We were lucky to catch up with Stephanie Shanley recently and have shared our conversation below.
Stephanie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
My parents taught me many valuable life lessons including the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. My mom, Kathy taught me the importance of cooking healthy meals to share with my family. As a child, we shared the majority of our dinners around the kitchen table & mom always included a side salad to make sure she offered plenty of green veggies to us. Now being a mom to 4 of my own children I am constantly searching for healthy recipes & making healthy meals for us to share around our kitchen table. Last year with my son Casey we even grew our own tomatoes & zucchini. It was so fun growing & eating our own food. My dad, Steve is known for his daily walking. This past year we both completed the 60 miles challenge for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital & in 2021 when Dad turned 70 & I was pregnant with my 4th we hiked up Diamond Head in Hawaii together. Because of my parents’ beliefs & attitudes towards the importance of a healthy lifestyle & preventive care, I became a registered nurse with a focus on educating others on techniques to care for themselves at home if applicable. I recently became a business owner of Nature Health Coach whose main focus is sharing my love of incorporating nature into personalized wellness plans to overcome anxiety and/or depression & strengthen one’s overall well-being.
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?
My name is Stephanie. I am the Founder of Nature Health Coach. I have worked as a registered nurse for over a decade. I have worked with all ages from neonates to beyond 100 years old! In addition, I hold a bachelor’s degree in sociology & psychology. I am a strong believer in natural techniques for improving one’s wellness, along with traditional medicine when needed. During my undergrad, I ran NCAA Division 1 cross country. I am a wife and a mom to 4 beautiful children. We live in the beautiful state of Colorado! I love the outdoors and am a big advocate that getting your daily dose of sunshine definitely helps improve your physical & mental health. Personally, I love to go on daily walks, hike, kayak, swim, horseback ride, garden, rock climb, go camping, and meditate. I am a huge advocate for children playing outdoors & exploring. As a family, we love to fish, bike, camp, and enjoy beach vacations. After being a nurse for over 10 years I decided to open up my own business https://www.naturehealthcoach.com to share my education, experience, & passion that nature helps greatly improve our physical & mental health. Nature Health Coach includes a clothing & home accessory line, a blog of nature activities to improve one’s wellness, and I offer 1:1 coaching to give more of a personalized approach to helping others achieve their wellness goals. Because of my background being a registered nurse & having a BA in sociology & psychology, I have the education and experience to help others achieve their wellness goals in a more focused way. Each individual has a unique physical and mental ability & I am here to help guide them to better health using natural techniques.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When I was twenty years old I had to take a college medical leave. I had just finished up a season of running for NIU Division 1 cross country when I suddenly had to leave college due to a severe case of strep throat. I underwent three emergency surgeries on my throat. I had an emergency tonsillectomy & 9 days later my throat completely hemorrhaged out of me; something that I will never forget. Due to the nonstop bleeding, I had a third emergency surgery where a phenomenal ENT saved my life. He cauterized & reconstructed my throat; along with having my stomach pumped because it had filled up with blood from the uncontrolled throat bleeding. My soft pallet was left paralyzed, so I had months of speech therapy to learn how to talk again. I went from only being able to pronounce “Ma” to fully gaining back a voice. I pushed through day after day even though I felt completely miserable. I went from being a NCAA division one cross-country runner; to hardly being able to walk from my hospital bed to the room door with assistance. Since then, I have dealt intermittently with post-traumatic stress disorder & health anxiety throughout my life but I am so blessed to be alive and to have the life I have now. I have an amazing supportive husband, and 4 beautiful children, work as a registered nurse, & now started my own business to help others 1:1 deal with stress, anxiety, & depression.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
The most helpful thing in succeeding in my business, https://www.naturehealthcoach.com/ is networking. It’s all about having the courage to speak up and share what I believe in and do. I have attended business events and social gatherings & exchanged ideas with others. I recently attended Wowversery celebration. WOW is Women of the Workforce Castle Rock group that is a non-profit group of some of the most encouraging women that are so great to be around and share ideas with.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.naturehealthcoach.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naturehealthcoachstore/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Nature-Health-Coach-Store/
- Tiktok: @naturehealthcoach