Meet Shelby Schmitmeyer | MNRI Core-In-Training

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shelby Schmitmeyer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shelby, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The quote by Henry Ford, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you are right,” is what helps me remember that it is me who will make this business succeed. My stubbornness, drive and planning ahead is what has gotten me this far. As well as surrounding myself with other small business owners that work to help each other succeed. Having a community around you that believes in your work is a huge step up.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The work I do is called Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration (MNRI). In short, I work on primary reflexes. These reflexes are the foundation to everything that makes us human: ability to learn; meet developmental milestones; regulate emotions; control posture; coordinate movements; vision, auditory, and sensory processing; respond appropriately in an unsafe situation and so much more. Because of how foundational this work is, it allows me to work with a variety of clientele. Anything from helping a child speak to stroke recovery to post trauma recovery to “my back hurts” to helping a child with autism and everything in between. What makes this work different is that it goes deeper in our wiring than traditional therapies. I’m not working on just the motor output (the result of the inputs from our environment. Ex: speaking, conscious movements, hormonal responses). I’m working on the input and brain processing that causes the motor output. If a child at age 5 is unable to speak, it is not because they haven’t learned how, it is more likely because they do not have the correct “wiring” in their brain that allows them to carry out the motor output – speaking. I work on connecting the correct wires so they then have the ability to learn how to speak.

I absolutely love giving people the abilities that they desire and/or miss and thought were never possible. Whether it is helping an autistic child be able to function like a neurotypical child at home and in school or giving someone the function of their arm back a year after a stroke or helping someone with PTSD no longer feel anxious in public places. All are equally rewarding. I love proving the impossible is possible to people, just need to dig deeper than others will look and understand the foundation of our bodies.

I am only able to do so because of the dedication of Dr. Svetlana Masgutova and her team as they are the ones who developed this amazing technique. And I, of course, have to thank Doug Akerman again for introducing me to the technique. Without his suggestion I would still be wondering what I wanted to do when I grew up. Because of the power of this technique and the strong community I have around me, I sort of fell into where I am today. When you are able to give people unexplainable results, they tend to talk about it and lucky for me that naturally spreads the word about what I do and people reach out wanting their own answers. Through this, I have learned that if you do good, honest work people who need to find me, will find me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am an outdoorsy, dog person so the only cool places I know involve some physicality. Along with the many metroparks in our area, we would also stop and visit Urban Krag, an indoor rock climbing gym. We eat almost all of our meals at home so we would be trying out local eateries right along with them.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are many people that I have to thank for advice and encouragement. Luckily, too many to count. But I do need to specifically thank Doug Akerman for first introducing me to the MNRI technique and for the unending advice and support. Also my husband, Lucas, for believing in me and thinking it would be silly for me to do anything but this.

Website: https://www.integrateandthriveohio.com

Image Credits
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