Life and Work with Kate Shipp

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Shipp.

Kate, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
After having my son, I suffered with a lot of anxiety and stress over being a new Mom and trying to find ways to manage the new way of living. I was also dealing with postpartum depression, but that would not be realized until many years later. My husband saw my struggles and gave me a gift certificate for a local yoga studio to relax and de-stress.

I preferred to work out in a gym or outdoors. I thought yoga would be simple, easy, and something I could do from time to time. After my first class, I was hooked. Not only did I feel a new sense of strength, I felt an incredible sense of peace and calm unlike anything I ever felt in the past. It was this feeling that kept me coming back to my mat every day.

As I continued to dive into this practice of yoga, what I later came to understand was how my upbringing
that exposed me to religion, shamanic practices, meditation, the energy body; were just as much as part of yoga as the poses. Until my yoga practice, I never felt a deep connection internally to these teachings, and usually felt a sense of fogginess and confusion when I would come out of a meditation, and struggle to connect to my body. The practice of yoga helped me learn to be present, aware, and in my body, instead of constantly trying to avoid feeling it. I learned that by controlling my breath, I could control my thoughts, which then calmed my emotions. I learned how to shift from thinking and doing into feeling and being.

I recall during one yoga practice, I was lying in corpse pose, the last pose of the yoga practice. I felt a stirring in my heart. It was a feeling I often tried to run from. A feeling of deep sadness that I really did not understand. Usually, I would get up and move my body as a distraction from the intense sensation of emotion.

Instead of getting up and running out of class, tears start streaming down my cheeks. It was as if someone had finally chipped deep enough into my heart that the well of hurt stored inside began to release through sacred tears on my mat. You know those moments when something has changed and there’s no going back.. that was one of those moments.

In May 2011, I was guided by another yoga teacher, Jane Mayer, to check out The Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Tempe, AZ. I laughed inside, remembering that I had gone to tour SWIHA when I was a sophomore in college, not sure if I wanted to stay at ASU for business school. Funny how life leads you back to where you need to be when you need to be there. I attended the open house of their new yoga studio location, and was signed up within 3 days and started my training a few days after that.

I immersed myself in learning and studying to be a yoga teacher. I felt alive in a way I had never felt before, while at the same time, I was delving into an abyss of darkness as I started a healing journey that I had no idea would ask me to reevaluate everything in my life over a 7 year period of time.

September 2011, I took a training called Yoga Nidra with Kamini Desai, a brilliant guide and gifted teacher, the most profound experience I had had to date. This guided meditation practice helped me to reconnect to my true nature and gave me the insight and tools to know how to get there and reestablish a connection to the place of peace deep within myself that is always available at any time. Grounded in science and layered with rich philosophy, Yoga Nidra quickly became and still is a part of my daily practice.

Through my 600 hours of yoga training at SWIHA, I found Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, a training offering deeper insight into the therapeutic applications of yoga by means of learning how to listen to the subtle messages of the body and release the long-held dis-ease and imbalances through reflective listening, conscious dialogue, and assisted postures.

I enrolled in Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy(PRYT) Practitioner program in January 2012. This training invited me to go deep sea diving into my psyche, by access through my body, learning about shadow work, somatic journeying, and how the body holds the key to profound healing and transformation if we know how to give it space to speak and how to listen.

In the Summer of 2012, I graduated from SWIHA, having been blessed with incredible teachers and guides – Christy Burnette, Kamini Desai, Mary Bruce, Caroline Cucchiaria, Duane Armitage, Laura McKinzie, and more.

That same Fall 2012, I graduated from the PRYT program, ready to see clients offering yoga therapy. I was armed with many tools to create a private practice to help others in finding peace in their life through the practice and philosophy of yoga. I co-owned a small yoga studio at the time in Peoria, AZ, and established my private practice and business, The Window Within.

After only a couple of years of steadily building my business, I was able to have yoga therapy, reiki, and intuitive coaching become my full-time job. I was teaching a few classes a week and seeing up to 16 private clients weekly. I worked at various medical facilities, offering yoga therapy to patients and staff, suffering from chronic pain, anxiety, depression, high-stress. I loved what I was doing and felt a sense of accomplishment and gratitude to be given the chance to help others find their own healing light within their being.

During this time, I learned that when we least expect it, life will throw you a curve ball, and along comes an obstacle completely out of nowhere – or so you think, when really, the messages were there for a long time.

March 2016 I was diagnosed with PTSD due to unprocessed traumas from my past, that had resurfaced, and I was unsure how to move forward in my life. All the tools and education I had only skimmed the surface, and I knew that I needed to make some pretty drastic changes in my life in order to live. I left ownership of the yoga studio, and slowly over the year, I stopped teaching classes and scaled far back on seeing private clients, eventually letting that go for over a year. I needed to focus on my healing and recovery.

Has it been a smooth road?
My journey of healing from PTSD, led me to reach out to various resources of healing – trauma therapy, western medicine, EMDR, acupuncture, homeopathy, naturopathic medicine, yoga, equine therapy, EFT – an integrative approach to healing that encompassed connecting all layers of being into one, releasing the shame of the past, reclaiming my joy, learning to love my body, to engage with life from a place of faith, and how to move forward into a healthy, happy, whole life.

In January 2017, I ended up back at SWIHA, this time hired on to teach yoga teacher training and work in their placement department. After a few months, I was offered the position of Associate Dean of Yoga Education, which I still hold today.

I renewed my faith in God, accepted the power of healing through devotion, and chose to forgive those in my past who harmed me. Not an easy process, but one that proves to be a great miracle worker of healing.

After 2 years of intense inner work and prioritizing my life to align with joy, I can honestly say that I am living in an entirely new way that is beautiful, fulfilling, and I’m so grateful. I choose to see life through the lens of love and to serve in a way that helps others find their own light and ability to heal themselves. There is so much more to say on this journey, and that is being created in book format – stay tuned.

Here is what I can say:
Your faith must be bigger than your fears, your belief in your body’s ability to heal(in yourself) must be stronger than your inner critic, your determination must be that of a lion, your vulnerability must be real and maybe even raw, and your compassion and gentleness must include yourself all the time.

You need to learn to say, “No.” as a complete sentence and only say “Yes” to the things that make you feel excited and expansive. Learn healthy boundaries and enforce them. Practice self-care daily, and do not compromise your own well-being for anything. Get to know and love your body. Explore new things and new places. Say hi to a stranger, smile at someone you don’t know, get connected in your community, and take an active role in creating your most radiant life. Spend time with your inner child, getting to know her and letting her play! Make time for fun. You are worthy, you are enough, and you deserve a beautiful life that you love.

For those seeking to start a business: my greatest suggestion – Be You! There is only one you, and people will choose to work with you because of who you are, what you stand for, what makes you unique, and why you choose to do what you do. Know your why and revisit it often, especially when you start feeling confused or unsure about what you are doing. Seek support and know you are not supposed to be great at everything, nor are you supposed to do it alone.

Do not lose who you are in what you do, and be sure to take time to nurture the relationships with those you love.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Window Within – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
There are several roles that I choose to play in my work-life.

I work for SWIHA as the Associate Dean of Yoga Education, overseeing the yoga programs, and advising students throughout their yoga teacher training programs. I teach one of the 200hr Yoga Teacher Training offerings at SWIHA. Twice a year, I co-teach Transformational Yoga Coaching, a metaphoric approach to releasing the stories held in the body through asana (poses), somatic inquiry, guided meditations, and spirit-guided healing.

I see private clients out of my home office one day a week offering yoga therapy, reiki, and intuitive coaching. I also teach online courses, reiki training, and intuitive development as my time allows. I host at least one retreat each year.

I believe my work comes from the heart and leads people back to live a life guided by grace, and open to joy. I hope they leave each experience with me feeling empowered to live their best life, to be resourced to navigate obstacles with ease, and to know how to listen to the messages within their bodies to create the powerful shifts they are seeking in their daily lives.

There is a word that is taught in yogic philosophy that holds a lot of meaning to me. That word is Shraddha. It means a deep faith and trust. I pray that each person I connect with feels that they are able to live in shraddha – knowing that with deep faith and trust, you can accomplish anything, everything will be okay and that God is always working for your good, even when it does not feel like it.

No matter what I see someone for, I choose to be present, listen with a compassionate and empathetic heart, and help them discover that all the answers they need are available to them by turning inward and allowing their inner light to guide them home.

There’s a wealth of academic research that suggests that lack of mentors and networking opportunities for women has materially affected the number of women in leadership roles. Smart organizations and industry leaders are working to change this, but in the meantime, do you have any advice for finding a mentor and building a network?
When you are seeking a mentor, seek someone who will be real and honest with you. Someone who will call you out on your “stuff”, and help you to be accountable and act with integrity with what you say you want to accomplish. Find someone who understands who you are beyond the masks you wear, who will listen with compassion, and guide with love.

Find someone who has done what you are seeking to do, at least in the same industry, and can help you learn from their past mistakes to avoid making some of the same on your own.

Seek a mentor who will not judge you for your humanness, and will remind you of your greatness. Seek someone who genuinely loves what they do, and does it because they want to, not only because it pays the bills.

I have been blessed with many teachers and guides on my journey. Some I met early on and were only part of my life for a little while. Some have been with me since day one, and some have recently come into my life, and are helping me grow in life. Each has brought great blessings in my life, and I would not be where I am today without them.

I did some networking in mastermind groups and made a few connections that are very important people in my life. While they may not have manifested in a lot of business, it manifested in key relationships of support that have helped me along my path.

It is important to always be kind, even when speaking your truth. You will meet those that you don’t align with, and you will have people walk away from you, and you from them. All the while, the intention in which it happens will determine how you feel for years after. Always try to be kind and compassionate. That will proceed you everywhere you go.

Always be yourself, show up authentic and in your truth, be personable, relatable, and open to receive all the blessings coming your way. If it challenges you and creates that anticipatory excitement, say yes!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kateshippyoga.com
• Email: kateshippyoga@gmail.com
• Instagram: @kateshipp333
• Facebook: Profile: Kate Shipp or facebook.com/thewindowwithin

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