Since I was 14 when my grandmother died of cancer, it has been my mission to help people live their longest, healthiest, happiest lives. That core mission has been behind everything I have done as I search for the most effective and impactful ways to serve. This initially led me to medical school, where I became a medical doctor and eventually a subspecialty radiologist with a particular interest in ultrasound interventional radiology.

Twenty five years as a medical doctor allowed me to realize that at least 70% of everything I imaged as a radiologist could’ve been prevented with a healthy lifestyle. Despite massive efforts in the medical system that exhausted and strained doctors, nurses and other health professionals, beyond their capacity, the epidemics of diabetes, heart disease and cancer all continued to rise. I wanted to shout from the rooftops that “it doesn’t have to be this way!” But in this fast-paced system where people are pin-balled back and forth from test to test, it is very hard to get to the root cause and get true healing done. It was also as if people thought that they could do whatever they wanted to their bodies and if they got sick, they could just go to the doctor who would “fix“ them.  I think that’s why I became a doctor so that I could “fix“ people. But it doesn’t work that way.

So here I was bloated with stress, exhausted - missing huge chunks of my four sons’ lives, and realizing I wasn’t getting any closer to helping people live their longest, healthiest, happiest lives and in fact, I was moving quickly in the opposite direction and it was now threatening my own life. (In fact, it did cost some of my medical colleagues' lives.) I knew there had to be a better way.

A late night desperate web search lead me to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and opened me up to the world of health coaching. The holistic message and this proactive approach immediately and viscerally resonated with me and everything I had observed to be true. I eagerly set out and flew from Canada to New York for live weekend classes they held back then, while working at a tertiary care hospital on the weekdays, while raising my four children (and massively grateful for my husband who could hold down the home front in my absence). It was a wild and amazing, incredible, life-changing journey!

I began health coaching in the pockets of my time and at one point I had all of my health coach clients off all their medications! I did not take them off their medications - their doctors did as a result of the amazing improvement that can be achieved through lifestyle changes.  This was a very enjoyable and satisfying experience for me and my clients! I knew we were onto something given these amazing transformations...

For years I enjoyed a successful soul-satisfying six figure health coaching practice. Over the years, many health coaches who saw that I was successful asked me for tips and I generously shared,  but my primary focus was on my own clients.

Then in 2018,  I had the opportunity to speak in front of thousands of health coaches as the emcee of an event and as a teacher.  Deepak Chopra was the keynote speaker and it was an incredible event.

The caliber of these health coaches was absolutely amazing! Some of them had gotten their mother off rheumatoid arthritis meds. Some had gotten themselves beyond an autoimmune condition and some had gotten their dad off diabetes meds and they wanted desperately to help people. But unfortunately, hardly any of these health coaches were actually health coaching or not nearly to their potential. And I get it. I had first hand experience with this. I remembered how tough navigating that path was. But in that moment, as I was fully aware of the rising epidemics of chronic disease and the tremendous untapped potential talent of these healers - I knew the cost of wasting this talent was too high.  I knew there were people literally dying for these health coaches’ help.  At this point in my career, I had already cracked the code on creating a successful practice and I decided to write a book and share with these coaches exactly how to create a successful soul-satisfying health coaching practice. My intention was to give this book away for free to as many health coaches as possible so that we could get more of them out doing the work that they knew they were meant to do... 

One of those first clients that came to me was Rachel B. I liked Rachel from the first moment I talked to her as I am a well-known champion for the underdog. Rachel had grown up as an obese, dyslexic child and she desperately wanted more than anything to prevent child obesity. She had graduated as a health coach but was struggling to get clients and was the mom to five young kids and wondered if she just had to give up on this health coaching thing and stay at her day job as an X-Ray tech...

I founded The Health Professional Academy to mentor health coaches to uncover their soul-satisfying niche, create their unique programs and customize a six-figure business plan for them that suits their lifestyle and that won’t burn them out - so they can get out there and share their healing gifts.  I thoroughly enjoy this process and it is - a process and a journey of amazing personal development. The transformations in these coaches is astounding. My client concierge often says we should do time lapse photography on these health coaches because their growth as they awaken their inner healer and become the success and make the difference they know they were meant to make is visible in their confidence, grace and glow. I love that we now have many health coaches who have either reached or are on track to six figures as we continue to grow. 

However, what I tell these health coaches is that it’s not about the money … but you gotta make enough money so that it’s not about the money. If you can’t put a roof over your head or food on the table and you have to do something else that does that, you can’t give your health coaching practice the focus it needs to really get off the ground. Granted, some people just want to do this as a hobby or help some friends and family and that is fine. 

But for those of you who want to make a significant difference and help the world be healthier and happier,  but you can’t see your way to it, then I want to invite you to hop on a call and let’s see what we can do to connect you with your soul-satisfying health coaching practice so that you can help your clients live their longest, healthiest, happiest lives while you do that for yourself and your family!

My heart is overjoyed and I am completely satisfied as I fulfill my original mission that began over 40 years ago - to have people live their longest, healthiest, happiest lives, and together we are doing that exponentially with this team - this family of excellent and amazing Awakened Healers!

Be good for you! 

​Dr Shaunna