Awaken Your Strength is LIVE & Hometown reflections
Hi friends,
Well, this newsletter is officially late. π
Rafa and I have become a bit like traveling gypsies lately. I swear we're in a different state every time I sit down to write one of these newsletters.
We're currently in Northern California, and somewhere between traveling, reconnecting with people, and diving into some fascinating personal development work, my self-imposed newsletter deadline came and went.
But I've been thinking... what really is a timeline anyway?
In this case, it's an expectation I created in my own head. Nobody is sitting around waiting for me to hit send at exactly the right moment. At least I don't think so.π
It's interesting how easily we create rules for ourselves and then feel the pressure of living up to them.
Which, as it turns out, is a pretty perfect introduction to what I've been exploring this week.
Today's Lineup:
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πͺAwaken Your Strength is here, with a little gift
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π³Seeing my hometown through someone else's eyes
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π§ The unconscious patterns we're all growing inside
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ποΈA new podcast! Meet The Matter and the Woo
Awaken Your Strength Is Here πͺ
First, something I've been working on that I'm incredibly excited to make more accessible!
Awaken Your Strength is now available as a self-paced, eight-week course designed for women who want to build strength with confidence, at any age.
Strength training is such an important conversation right now, especially around hormones, body composition, healthy aging, and simply feeling strong and capable in our bodies.
But I also know how intimidating the gym can feel when you don't understand the equipment, the exercises, or why you're following a particular program.
That's why I created Awaken Your Strength.
It's a practical playbook for learning proper technique, developing your mind-muscle connection, understanding different training programs, and building the confidence to lift weights safely and effectively.
Whether you're stepping into a gym for the first time or have been lifting for years but want to better understand your programming, this is education designed to grow with you.
You can take it to the gym, use it at home, or revisit the lessons while traveling. The course is yours to return to whenever you need it.
I've poured years of experience, education, teaching, and programming into this course, and I'm in a season where I want to make that knowledge as accessible as possible.
I want women to feel confident in their bodies and empowered by what they know, rather than dependent on someone else to tell them what to do.
So, we're celebrating a very early Black Friday. Because apparently, we're rewriting the holiday calendar too. π
Early Black Friday Special
Regularly $555. Now $197.
That's $358 in savings, and you'll have ongoing access to the complete course!
As an additional opportunity, everyone who purchases Awaken Your Strength can also book a one-on-one virtual training session with me for 50% off.
Normally $350, your private session is just $175.
We can review your technique, answer your questions, and explore how to apply everything you're learning to your own goals.
I'm not sure how long I'll keep this offer available, but right now I want to open the door and make it easier for more women to begin building strength with confidence.
[EXPLORE AWAKEN YOUR STRENGTH]
Seeing My Hometown Through Someone Else's Eyes π³
Coming back to Marin County, where I grew up, always brings up a mixture of feelings.
Sometimes it's wonderful. Sometimes it's uncomfortable. Sometimes it's a confusing combination of both.
The land itself is absolutely beautiful. The rolling hills, the trees, the coastline, the way the light falls across everything. There's something about Northern California that feels deeply familiar to me.
Usually when Rafa and I visit, we're squeezing as many friends, family members, and familiar places into a few days as humanly possible.
But this time, we had friends traveling with us.
And something interesting happened.
As we drove them around San Francisco and introduced them to places we love, I started noticing just how many memories are scattered throughout this city.
We could pull up to a storefront where I knew someone, I'd run inside to say hello, and suddenly an entire chapter of my life would come flooding back.
Restaurants, bars, neighborhoods, businesses, streets I walked thousands of times. Every corner seems to hold another version of me.
I was a bit of a feral child growing up. π Always exploring, wandering, getting into things, and finding my way around the world.
I've always known I have a lot of history here, but seeing it through someone else's eyes made me recognize the layers in a completely different way.
It's fascinating how sometimes we need another person beside us to notice something that's been there all along.
And it got me thinking about how much our environments shape who we become.
Which brings me to the real reason we came to California this time.
We're All Growing in Different Soilπ§
This past weekend, Rafa and I attended an intimate personal development retreat.
I'm currently in a facilitator training program that's taking me deeper into understanding our patterns of behavior, unconscious beliefs, and the conditions that shape how we experience the world.
If you've been following these newsletters, you probably know this is one of my favorite rabbit holes. π
It's also a big part of the work we explore every week inside our Belonging Circle.
The more I study these patterns, the more fascinating it becomes to recognize my own internal maps. The beliefs I've developed, the assumptions I've made, and the ways I've learned to navigate relationships, emotions, and life.
And I don't really see these patterns as good or bad anymore.
I see them as conditions.
Imagine taking two seeds from the same tree and planting one in your front yard and the other in your backyard.
One gets morning sunlight. The other gets afternoon shade. The soil is different. The surrounding plants are different. Maybe one gets more water or protection from the wind.
Even though they came from the same tree, they may grow in completely different ways.
I think about humans in much the same way.
We arrive with our own biology and temperament, but we're also shaped by the environments we grow up in. Our families, relationships, culture, experiences, and the beliefs we develop along the way.
So much of how we move through life is influenced by patterns we didn't consciously choose.
Here's what I find so exciting: once we begin to recognize those patterns, we can start creating new ways of responding.
Whether it's our relationship with food, our body composition goals, our careers, relationships, creativity, or how we express ourselves, there is so much possibility when we become aware of the conditions we've been living inside.
That's what keeps drawing me deeper into this work.
Not judging the patterns that shaped us, but becoming curious about them.
What did I learn to believe about myself? Which behaviors once helped me feel safe? Which ones still serve me, and which ones might be ready to change?
It's like peeling an onion that somehow keeps growing new layers.π
The more I understand my own patterns, the more compassion I find for the many different ways people experience this world.
I'll be sharing more about this work over the coming months as I continue my facilitator training.
And speaking of new directions...
Introducing: The Matter and the WooποΈ
You guys are the first to hear this!
We're launching a brand-new podcast called The Matter and the Woo, and we begin filming next week.
I am SO excited about this.
If you've been following these newsletters, you've probably noticed that I'm allowing more of myself into the conversations we're having.
For years, much of my public work has centered around nutrition, strength training, and health. Those things are still deeply important to me, but they're only part of what fascinates me about being human.
I'm equally curious about consciousness, psychology, spirituality, personal development, AI, relationships, and the experiences we don't yet have clear explanations for.
The Matter and the Woo is where those worlds get to meet.
The tangible and the intangible. The measurable and the mysterious. The things science can help us understand and the experiences that still leave us wondering.
We already have an absolutely incredible lineup of guests coming your way, and there's one more exciting piece I haven't shared yet.
I have a co-host!
You'll all get to meet the one and only Gregory Winningham, an Awaken Your Nutrition graduate and genuinely one of the most luminous, kind humans I've had the pleasure of meeting.
I can't wait for you to get to know him and experience the conversations we're going to create together.
We're bringing together people who can move between these worlds, people who are deeply grounded in practical life but still curious about the bigger mysteries of existence.
No need to have everything figured out. In fact, I think the questions are often more interesting than the answers.
We're just getting started, and I can't wait to bring you along for the ride. π
We've got one more day here in California before heading back to Nashville and settling into our usual rhythm, at least until the next adventure. π
Between revisiting the places that shaped me, examining the patterns I've carried, opening up more of our education, and beginning a new podcast, it feels like a lot is evolving.
But maybe that's what this season is about.
Not becoming an entirely different person, but becoming more aware of the conditions, beliefs, and expectations we've been living inside.
And giving ourselves permission to choose what comes next.
Nice chat. Let's do it again next week.
Until then, question the rules you've made for yourself, stay curious about the soil you've grown in, and remember that you're allowed to keep evolving. πͺ΄
All love,
Shannon
P.S. Our early Black Friday offer for Awaken Your Strength is officially here! The complete eight-week, self-paced course is $197 (regularly $555), and you'll also have the opportunity to book a private virtual training session with me for 50% off. If building strength with more confidence and understanding has been on your mind, this is a beautiful place to begin.
[GET AWAKEN YOUR STRENGTH] πͺ
P.P.S. Did you know we've had a Green Door Life Amazon storefront for almost five years? πIt's our little collection of books, workout equipment, supplements, food finds, and other things we've explored over the years. Some we currently use, some we've simply collected along the way. Feel free to browse, and message us if you have questions about anything!
[BROWSE OUR AMAZON STOREFRONT] ποΈ
