We recently connected with Shannon Mcinteer and have shared our conversation below.

Shannon, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

After I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, I had the choice to either continue with a Master’s degree or take a risk and become an Ayurvedic practitioner. At the time, I only knew the basics of Ayurveda, but I was very intrigued by it. Ayurveda is a holistic system that has been around for thousands of years and uses diet, herbs, lifestyle choices and body therapies to bring balance and wellness to the body, mind and Spirit. As I was going to school to become an Ayurvedic practitioner, I was working for a non-profit that provided mental health services and outreach to underserved communities. I learned a lot at this job and I am forever grateful for the opportunity, but at the end of the day, I still had the burning desire to start my own practice and work one-on-one with people. I graduated from the Ayurvedic Practitioner program at Southern California University of Health Sciences in April 2022 and quit the non-profit in October of 2022. I then went to Peru for my 30th birthday and that trip confirmed for me that I am on the right path. Once I returned from Peru, I dedicated the last two months of 2022 to building my website and working on marketing materials. I officially launched in January 2023, it was a slow start but now a year later, I can see how much it grew and I have a strong feeling this year will be even better.

Shannon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve aspired to be an entrepreneur in the Holistic Wellness field. I wasn’t exactly sure how I would get there, but I just knew that was my calling. What propelled me into the healing world was the near-death experience I experienced when I was 17 years old. Because I survived a tragic and rare accident, I knew that I was kept on this planet for a reason. Once I arrived at a certain point on my healing journey, I started working at Chipotle. I worked there as a cashier as I was completing my Associate’s degree in Psychology at College of the Canyons. I enjoyed working in a fun environment, but I knew it wasn’t going to last forever. Once I finished my Associate’s degree, I started working as a bank teller at Citibank because I had the desire to try something completely new that would help me enhance my communication and people skills. While I was working at Citibank, I started working on my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at California State University of Northridge (CSUN). In my early twenties, I started to dive into the realm of energy healing with a practice called Deeksha, also known as Oneness Blessing. This form of energy healing involves a Blessing giver and receiver. The one receiving is Blessed with Divine energy by the Blessing giver. The Blessing giver places their hands on the top of the receiver’s head for about 3 minutes. This transfer of Divine energy assists in creating an experience of Oneness. This was my first real introduction to the healing world. I loved receiving Deeksha so much that I became a certified Deeksha (Blessing) giver, which involved a full day of training and meditation. All the other healing modalities I became educated in started from there. I attended a small amazing music festival in the Santa Barbara mountains called Lucidity in 2016, which is when I attended my first sound healing experience. I knew right then that I was meant to become a sound healer. Being a sound healer has been such a beautiful experience that has opened so many doors. Sound Healings (or sound bath) consist of various instruments, such as Crystal Singing bowls, Tibetan bowls, Gongs and Chimes. These instruments are vibrational transmitters that resonate with us on a physical, mental, emotional and Spiritual level. The sound waves help to slow down the vibrations in the mind to a Theta or Delta state, which leads to a deeper, meditative state and turns off the mind chatter. Sound Healing can also help reduce anxiety, depression, and tension. During a Sound Healing Session, or Sound Bath, participants gather together and typically lie down facing the sound facilitator. The participants then close their eyes and get comfortable as the sound vibrations drift them off into a deep and relaxed state of meditation. This led me to expand more into the healing world, I became interested in yoga and started attending classes regularly, which led me to want to become a certified yoga teacher. Right when I finished my Bachelor’s degree, I quit Citibank and went straight into a 200hr Yoga Teacher Training that was created by my good friend Jessica Clark. During this training, I was introduced to Reiki and Ayurveda. Reiki is also another form of energy healing, and it’s also known as “Universal Life Force Energy.” It is a gentle, nonintrusive healing modality that includes hands-on and hands-off techniques, which allows loving energy to flow through the body with ease and grace. This practice is very meditative, and relaxing, and typically leaves the recipient feeling relief from stress and anxiety. It can also help increase energy and well-being. I fell in love with these healing modalities and wanted to become certified in them. Over a few years, I became a Reiki Master and Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner. Ayurveda is such a beautiful holistic healing system that uses ancient wisdom to restore and renew the Body, Mind and Spirit. It offers a variety of modalities, such as Health Consultations where you do a deep dive into your health history, family health history, diet and lifestyle choices, Panchakarma (detox procedure), Abhyanga (Ayurvedic massage), and Shirodhara (a relaxing procedure where warm herbal oil is dripped on the forehead, which melts away stress and anxiety while enhancing feelings of bliss and serenity. Can also help relieve insomnia), and much more! These are the more well-known Ayurvedic healing modalities.

To sum it all up, my mission is to offer holistic and individualized wellness care that fits clients’ unique needs and lifestyles using multiple healing modalities, such as Yoga, Ayurveda, Sound Healing and Reiki. These different healing modalities can be used together or separately, depending on the client’s need(s) and they immensely help in supporting overall health and well-being.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

When I first started my private practice, I dealt with a lot of “imposter syndrome.” Imposter syndrome is when you don’t feel like you are good enough or deserving of your efforts and successes. It’s a lack of confidence in your ability to do what you want to do. There are areas in my life where I am still working through this, but over time I have built confidence in the healing work that I provide for my clients.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Having genuine compassion and care for not only your clients but yourself. When you are doing this kind of work and holding space for others, it’s important to have a very strong self-care practice. It’s easy to get burnt out, especially if you are pouring from an empty cup.

Contact Info:

• Website: omshantiofferings.com
• Instagram: omshantiofferings
• Other: email: [email protected]