about dr. shanti berryman, phd
I’m Shanti, a Scientist and a Somatic Coach
Lifelong Learner • Former Academic • Businesswoman • Parent & PartneR • FOODIE • •gardener • TRAVELER • LICHENOLOGIST • FARM GIRL
As a professionally trained somatic coach, I’m dedicated to supporting and holding a welcoming space for you to learn how to make the changes you desire and to start embodying them.
Currently finishing Training for the ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC):
Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy Certificate
International Coaching Federation
Mindfulness & Somatic Coaching
Are you currently living for yourself, or for everyone but yourself?
From a very young age, many of us are taught to strive for greatness — expected to achieve nothing short of perfection in everything we do.
Whether it’s climbing the corporate ladder, being an all-star parent, or the world’s most loving partner (or, let’s be real, a combination of all of the above!), when you grow up being celebrated for your achievements and for your ability to please others, this cycle of constant striving is tough to break when we’re adults.
While it is gratifying to always put your best foot forward in everything you do and take care of others, the constant push for achievement and the feeling of having to put everyone else first can eventually come at a great cost. Sometimes we forget who we are because we are so focuses on who we SHOULD be - we forget what it is like to just BE.
Why? Because striving for success keeps us in the energy of ‘doing’ rather than living in the present.
When all of your time, value, and self-worth is fueled by your accomplishments, productivity, and by the energy you put towards pleasing and caring for others, it can end up feeling draining and depleting, leaving you no time or energy to feel fulfilled. Even fun, joy and pleasure start to feel like ‘work’.
That's not to say achievement and taking care of others needs are inherently bad — but these pursuits should feel resourced and aligned, not forceful and depleting. They should fill you up.
We’re told that if we spend our time and energy chasing that idyllic version of “success” and being a “good person” THAT is when we’ll finally be happy… right? That if we just work harder or just achieve that next thing…. THAT is when we’ll be happy….
But if that were truly the case, would so many of us still be struggling with feeling happiness, joy, and pleasure in our lives?
HOW DO I KNOW?
WELL, LET’S JUST SAY I’VE BEEN THERE.
I worked myself into the ground to the point of nearly losing the things most important to me.
I spent over 25 years of my life chasing my notion of “success” and of doing what I thought I “should” do in my life and my career, while being in and out of burnout — all while traversing many life hurdles such as managing infertility, major surgeries, and nearly losing my marriage. My health, my body, and my life were screaming that I needed to make a profound shift, but instead, I just pushed through - because that is all I knew how to do.
I was an adrenaline junkie: super productive, well-respected, financially successful… checking all those boxes of “success,” but also feeling like I was slowly dying on the inside, and that what I was doing wasn’t sustainable. I was convinced I was going to make myself sick if I didn’t change my life.
I made a decision that I needed to make a real and profound change.
Quitting my job and getting out of the rat race did not solve my problems. It wasn’t a “happily ever after” moment like I had hoped.
My business and the stress of this responsibility had put pressure on me to function a certain way — but really, these patterns were wired in my subconscious mind so deeply, I didn't even realize it until I left my company. These patterns of showing up were deeply linked into my feeling of worthiness and how I thought I got belonging and love from others.
I remained the same over-achieving Shanti, just in a different context. That's when I realized it was about me, not my circumstance — and that I had to do the deep inner work to actually make these shifts for myself. This was the start of my journey back to myself.
With a year of intensive coaching support, I built up the courage to do what I once considered the unthinkable: I resigned from and sold my company that I co-founded, where I had poured a decade of my life. It was exactly the opposite of what everyone thought I should do. I mean, who in their mid-40s, with a 4-year-old and a family to support, resigns from the dream company they’ve worked to create and build?!
While it sounded absolutely ridiculous to everyone around me, I knew it was the right choice. The decision to say goodbye to that phase of my life felt more aligned to my core than anything in a long time. Stepping into uncertainty was one of the hardest and scariest decisions I’ve ever made.
Changing your job or career isn’t the solution for everyone, but it was what I needed.
Leaving my company and changing my career helped me get on the path of transforming my life, creating spaciousness for me to dive in deep. For many, transformation can happen while in your current job or relationship or circumstance — it’s different for everyone.
When I was deep in this cycle of over-achievement and perfection, I really thought I was doing what I wanted to do. But now in looking back, I realize that many of my choices were based on what I felt like I “should” be doing, rather than being aligned with what I really wanted.
Don't get me wrong: I'm proud of what I did. It's an important part of who I am and there were many great things that came out of it! But it was completely unsustainable for me to follow the rat-race model that so many of us are on.
Maybe like the one you’re on right now?
I wholeheartedly believe that you can be high achieving & successful & in alignment with yourself all at the same time.
You don’t (and shouldn’t) have to sacrifice your happiness and health — or subscribe to the patriarchy’s definition of success — to live an aligned, embodied life. We get to redefine what “success” and “happiness” means for you. It will take deep inner work to understand what subconscious stories, beliefs, and patterns are no longer serving you and to make the shifts you desire.
That is what I’m here to help you with.
You deserve to heal through your feelings, patterns, and beliefs in a held, welcoming, and playful space.
You don’t have to walk this road alone.
I’d be honored to be right by your side along the way.
