthiness and grace, to embody your birthrights of peace and joy, and to fully thrive!

I work privately with clients, remotely or in-person. I also offer group courses, mentoring programs, trauma-informed trainings, and retreats. I teach in small or large groups on how to use embodiment to overcome trauma and build resiliency, faith-based recovery, and how hope is essential for healing.

I am most proud of publishing my first book this year in March. The title is I Am Strong Enough Now God, Thanks: My Journey from Trauma to Truth. My book is an Amazon International Best-Seller, and held number one rankings in many categories upon publication. This book is my memoir and is filled with life story, experiences, and education on how to overcome trauma.

It is my hope that each human on this Earth know how deeply loved they are, how important they are, how worthy they are, and that with the strength and help of the Spirit within you, you can overcome and love your life.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I believe that to be successful as a yoga therapist, continual personal development, self-inquiry, and support are absolutes. You must be willing to look at your own unconscious patterns, bring them into the present moment, have support in processing them through your nervous system, and reprogram the pain into something of purpose. When you choose to hold a sacred space for another to remember their wholeness, you will find yourself triggered or activated at times. That is a given. You must have consistent support to increase the health of your own nervous system and mind/body/spirit complex to stay present and engaged without taking on any of the pain of your clients/students.

Learning how to manage your nervous system is also so very important. Daily practices and self-care are musts and non-negotiable to work in this field. If you are not taking care of yourself, you will burn out and rather quickly. Compassion fatigue is real and hits the nervous system hard when you are listening to and supporting individuals and groups through a recovery journey.

Doing your own deep work is critical to expanding your capacity to help others and grow your business.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I chose to go deeper into my recovery from Complex PTSD, I knew I had to give up a few responsibilities to find the time, energy, and resources to be a mom, wife, and business owner. I chose to leave co-ownership of the yoga studio as I knew the other two women were more than capable of running it. I also chose to step away from seeing clients full-time and reached out to a mentor and colleague about a full-time position working for one of the schools where I did my training.

I needed to be around others each day, helping people but in a different way. I stepped into an administrative role and then a position in higher education for a few years to help stabilize not only my income but also my nervous system while I did some very deep personal work. I also began teaching trainings each week and found my passion for education.

This pivot helped me gain new skills and professional experience to further expand my toolbox to support others in the way I do now every day. While I was resistant to make this huge change, it was exactly what I needed at that time to be able to grow more later.

I think when our hearts and minds are set that something will look or be a certain way, and we come to find out that we are missing a few steps. Knowing how to be humble to shift, and being able to pivot are essential skills to further expansion. What I first saw as an obstacle on my plan, was actually the revealing of a perfect path designed by God’s plan.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kateshipp.com
• Instagram: kateshipp333
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/kateshipp333
• Other: Mighty Networks Community: www.theshippmethodcommunity.com

Image Credits
Nicole Curtin Photography