about

I’m an integrative therapist, writer, teacher, and lifelong student of the leylines of this living world.

Hi, I'm shawn. nice to meet you.

Life offers itself to us on its own terms. We know this, but we can still find ourselves caught in the noise, struggling to make sense of our experience, and cut off from the embodied wisdom within us.

Presence is medicine — our pathway to listen inwardly and remember our wholeness.

Through contemplative practice, immersive retreats, and evidence-based psychotherapeutic frameworks, let’s reconnect with the belonging that has been there all along and, together, discover what it means to be fully human.

My work expresses fluency in the science and art of wellbeing. 

my work

Once you know the way, the nature of attention will call you to return, again and again, and be saturated with knowing, “I belong here, I am at home here.” Answer that call.

– Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, Sutra 26

Shawn Parell is an integrative counselor, writer, and mentor who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the ancestral home of the Tewa people. Her work weaves together wisdom traditions, healing modalities, and evidence-based frameworks grounded in the thesis of our belonging.

As a mindfulness teacher, Shawn has certified hundreds of yoga teachers and guided thousands of practitioners since 2002. She studied under the tutelage of world-renowned teacher Shiva Rea for more than a decade and served as Program Director for Anahata International, an organization with the mission to bring trauma-informed training to communities in Washington DC, Rwanda, and the West Bank. 

As a wellness educator and consultant, Shawn has partnered with visionary companies like Sweetgreen, U.S. Green Building Council, and Honest Tea. Her work has been featured in publications ranging from Yoga Journal and SHAPE Magazine to the Washington Post.

Shawn maintains a private therapy practice and continues to teach yoga and meditation classes and immersions worldwide. Her hobbies include braving a writing practice, organizing her kids’ closets, and conversing at dawn with the coyotes who live in the arroyo near her home.

official bio

press and Media

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Shawn (LMHC, RYT-500) holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English and Religious Studies from Georgetown University and Oxford University, a Master of Arts (MA) in Eastern Classics and Sanskrit from St. John’s College, and a Master of Arts (MA) in Counseling Psychology from Southwestern College. She completed her clinical training at The Sky Center, an organization with the mission to prevent suicide in youth through family systems counseling. She is currently completing a two-year mindfulness meditation training with renowned teachers, Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach.

trainings and education

trainings

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Asking real questions. Braving a writing practice.
Interviewing some of the folks I most admire. Exploring what it means to be human in an era of radical change.

substack

join the conversation

Asking real questions. Braving a writing practice. Interviewing some of the folks I most admire. Join us in the kitchen for a good conversation. 

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