Andrea Shanti, NCTMB, C.M.T., mother, Holistic Practitioner

Raised within the conservative confines of the sprawling suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona, Andrea experienced worldly success working in France, only to be sadly disillusioned by the manipulative, dark energies of the international modeling agencies, restaurants and night clubs of Paris.

After returning to University of Arizona in 1992, Andrea discovered rock climbing which ignited a renewed passion for living an exhilarating, alternative lifestyle. She found healing of her own wound up being through massage and soon quit college to enroll at The Desert Institute of Healing Arts in Tucson, AZ. Thus began her career as a healer, which she carried on the road with her as a nomadic rock climber. Andrea continued her massage training in Thailand, where she apprenticed with Thai massage master Chongkol Settakorn. The majority of her practice has been private, specializing in athletes and women. Andrea has training in Swedish massage, sports massage, Thai medical massage, deep tissue, shiatsu, hydrotherapy, reflexology, yoga, breathwork, meditation, polarity, reiki, on-site chair massage, myofacial release, addictions recovery, pregnancy massage, and infant massage.

Fascinated by the herbal alternatives to pharmaceutical drugs, Andrea soon began creating her own healing potions and sharing them with the rock climbing community. The arrival of her son, and greatest teacher, Bela, in 1997 grounded her intentions of creating an herbal health care business, "Holistic Body Therapy". Andrea works with her clients to increase a feeling of focus and relaxation in their healing process. She uses various methods of massage therapy, bodywork, yoga techniques, energy balancing and plant wisdom to increase awareness of the mind- body-soul connection and to promote self-healing.

Over the last seven years Andrea has apprenticed with world-renowned herbalists: Christopher Hobbs; Kami McBride at the Living Awareness Institute; and Robin Martin of Olala Farms to whom she attributes much of her alchemical wisdom.

While expanding her external alchemy practice and business, Andrea broadened her shamanic studies with her mentors Peggy Dylan at Sundoor School of Transpersonal Education and Heather Ash at the Toltec Center for Creative Intent.

Andrea is a mother, a healer, and a holistic and alchemical body care guru, gifted with heightened sensual perception, categorical precision and the intuition to serve the benefit of all sentient beings. She embraces her human-ness in the spiritual path, and encourages all to please the senses and fulfill earthly desires as we aspire to reach more reflective states of oneness.

Andrea and her son Bela have recently moved to Mount Shasta, where she directs her rapidly expanding Holistic Body Therapy business and is anchoring down the HOME node in Northern California.