Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/72195
spotlight on education—shelley wallen BY KARRIE OSBORN THE PATH UNFOLDS Shelley Wallen says she's been on her path since she was barely 5 years old—she just didn't know it. "Even from a very young age I had a passion for animals and felt a connection and love for them," says Wallen, owner of Energy Therapy in Littleton, Colorado. "In junior high school, kids were reading Nancy Drew and I was planning on being a wildlife biologist," she says. Wallen strayed from her path a bit and earned a degree in interior design, a career move that would sustain her for 15 years. But when her mother-in-law asked to die at home after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Wallen, her husband, and other family members took on the role of caregivers for the next 18 months. "That was a major shift for me," she says. "I loved the construction and design industry, but after that special time with my mother-in- law, it just wasn't enough anymore. I wanted to find something with more purpose." Wallen tried her hand at caregiving, both on a paid and volunteer basis, for the next three years. It felt more rewarding than her work in the corporate world, but was not something easy to market. She eventually went back to the nonprofit world, working as an operations manager for a group that helped at-risk children and youth. At the same time, she considered going back to school for a four-year degree. Although something was undoubtedly pulling for more in her life, she couldn't justify the sacrifices it would take to go back to school another four years. Shelley Wallen and her beloved companions, Daisuki and Simon. Throughout this journey, Wallen received energy work, craniosacral therapy, and acupuncture to address childhood illnesses and traumas. She didn't necessarily understand the intricacies of the work she was getting, but she found it helpful on many levels. The same was true of the acupuncture work she scheduled for her dogs, Daisuki and Simon. THE NEXT STEP Wallen's path would take its next deciding turn on a flight from Arizona with a friend. "It was August 31, 2005, when I saw the article," Wallen remembers vividly. Her friend, a craniosacral therapist, showed her an issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine with an article about Healing Touch for Animals (HTA), a modality that energetically addresses the health issues of creatures great and small. "That was a significant point in my life. Literally, a lightbulb went off." With HTA headquarters close to home in Colorado, Wallen immediately enrolled in a level one course. Her motivations were solely for the health of her beloved dogs, and she wasn't really sure what to do with the practitioner training she was receiving at the same time. "I still didn't have the goal of doing this as a practice," she says. When she finished the course work, however, Wallen knew things were about to take on a new light. "It was very emotional for me when I left there and I could tell something was changing, but I didn't understand it yet. I was still thinking, 'I'm doing this for my dogs.'" 150 massage & bodywork september/october 2008