Turning Inward to heal Outward Shannon Craig was impacted by a rare auto-immune disease that stole over a year of her life. Rather than seeing herself as a victim she dug deep, turning inward to heal. Her battle centered around emotional wellbeing and she gained powerful insights about herself and her health.

Episode #8

“When we really get to the core of what we are feeling then we can set up a plan to overcome. Sitting in my dark places directed me to the light.”


Shannon Craig is a devoted mother of 2 teen daughters and happily married to her husband, Tim. She studied dietetics in college and proudly carries the labels as “foodie” and “fitness lover”! Feeling healthy has always set her heart on fire, so naturally people gravitated to her as a trusted resource for healthy advice, leadership and support. Her powerful journey to health begins after an unexpected autoimmune disease that tried to break her but instead inspired her to live wholeheartedly committed to creating more awareness in all things mind, body & soul.

When Shannon’s girls were young, a fierce stomach bug whipped through their family. She thought she narrowly escaped it with no ugly symptoms, however later she began to feel “off”. She experienced numbness and tingling in her extremities, low back pain, gradual paralysis in her lower body and her doctors began thinking Bell’s Palsy was setting in. It wasn’t until more testing was done that they diagnosed her with a rare autoimmune disease called, Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which is known to attack your nerves, creating potential paralysis and even effecting speech.

Bedridden and no longer able to take care of her young children, Shannon required help from a Nanny. Devastated with the fact that another woman was raising her girls and the reality that she was completely missing out on the simple things in life, it forced her into some dark places. She began to ask “Why am I here?” sparking a desire to dig deeper into her health. This experience and her long recovery catapulted her into searching for more clarity surrounding her health.

Her journey moved from purely focusing on her physical health to including her mental and emotional health too. It was no longer just about food and exercise. It was about an emotional connection in her health. With a little bit of surrender and a lot of work, she began to uncover the sweet spot within herself and healing prevailed.

Due to her previous commitment to health and investments towards a healthy body, she was able to recover and heal so much quicker from GBS than anyone expected. As she began taking small steps towards the BIG picture she learned that when you love yourself enough, you take care of yourself. With the contrast of surrendering control and fighting to improve, she leaned into her emotional wellbeing to find healing. She learned that she needed to ask for help, communicate clearly and articulate her feelings in order to move forward.

Shannon’s own journey inspired her to pursue a certification as a Holistic Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN) in order to help others. Since she’s walked the walk, she’s able to empathize with those who have an emotional struggle that weighs heavily on them in their health journey. She serves as that listening ear and supportive voice that helps others overcome their own health challenges.

You’ll hear Shannon’s genuine and compassionate message about hope, pressing in and overcoming. She shares, “when we can really get to the core of what we are feeling, then we can set up a plan to overcome.” This perspective has helped heal her and has become the overriding message as she supports her clients on their own Journey 2 Health. Clients feel her belief and gain confidence in their life and their growth. She believes we need to celebrate the big and small wins! You’ll feel like you won after hearing Shannon’s hope-filled episode.

If you’re looking for support from EHOP Health for your company or organization visit www.ehophealth.com. Are you an individual looking for health support? Visit www.journey2health.com/individuals


Key Takeaways

  • Using a setback such as Auto-immune disease for a Set-up in life

  • Digging Deeper into a struggle and asking more “Whys”

  • How sitting and being still in dark place allowed more light to be revealed

  • Articulating our feelings and naming our emotions to find healing

  • The power of Small Steps towards the Big Picture

  • Leaning into emotional wellbeing more than Physical

  • Celebrate yourself and the big and small wins