A man with glasses taking a selfie in a room decorated with string lights and a poster on the wall.

"I do not want to die... until I have faithfully made the most of my talent and cultivated the seed that was placed in me until the last small twig has grown" - Kathe Kollwitz 

Hi, I’m Shawn Maier. I pay attention for a living.

Not in a productivity sense, more in the way you notice light change in a room, or how your body responds before you have words for it. My work lives in the space between experience and meaning.

Sometimes that looks like hands-on work. Sometimes it’s conversation, imagery, teaching, or time spent outdoors. The form changes, but the orientation stays the same: slowing down enough to notice what’s actually happening. I’m interested in how people relate to their bodies, their stories, and each other, especially in places where things don’t quite fit standard language or systems.

Much of my work is shaped by being queer (he/him), by spending years in care-oriented professions, and by paying close attention to how safety, trust, and pacing are felt rather than declared. There are beliefs that quietly guide my work. One of them is that people change more easily when they feel loved. I don’t usually say that out loud… but it informs how I show up, how I listen, and how I hold space.

Outside of work, I value time that doesn’t need to prove anything. I read and write, make art, go camping, explore, and spend a lot of time with my dogs. Lately I’ve fallen back in love with movement, especially swimming and dance (shout out to Soul on Fire Dance), and with getting absorbed in comic books. None of this is separate from my work. It’s part of how I stay human.

A man with a beard taking a selfie with a happy Dalmatian dog wearing a collar with a red heart-shaped tag. The dog is licking the man's cheek, and both appear content.

Education and Credentials

Certified Massage Therapist - CAMTC # 77214

California Institute of Integral Studies - MA in Integrative Health Studies - 2024-2026

  • Integrative Health Coaching & Wellness Management

  • Transformative Imagery

  • Patient Navigation - Healthy Aging with HIV & PreP Navigation

Arizona State University - BS in Integrative Health - 2021-2024

  • Social & Behavioral Human Subject Research Certificate

  • Pre-medical sciences; Interprofessional Education & Collaborative Practice; Historical & Cultural Foundations of Integrative Health; Biological, Manipulative, & Body-Based Therapeutics; Mind-body & Energy Therapies & Modalities; Grant & Proposal Writing

National Holistic Institute - Advanced Neuromuscular Massage Therapist & Health Educator - 2018-2019

Usui Reiki Levels 1, 2, & 3 - 2019

Upledger’s Craniosacral Therapy 1, 2 & Somato-Emotional Release 1, 2 - 2019-2025

Barral’s Visceral Manipulation 1, 2, 3, and Neural Manipulation 1 - 2021-2024

Liddle Kidz Certified Pediatric Massage Therapy - 2023

Greet the Day Foundations of Oncology Massage - 2023

Moya’s CST for Chronic Depletion & Systems-Informed Bodymind Therapy (The Body) 2023-2024

Two men and a brown dog in a car, with the men smiling. The man on the left wears glasses and a gray shirt, the man on the right wears sunglasses, a baseball cap, and a black hoodie. The dog, sitting in a seat behind the men, has its mouth open and appears to be happy.