Shelby Hensley Owner & Practioner of Mindful Empowered Wellness

Speaker 1: 0:30

So tell me a little bit about your business.

Speaker 2: 0:33

So my business is fresh. It is just coming off the ground. It's a little baby that I have birthed. It is something that has been a passion of mine, being a nurse for 20 years. I have just wanted to kind of venture out on my own and kind of do something different in terms of educating people more about their body, and I found a school, the FDN school, that I went to kind of came out of COVID wanting to learn more. I pushed through that. It was really very tough being a mom and a nursing supervisor and working through COVID, but I really fell in love with it and felt the need to push through and kind of go out on my own and really help people educate themselves about kind of taking their health back into their own hands.

Speaker 1: 1:29

So what type of nurse were you? And then what's the actual like business?

Speaker 2: 1:33

So I'm a pediatric nurse, which I'm continuing to work there as now, but the business is called Mindful Empowered Wellness and I am now a functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner, and so the business is being able to kind of do functional lab testing, help people to kind of get to the root cause of what's going on in their body.

Speaker 1: 1:58

Now, what type of people come to you Like what do they usually feel?

Speaker 2: 2:05

see, are told so it's kind of there's not really an ideal client, because I can kind of work with anybody. I can work with kids Certain testing for the kids would be different than what I would do with an adult but that ideal client is somebody who has gone to the doctor over and over and over and they're just treating their symptom. And they treat that symptom and another symptom happens.

Speaker 1: 2:31

And so they're just.

Speaker 2: 2:32

It's this cycle of trial and error and I'm like ready to help them end that. Looking at, with this approach. People will come to you and say I have this symptom and this symptom and what I will do is like, look at a 30,000th of you, with these five functional lab tests and with their clinical correlation. We'll tell them okay, based off of what you're feeling and what your lab tests are showing us, let's put together a plan based it's called like a dress protocol.

Speaker 2: 3:04

So, we're working on your diet, your rest, your exercise, your stress reduction and then supplementation, and then collectively we will go through all of that and kind of get you back to your optimal health.

Speaker 2: 3:17

I love that, yeah, because they're such simple things you would think and it's interesting. So, going through the schooling, I was able to do the testing on my own self and I consider myself like my husband and I were athletes. We were in the gym, I ate healthy. I did the testing on myself and it was eye opening. I was basically stressed was the root cause of all of my issues. But I was kind of overusing exercise in turn and really doing internal damage on my body and so I had to back off of that. Looking at the food sensitivities testing part that I was, I always had some stomach issues, gut issues, and when I tested for it I was like, well, this is eye-opening, because all of the foods I'm actually sensitive to Not allergic, but sensitive. So the protocol for that is you remove those foods for 90 days. You kind of heal your gut and then you can slowly introduce them back in.

Speaker 2: 4:20

But it gives you the empowerment to kind of feel how your body reacts once you have removed a stressor, and then you input it back in and you're like now I feel bloated or I have a headache. Why is this happening? And you can kind of use that as a guide.

Speaker 1: 4:38

That's so cool, though, because you would never know that without those testing.

Speaker 2: 4:43

Right Without those tests. It's interesting too to kind of see. The other reason I have a passion for. It is my husband was diagnosed with MS 11 years ago and rocked our world. At that age we only had or at that time we only had two boys and, like I said, we were athletes, avid gym goers and it kind of just like knocked us out. So we looked at a lot of things, not knowing a whole lot. It took us two years to get the diagnosis. We did a couple different treatments. There is no cure for MS but we thought let's see if we can't kind of regain some things that we have lost. And within that there came a lot of side effects and so he ultimately we talked about it, but he was just like this isn't worth it. I have now more things on top of the MS than what I had before. So I started digging my background and like let's see what else we can do. And there's a lot that you can do by your diet and your lifestyle.

Speaker 1: 5:50

So when he was having those problems, the additional challenges is that from From the medications.

Speaker 2: 5:57

From the I was going to say what the different. We did a couple like oral medications and then that wasn't changing anything. So it's like let's try. So this is where, like the cycles go, okay, we've tried one thing, this isn't working. We tried an infusion for a year and that we were like, okay, this is not going to help. So after that he decided I'm not going to do anything, let's see, kind of how it goes. And he has been our youngest will be seven in two weeks and he has not had a treatment since the day he was born.

Speaker 2: 6:27

So seven years and it's just all of. We're still battling things, but by changing our diet and our lifestyle and kind of what we do and try to lessen the stress, it just kind of like goes to show that there's a reason and a need for medicine but at the same time like we can kind of control a lot of things too if we kind of work on it. And so that's what my business is, is what I'm wanting it to be. I want to be able to educate and empower somebody to say you know, you know your body, let's help you to feel all of these things. And with certain functional lab testing you can kind of pinpoint some things that maybe Western medicine doesn't look at necessarily and it's different. And it's the functional medicine I think in the world that we're in now is slowly starting to kind of come in. My hope is, within the years Western medicine and functional medicine can kind of collaborate, because I think it's important, you know, for both things. But it's still in those stages.

Speaker 1: 7:34

And that makes sense, why they don't collaborate. Now, why do you think we're not already there?

Speaker 2: 7:41

It's hard to say. I think for Western medicine there's a lot of. The insurance holds a lot. The insurance gives us guidelines. So in my business or my job currently, you know there's certain things that we have to do. We have to follow certain guidelines.

Speaker 2: 7:57

In the functional space you and the client are working more together to kind of say you know, this really isn't working for me, let's look at something else, let's try and do this in a natural way. What you know, natural remedies or things can we work with versus you go to the doctor, you have a 15 minute appointment, you go in with a sore throat, you have strep, your antibiotic and out the door you go. But you know, if it wasn't that simple, you know and you go back in. For you know, let's just say, you have like chronic constipation. That's a big one and I learned throughout the study. You know that plays a factor in a lot of your systems. It plays a factor in your hormones, it plays in your immune system, your digestive tract, your detoxification pathways.

Speaker 2: 8:43

All of that was eye-opening to me. I did not know that that symptom could mess up all of those systems in our body. So it was just a. It really opened my eyes in a different light. And so now when I go in and I'm working with kids and people and they'll say stuff, I'm like, oh well, I think I would wanna look at this. But in the Western medicine world I'm like I have to revert, I have to kind of hold back, so I'm just ready to kind of take off. I'm looking for people who are really wanting to look for their root cause and kind of help them to kind of get their bodies back to optimal health.

Speaker 1: 9:24

basically, yeah, I said the same thing to Emily. I'm obviously not in the medical field, I don't practice in the medical field but I believe the reason why is, like you said, in terms of like the insurance, but then also it's all based off of the medications and the surgeries. That's where that side, the Western medicine, makes for money is through all those methods, Whereas this other side is more of Eastern.

Speaker 1: 10:00

I guess medicine is more holistic and supplements and stretching and adjustments and yoga and just things that aren't necessarily as easy to monetize in the ways that a back surgery or medication.

Speaker 2: 10:22

Sometimes you can look at it as when I started doing the school and doing the testing on myself and was totally like whoa, what do I have going on here? And then I did. I met Emily in working with a chiropractor. When you start to get into the same atmosphere, almost when you're around those people, everything else makes sense. You're like you start to feel like I know my body now and if I'm doing a yoga stretch I'm like, ooh, I feel like I'm misaligned or something like that. And you go to the chiropractor and you tell them they're listening, they hear what you say, and they're like, yep, they're kind of what's the word validating you guys all speak the same language, yes, but it's validating, it's like I'm being heard, like I'm not crazy.

Speaker 2: 11:13

I really do feel like this and so it's just. It's a big part of my job too. I feel like I want those people to feel that they're being heard, not just in an office for a quick visit and out the door you go and it's different. You know it is certain cases where I work. We have, you know, I work with a lot of families that have, you know, just genetic issues and things like that. So it's a little more complicated and we do spend the time with them. But the average person, you know the adult that goes in for you know the high cholesterol and the blood pressure and all of these things, and they're just given a pill.

Speaker 2: 11:53

And it's like well, let's look at your diet. What are you eating? Let's see how we can work this, which is hard, because nowadays I feel like our world is like we want to fix.

Speaker 1: 12:04

Let's give it.

Speaker 2: 12:06

But we have one life, we're only given one life and I want to help those live it to their fullest. I want them to be able to feel their best, you know, for if you have kids, you know you want to be at all the ball games, you want to be throwing the ball with them or shooting groups or whatever the case may be, playing with your grandkids, not feeling awful when you get up from the floor. You know those types of things. So that's that is my passion for this business. I'm just ready to kind of you know, work together with person, meet them where they are, but take them to the next level that I know that they can go to.

Speaker 1: 12:42

I love that. Now how are you going to do it? What's your marketing plan look like?

Speaker 2: 12:47

So, being a whole newbie at all of this, I have the social media page, facebook, instagram. I have gone out to the communities, the offices that are nearby, given business cards. I actually just printed up flyers that I'm going to go drop off. I live in this little town, hamilton, and so we have a little mercantile store, so I dropped off things there, just kind of like referral base, working with, you know, the chiropractors. We have some local gyms and CrossFit things out there, yoga studios, just trying to kind of again be in the same space and just hopefully get referrals from those people.

Speaker 1: 13:27

I love that. Have you considered doing like Facebook videos, Facebook lives, talking about specific?

Speaker 1: 13:33

I have not thought about that because I am very that would be great, because people want to get to know the person that they're working with.

Speaker 1: 13:42

They want to hear the sincerity, they want to hear the story, the why. They also want to hear, like example, if you're having migraines, if you specifically do a like you know, I would love for you to test it for eight weeks to a Facebook live once a week, and each week you're going to pick a specific topic to talk on and don't look for any specific results, just say I'm going to do this for the next two months and kind of see what happens from it. It's free, you don't have to pay anything, just your time and energy and talking yourself into doing it, and then just each week, pick a topic that you see a lot of. You know patients that come in, but then if they're like, oh my gosh, I'm having migraines too she just spoke about migraines. I also went to the doctor and I've just been on pills every time a migraine hits, then they're going to be more apt to you know.

Speaker 2: 14:34

It'll resonate with somebody.

Speaker 1: 14:35

It'll resonate exactly that's a good idea. That might be something you want to. Yes.

Speaker 2: 14:40

I can certainly look into that.

Speaker 1: 14:43

Do you have a actual brick and mortar.

Speaker 2: 14:46

I do so I actually just got off of space. It's part-time now because I'm still currently working, but it is in Hamilton. No, it's in Perceval. Actually, it's adjacent to Dr Quinn's office.

Speaker 1: 14:57

Oh is it. Is it right there across?

Speaker 2: 14:59

It's not. It's so there. She's in the last building and I'm in the middle building, so we're yeah, it's the same floor there you go there, you go Cool, it's great.

Speaker 1: 15:10

So you've got an actual space that people will come into. And then, in terms of kind of looking out five years, do you see yourself doing that full time? What's your goal going to?

Speaker 2: 15:20

be. My goal is to do that full time. Yes, okay, with the three boys that I have and my husband and our crazy life of chickens and animals and all kinds of stuff, I want to just be able to have the freedom to kind of be able to see clients and I can still. I can also see them virtually the platform and things that I use. I can certainly do that, but I do like the face-to-face. That's why I was looking for an office space but, like I said, I wouldn't trade the 20 years of nursing that I have done, it has.

Speaker 2: 15:52

I knew from the get-go, when I was little, that that's what I wanted to do. But I think when something you know, when my husband got that diagnosis, it was there was just something else building to me. There was something different. What else can I do? And I also have three boys that, like I said, are big athletes and you know it's important to them. You know the nutrition and how they take care of their body and things like that that I want to be able to kind of show them you know, these types of things too.

Speaker 2: 16:22

But also you know this was, this was a hard thing for me to do while working and juggling mom tasks and go to school and do all of the things. So them watching me was a big thing. Just to kind of show like if you have a dream, go for it. You know, like you can do this.

Speaker 1: 16:40

Yeah, so being a chicken mom and an actual mom, and what do you do outside of work?

Speaker 2: 16:47

Oh, show for my children around all the time. Three boys they are that travel baseball basketball they are. We're constantly on the go. Basketball season now. Right, it is basketball season now. Yes, my husband coaches two of the three, so he's gone. Well, we're together, you know we'll go together.

Speaker 2: 17:08

I wasn't sure what three different kids, we, they, we can stagger it. The youngest ones only seven. The older two made their middle school team on, so we can kind of stagger a little bit, but the baseball season is a little bit more challenging. So we do, we do. We are a huge competitive family. But, like I said, yeah, we live on a farm so we have some chickens and this was my first year really putting together a big garden, which was really cool to let the boys kind of facilitate and help and go out and it takes a lot of work it does, and sometimes I just don't know how I do all of these things I'm like everybody has 24 hours in a day.

Speaker 2: 17:45

How do I get all this stuff done?

Speaker 1: 17:47

But you get it done, I do.

Speaker 2: 17:49

I do, but we're we're big family people. We love our families. Both of our families are close, so we always have family get-togethers and things like that. So that's beautiful yeah.

Speaker 1: 18:00

Now you said chickens. What other animals do you have?

Speaker 2: 18:02

So there are cows on the property, we have two dogs and we have two cats Wonderful, it is a busy life.

Speaker 1: 18:08

So with the cows, milk cows.

Speaker 2: 18:12

No, they are. They are meat cows, so they are not ours. There's an owner that owns them, but they are just as much family to us and so our boys have gotten to feed them while they've been away. We've gotten to see baby calves being born. So just having that experience for them and has been amazing. It's really kind of meat.

Speaker 1: 18:37

I'm going to say milk and cows, I don't know. That's a whole other thing.

Speaker 2: 18:42

I'm happy to watch them graze or bring them in at the end and feed them. It's neat.

Speaker 1: 18:49

How many acres are you guys on?

Speaker 2: 18:50

There is, I think, 55 acres on the entire area.

Speaker 1: 18:53

I have three acres, so a cow probably isn't going to be okay.

Speaker 2: 19:06

I'm not sure I can take that on just yet.

Speaker 1: 19:07

I heard goats are like little kids, they stay forever, like two years old. I almost got some. I'm glad somebody else ended up adopting them before I got to them.

Speaker 2: 19:19

You guys keep adding things for me to do here.

Speaker 1: 19:22

That's what happens. I want a new fill in the blank. I'll take care of it, mom.

Speaker 2: 19:27

And our busy time that we have to do extra stuff.

Speaker 1: 19:30

Do you guys ever go on vacations? We do.

Speaker 2: 19:34

We travel often. We have done. My husband's brother lived in Washington State. He said the boys actually took their first flight this January so we went out there. We've been to Jackson Hole. We've kind of done a couple things. We love long car rides. We'll do the East Coast a couple of times. So it's fun A lot of fun.

Speaker 1: 19:59

Yeah, that's awesome. Okay, so, in terms of just kind of wrapping it up, what is like a special message that you would share with the world?

Speaker 2: 20:06

What I would share with the world Be your own advocate, speak up for what you, what's your feeling, what you believe in. I feel like in the world we live in today, we're kind of just tight-lipped. We don't really want to speak up, whether or not we're afraid of that. But in terms of our health, like I said before, we have one life to live and we want to fulfill that life in a good way. And just be your own advocate. Speak up for what you want, speak up for what you believe in. That's a good message. Thank you so much, thank you so much.

Speaker 2: 20:49

This was a great experience.