Meet Shirley Mathew | Soul Coaching Practitioner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shirley Mathew and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shirley, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Force vs Flow. I paid close attention to what was and wasn’t working for me. I was a teacher for 7 years and I thought it’s where I would retire, but I came to the hard realization that I was serving from an empty cup. I was teaching, leading, mentoring on fumes. But before I called it quits, I fell in love with coaching and mentoring teachers and knew there was something more to pursue there. What I found was that teachers didn’t need help running their classrooms as much as they needed the emotional support, and post COVID, the need was louder than its ever been. I started leading zoom book studies for teachers, which then led to opening up the group to parents, and something new was taking shape in me. I decided to leave the physical classroom and taught online for one school year, which made more emotional space for me to really begin thinking about how I could make a deeper impact for children. That’s when soul coaching showed up in my world. I took a deeper dive into my own healing journey and came out with the clarity I needed to launch my own coaching business, where my focus is helping parents and teachers heal their own childhood wounds, so they can show up most authentically for the children in their lives!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I teach, guide, lead, coach from lived experience. I spent the better part of 20 years on my own healing journey, and I am a firm believer that I cannot help others heal what is unhealed in me. Becoming a wife and mom suddenly brought up triggered reactions and behaviors that I did not know how to manage, but repeating childhood trauma was not an option for me. There began the long road of learning how to navigate triggers, reflect inward, and welcome back a child like wonder for life!

I am most proud of choosing love in spite of all the things that have happened in my life. The list of trauma is long, so suffice it to say getting to this point and launching my business was THE hardest and bravest work I’ve done to date. I had to walk away from all the systems I was a part of – education, religion, family – all of which I clung to as my identity. It was only then that I could remember who I truly am. The voices around me were so loud that my own was drowned out. When I silenced all the outsiders, and really allowed my voice and the suppressed emotions to rise, I was able to experience freedom, truly. I learned what it means to be and live liberated, wild and free – something I was searching for my whole life, and now that I have it, I want to share it with those who are willing and brave to go on this journey.

What I learned on this journey is that the key to experiencing true healing starts with healing your nervous system. I cannot stress this point enough! One of the greatest challenges I faced was learning how to regulate my nervous system – getting out of fight or flight (sympathetic nervous system) and into rest and digest (parasympathetic nervous system.) No real healing can happen when you’re always running from the saber tooth tiger chasing you! I was more comfortable in chaos than I was in peace and stability. I didn’t understand the concept of true rest and it was incredibly uncomfortable to sit in that space. I felt lazy and unproductive, and at times, deeply depressed. All signs of my nervous system calming down, learning to feel safe in my body and recognize that there is no saber tooth tiger chasing me!! This season of healing definitely required a strong support system and professional counseling/coaching.

What I also learned is compassion and unconditional love for myself. When I learned to love myself, I realized I could love others well, and in fact, had a much greater impact in the lives of others. I gave myself permission to take all the masks down, be done performing for the validation of others, and embrace my most authentic self. Turns out, I really like her! This version of me is full of passion and purpose, and my desire is to create a ripple into the lives of as many children as I can through helping those who have the greatest influence in their lives – parents and teachers.

Lastly, the beauty and essence of soul lies with our inner child and when we welcome child like play into our healing journey, the science shows that new nueropathways are created at an accelerated rate! This piece has been the most enjoyable part of the healing journey – dancing, coloring, GLITTER! These were all things that lit me up as a little girl and, sure enough, still has the same effect on me now – I just forgot!

At Train Every Muscle – healing is a layered approach – Body, Mind, Emotion, Soul. I want the world to know it’s a brave work to meet your most authentic self. I am here to hold space for parents and teachers who recognize that their healing matters, because how we practice is how they (our children) play.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my bestie were here for a week, there would be tons of low key, homebody time, lol, BUT we would definitely venture out to some of these spots:

Breakfast: Seven Mile – the smoked gouda grits is a MUST!; Morning Edition for their pancakes;
Lunch/Dinner: Hannah’s Off The Square – I have literally loved everything I ordered here! Prime Farm to Table – always new chef curated specials on the menu and the have a fabulous Blood Mary that double as its own appetizer! Sip n’ Savor in Highland Village is a new fave and another place where everything hits!

Denton Square and Main Street Grapevine – 2 stroll worthy spots that have plenty to offer and if we’re lucky, some live music!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to the counselor who, without a doubt, changed the trajectory of my life, Dr. Tom Payton. Dr. Payton was the one who called me out on my sh*t, and didn’t let me wiggle my way out of radical self accountability. What I walked away with was the tools to heal a lifetime of trauma and turn it into my greatest triumph. I am eternally grateful for his guidance.

Website: www.traineverymuscle.com

Instagram: @traineverymuscle_shirley

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/shirley-mathew-69226a285

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShirleyMathewTrainEveryMuscle

Image Credits
Kharishma Patel Trudy Joy