About Us
Despite what mainstream culture may have you believe, bodies aren’t inherently broken and don't need to be fixed. The services offered at Pause Holistic Health offer an opportunity to - Pause; to slow to the rhythm of the natural world. Our services help you to re-establish a connection to your body and understand the message that your symptoms are trying to convey.
We believe that healthcare services should be used as an agent for social change. And that serving people in reclaiming their body's natural wisdom through access to equitable health services will lead to collective liberation. This is our activism, so when you feel good you can do other good things for your community and planet.
We acknowledge that systemic barriers can impact a person’s ability to access health services. Outside the publicly funded Western medical model, and in rural and remote communities there are even more barriers to accessing health care. We strive to anticipate and address these barriers and also welcome your feedback. We are committed to continually adapting our offerings and practices to make them as accessible as possible.
Pause Holistic Health strives to provide trauma-informed care, in a safe and comfortable environment, for all community members. We welcome people of all genders, sexes, races, colours, incomes, national origins, ages, abilities or disabilities, marital statuses, familial situations, religions, sizes and shapes, sexual orientations, and political beliefs. Your level of care will never be based on any of these factors.
Amanda Shibley, she/her
Owner/Practitioner
Licensed Acupuncturist
I am from the land of my ancestors in Northern & Western Europe. I was born and raised on the unceded territory of the Ktunaxa & Secwepmec, in a town now called Golden, BC. My home is on the traditional and unceded territory of the Haida people, where I have the privilege to be immersed in the wilderness & bear witness to thriving Haida culture.
I am working to become more conscious of the intersections of privilege from which I benefit, and I am engaged in a lifelong journey of unwinding all the beliefs that the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy has wound deep within me and my lineage.
I have worked as a nurse for 9 years, in a variety of settings, from emergency, general medical, labour and delivery & community. I went to nursing school right out of high school and at a young age was privy to some of the most tender and difficult moments of the human experience. I have witnessed the tools of Western Medicine save the lives of many people and will not deny the blessing it is that we have access to this publicly funded modality. As a deeply empathic person, I also was witness to all the people in between, whose suffering stretched beyond the limitations of Western Medicine.
I knew there was a need for more options for health care, which is what led me to acupuncture. Another practical, workable career choice, yet I had no idea the depths that Traditional Chinese Medicine would take me. I consider learning this medicine another great privilege. I am deeply indebted to the Indigenous people to whom this medicine belongs, and all the practitioners who have meticulously preserved and generously shared the tradition for the past 2000 years. I am exploring ways to honour the ancestors of this beautiful practice.
I am in a lifelong study of the medicine of my pre-colonial ancestors and spend time engaging with some of their herbal medicine & spiritual practices. It is with grief that I acknowledge that the connection to their medicine has been severed for my lineage by 100s of years and the Atlantic Ocean, and yet I can still hear its whispers, a deep sense of knowing that resides in my bones.
Although it is impossible for me to truly understand the depths of everyone’s human experience, I use my privilege, years of experience working in health care and my own healing journey, to serve others. My intention is to have an inclusive, safe space where humans from all walks of life can find sanctuary, and feel heard and cared for.
