Student Spotlight

Shari Lyons, Bachelor of Science in Holistic Nutrition graduate and Master of Science in Holistic Nutrition student

Shari Lyon, bachelor of science in holistic nutrition graduate and master of science in holistic nutrition student, perfectly exemplifies the well-known saying that “change begins at home.” As a wife and mother of three, she overcame her family’s health challenges by educating herself on natural health when conventional medicine kept telling her that more drugs would solve their problems. Not only that, she also somehow manages to keep a healthy balance between mind, body, and spirit while working and being a mom.

Lyon discovered CCNH when her husband was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and her two boys were diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Additionally, she had been managing her own health with antidepressants. “I had lived on antidepressants for too long. I was tired of the medical institution wanting to solve everything with more drugs,” she says. So she took matters into her own hands. “I knew with some education, I could change the health of my household.”

After conducting extensive research on natural health schools, Lyon chose CCNH. Her family was growing, and she needed to schedule her studies around taking care of them. “I had just had my third child and my oldest was still three years old, so I knew I could never swing anything traditional.” The school’s reputation as well as the self-paced format attracted her. She says, “I wanted something that was grounded and valid. I wanted a school that was respected. Clayton was a perfect fit for me.”

Because of what she’s learned through her studies with CCNH, her family’s health has greatly improved. “Through my education, I have been able to be completely off antidepressants for nearly eight years, my husband no longer suffers from the symptoms of fibromyalgia for the most part, and my boys are so highly functioning that people who meet them never know of their struggles unless they are told,” she shares.

She isn’t just focused on her own family, though. She wants to take the changes she has made in her own home and spread them outward into the larger community by helping other families. Her dream job involves not charging clients who can’t afford the costs of the natural health lifestyle. “I would love to be able to choose a family and subsidize their costs long enough to get them on their feet healthwise and to be able to help them learn to be cost-effective in their new lifestyle.”

She’s also helped others by sharing her knowledge through teaching classes, leading workshops, participating in retreats, and writing articles for her local newspapers. She says, “I would love to be able someday to teach for a university, either in a live class setting or distance learning classes.” She hopes to one day work or intern with someone who runs a successful clinic.

She believes it is important to have a strong balance between mind, body, and spirit not just for your own health, but because your state of health is reflected to others in settings such as your work environment. “I think my work environment is as important as my knowledge to help people, and my mental health and personal spirituality come out in my work just as much as well.” How does she stay healthy? “I try to keep a balance of eating nutritionally, working out, and following my spiritual path.”

Setting boundaries is a key part of this healthy balance. “Being a mom and working, I have to work on keeping this balance constantly. I have to make sure my family’s needs are met as well as my client’s needs. I set very strict boundaries between the two so that I can be all that I need to be for everyone in my life.”

Being mentored as well as mentoring others has helped her become all that she can be. “When I first got into the natural health world, I met a very good friend who was very helpful when I had questions and taught me so much. I have since had the chance to share what I have learned with people who were just getting started as well.”

The changes that Lyon has effected in her own family and in the lives of her clients have been championed by others before her, including Thomas Edison, who said in one of Lyon’s favorite quotations, “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”

This article was based on an interview with the student.

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