Meet Bonnie Sheldon, EFT Tapping and MCBT Master Trainer and Practitioner and Somatics Specialist. Bonnie’s journey is one of resilience, healing, and the transformative power of movement. In the book, The Wellness Universe Guide to Complete Self-Care: 25 Tools for Life, Bonnie shares how movement—even something as simple as walking—can lead to lifelong vitality and joy.
The Wellness Universe (WU): Hello Bonnie, please tell us about yourself.
Bonnie Sheldon (BS): My story is a long story that started early—a journey that began even before my birth. I was born with a congenital disability—what we used to call a “birth defect.” I underwent corrective surgery at the age of four, and that same year, I traded thumb-sucking, which I dearly loved, for dance, baton twirling, and gymnastics classes. These two events created an intertwined legacy that would shape many years to come.
I suffered from extreme internal pain in my back, abdomen, and legs throughout my childhood, but no medical tests were then available that could identify the cause. Later, I learned that this pain was a side effect of my early surgery. However, at that time, I learned to ignore the pain and sought some form of health through the joy of my dance lessons. This back-and-forth of pain and discovery continued until my first year of college.
While attending Princeton, I began commuting to New York City for professional dance training. My internal pain—the pain I learned to keep secret from others—became increasingly obvious and profound as I trained with top-tier dance companies. I was advised to seek help, and in my search, I discovered a field that had not yet been named: “Somatics.”
These classes with early somatic pioneers involved sensing, feeling, and releasing the body from within. They taught me about self-regulation and self-care, helping me even in the absence of a diagnosis. Thus, the dance of pain and the dance of joy continued throughout much of my adult life.
I worked to help others while I danced professionally, first as a Certified Body-Mind Centering Practitioner and yoga teacher in my SoHo loft, later as a dance educator, and as a dance therapist on the psychiatric unit at Bellevue Hospital in New York. Eventually, I reached a point where the challenges of high-level dance performance and dance therapy became overwhelming, leading me to leave dance behind and pursue a business career when I decided to marry my beloved husband.
After some years of success working in account management for the largest advertising agency in the world, where I brought the medication ibuprofen over the counter as Advil and worked on other products including many General Foods brands, Adidas, and Dr. Pepper, I knew it was time for a change.
As my personal—although still undiagnosed—health struggles intensified, I felt a stronger calling to help people again. I left the business world for theological training at Union Theological Seminary and later with the Southeast Diocese of the Episcopal Church. I served as a minister at Miami’s Trinity Cathedral for many years, working mainly with homeless families and the disabled population from a wheelchair.
During the midpoint of my ministerial career, I had outlived one terminal cancer diagnosis, only to receive a new terminal diagnosis related to an underlying condition: Systemic Sclerosis. My pain had been ‘named,’ and I became nearly fully paralyzed and faced serial terminal prognoses that ultimately did not come to fruition.
Despite still being extremely disabled, I left the ministry in search of a broader theology along with a quest for genuine healing. Having meditated with my Guru from India for over 30 years, I was already thinking out-of-the box, and I explored every unconventional method I could find. I became a Reiki Master and trained as a shaman before discovering EFT Tapping, or Emotional Freedom Techniques.
This simple yet effective method completely transformed my life. Through purposeful coaching, I was able to trace my long-limiting pain back to the trauma of that early corrective surgery and the damage done to my vital vagus nerve.
Now, fifteen years later, I have not only regained mobility and made peace with my pain, but I have also trained to help others. I now coach and additionally train other professionals for career changes or to add unique methodologies to their practice.
It is always a joy to witness people heal themselves and find joy and purpose in their lives. After working with thousands of clients, parishioners, and students, I’ve learned that Giving and Gratitude can make even the largest challenges feel manageable, that emotions are transient and can be shifted, and that everyone possesses the spark within to shine brightly as their true selves.
WU: What inspired you to write your chapter in the book The Wellness Universe Guide to Complete Self-Care: 25 Tools For Life?
BS: At age seventy-three, I felt compelled to write my chapter because I see so many people leading sedentary, often unhappy lives, largely due to lifestyle choices including poor nutrition and increased computer and phone use. I notice many contemporaries and even people thirty years younger self-limiting through reluctance to embrace a mindset of self-care. I am passionate about creating an embodied world where everyone experiences ease of mind and movement and can find joy.
My goal in writing this chapter is to share a message of hope—I truly believe in the Healing Power of Hope, which has sustained me for so long. With positive thinking and a commitment to keep moving as we age, people can live well and healthily for much longer, and I believe this promise can hold true for so many worldwide in our post-industrial society.
WU: What tool do you share in this book, and what can we expect to experience as a result of using this tool?
BS: In this book, I present several suggestions for achieving a positive mindset, with the basic tool of walking as a starting point for movement.
When we move, our bodies come alive; our hearts beat faster, blood flows, our minds clear, and emotions are released. Science supports this truth. It’s intuitive to understand that a good walk in the woods can often lighten one’s heart. Research shows that by walking, we can reduce our mortality rate by over 30 percent!
How many people realize that dancing in their kitchen, taking the stairs in their apartment building for exercise, or going for a lunchtime walk daily at work can add years to their lives? This is my message and the reason for writing this chapter—to help people recognize that it’s never too late and that movement is essential to life.
I’ve witnessed many exercise-averse clients in their 50s and 60s undergo a remarkable transformation, and it is a beautiful experience. Aging is a natural progression of life. If we create an intentional plan to care for our bodies, our lives improve in ways we can’t begin to imagine: we have more energy, less pain, and ease that comes with practice and allows for joyful living.
WU: Are you interested in feeling better as you grow older while maintaining flexibility and strength?
BS: If your answer is yes, then start walking, start moving, and begin slowly. Don’t push yourself; instead, enjoy the journey of discovering your bodily strength and wisdom. Seek help if needed, whether through professional guidance for your best exercise routines or for coaching to overcome limiting beliefs! You can do what’s necessary to give yourself the best chance at a fully lived, joyful, good life!
Connect with Bonnie on The Wellness Universe and follow her on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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