Welcome!
The decision to reach for the stars is ambitious; the decision to reach for hearts is wise. —Maya Angelou
We are in an era when our planet and humanity need more awake and courageous leaders. The world needs our hearts to be opened and engaged. I work with progressive-minded folks ready to discover and cultivate their fierce heart and lead with courage.
Leaders may identify as changemakers, creatives, activists, healing professionals, professors, students, spiritual seekers, naturalists, scientists, entrepreneurs, or something else.
Shawnee Shahroody Spitler
Somatic Leadership Coach | Writer
Somatic Leadership Coach | Writer
As a somatic leadership coach I resemble a person you would go to for wisdom and heart. This means, I show up as a compassionate witness supporting growth, embodiment, the nervous system and inclusivity. I will not tell you what to do. I will begin by seeing you. Then I will see your journey as the hero’s journey—a map for the noble struggle called the human experience. I will see that your current self is just where you are right now, part of a longer arc of transformation.
I guide people when they are ready to take a deep dive and explore the unseen. I will ask you to probe for the deeper issue that underlies the surface dilemma. I will accept your story but prod you to reconsider it so you may change your relationship to your past and future so that you may step more boldly into your present. I will ask you to clarify what you really want, be curious, and to recognize the shadow side or light side left out of your story.
We will set goals and I will advocate for you. I will encourage accountability and offer interpersonal skills, perspective shifts, somatic awareness, stress management and mindfulness strategies. Let’s tap into your insights, resources, and creativity, and move towards the life you are being called to create. I believe that you possess that power within you. What are you waiting for?
Find My Office
Land Acknowledgment
I reside on unceded land--the traditional common gathering grounds of several tribal nations-Blackfeet, Crow, Bangtail, Nez Perce, Shoshone, Sioux, and Flathead. The territory has been known as Ahkoto waktai Sakum, Many-come-together Country and Valley of the Flowers. I offer respect and acknowledgement to the original inhabitants of this land and their descendants.
Anti-Racism Acknowledgment
Racism causes all of us to lose pieces of our humanity. We must recognize, acknowledge, and address it wherever it shows up, including in ourselves, our families, and our communities. I understand the impact of systemic racism as a trauma that can affect physical, spiritual and mental health for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and Whites. Systemic racism has real effects on all of us, whether we acknowledge them or not.
I am committed to the on-going work of anti-racism in myself, my work, and my community, and our country. I recognize that I am of mixed race, bridge two cultures of experiences, and pass as white and with that comes unearned privilege. I acknowledge that systemic racism not only disadvantages BIPOC, but also gives advantages to white people.
Two hundred fifty years of slavery, ninety years of Jim Crow, sixty years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America will never be whole
- Ta-Nehisi Coates
Justice is what love looks like in public. - Cornel West
I am devoted to the practice and expression of love in our communities and on the land and to America realizing its wholeness.