Karyn Shanks MD

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Iowa City, IA
Karyn Shanks MD

WiseHealingNow: Your Guide to Transformational Self-Care
This is an educational site that teaches transformational Self-care practices inspired by
Funct
(1)

02/26/2026

Love,
Karyn

02/19/2026

UnBroken is now out in paperback!

02/12/2026

UnBroken is now available on audio!

02/10/2026

Love,
Karyn

-compassion

02/05/2026

Not woo-woo, loves. This is how the world works. It may not be why we do the work, but it’s one of the beautiful outcomes.

Love,
Karyn

-compassion

02/03/2026

Root cause-oriented healing requires we land in safety first.

We work our safety practices: connection, compassion, and curiosity.

We check in with ourselves: “I’m right here. I notice your feelings and sensations. I welcome them without judgement.”

We hold ourselves and what we feel with compassion: “You are just right; your feelings and sensations are both meaningful and necessary; however you’ve been wronged or dismissed or neglected, I promise none of that is about you.”

We stay relentlessly curious: “What do you need? How can I help you? Let’s regroup and find a way that gets us and our needs.”

Love,
Karyn

-compassion

01/27/2026

What am I suggesting?

Take responsibility for how you tend to your feelings. Be a compassionate, curious presence, assuring them ‘you’ve got this.’ Resist jumping to the story that may not be true, that activates your body’s survival biology, that believes your story, and that hurls you to safety in a way that doesn’t help you because it validates the story that isn’t true. This keeps you stuck in the story, stuck in your problem.
Practice this instead: First, breathe. Welcome your feelings with curiosity without trying to change or fix them. Say to yourself, “I’m right here.” This holds your precious feelings in safety.

Love,
Karyn

-compassion

01/22/2026

Simple, small, and slow return us to safety. And when we operate from safety? We get what we’re supposed to do at its core, we do everything with greater competency because we have the bandwidth to understand the task.

Love,
Karyn

-compassion

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Iowa City, IA

Website

http://karynshanksmd.com/

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Functional Medicine and Self Care

“I just want to be myself again.”

“I want my daughter to know the real me.”

“I want my life back.”

“I want my joy back.”

From academic, to CEO, to Iowa farmer, all of my clients say some version of the same thing as we begin our work together. This is what I’ve wanted during my own tough times. These words are at the very heart of what’s at stake when confronted with the myriad health challenges we all face… and what we seek in our healthcare and healing strategies: to reclaim our energy, vitality, and who we truly are. In essence, all that makes life worth living.

We all possess the innate ability to heal, to recover our precious energy, and to create the resilience that allows us feel our best, be our best, and prevent future problems. Through personalized tools, education, and support I put the power back where it belongs—in your hands, hearts, and minds.

The work we do together is all about YOU—your story, your goals, your needs, your inner wisdom (you know yourself best), and your innate potential to heal.

My approach is inspired by the revolutionary science of Functional Medicine, body-mind principles, and wisdom gleaned from the transformational journeys of thousands of clients over my twenty-six year career as a physician.

Our journey promises to be a whole-person exploration of your problems and needs, offering solutions that go straight to the cause, and to the heart of healing—to recover your physical, mental, and spiritual energy.

The Nine Domains of Healing—the backbone of my work—will guide us as we take this journey of your health and healing together.