My Story
Hi, I’m Karla! I am so happy and grateful you are here!
I believe every person is unique and has a story. My favourite part of this work is connecting with so many beautiful people, who openly and vulnerably share their stories, their pain and their joy with me. To me, this is the purpose of life and I don’t take a moment of it for granted.
Karla Shaw
Certified Reiki Master Practitioner
Certified Somatic Practitioner
Spirit Baby Channel
The Girl Who Felt Everything
It begins as a little girl, growing up in the suburbs not far from Toronto, Ontario. I was always a sensitive young girl. Looking back now, I realize how much I picked up, absorbed and noticed from a very young age. I could sense energy shifts the moment I walked into a room, I could tell when people had just been arguing, and there were certain places I was "afraid of" in the house because I could feel energetic imprints. This all led to an intense fear of the dark because I certainly felt things, and I didn't understand it. For many years, I suppressed this, which led me to be a fairly anxious child, but one that hid the anxiety well. I had lots of friends, but internally often felt alone, scared and "different." This theme followed me for much of my early life.
My entire life, adults older than me would tell me I was "wise beyond my years." I often knew the words to say to others to make them feel better. I never knew where this came from, and I was never really afraid of death. Even when I was young, random adults would talk to me about those they loved that had passed away, and we would have long conversations about it. This was never uncomfortable for me.
The First Awakening
I always thought this was normal until University, when my Great Grandpa died. He was in his 90's and it was expected, but it was a death that shifted something in me. I had visited him in hospice to say goodbye; I always felt I wouldn't want to be alone in my final moments. I wasn't spiritual at all before he passed — if you had asked me then where you go to talk to someone after they die, I would have told you their gravesite.
It was actually at his gravesite that, for whatever reason, I said to him "visit me in my dreams." A few months later I experienced my first visitation dream. I went into my first awakening and started diving deeper into the spirit world, talking to him out loud, asking for signs, and seeing that they would happen when I asked. I knew then that Spirit was always with me, no matter where I went. It was his loss that triggered everything for me, and also made me realize that not everyone was as comfortable as I was talking about death and loss.
Building an Ordinary Life
Years continued to pass, and I went down the traditional route of finishing my BA. It was while attending my first University that I experienced quite a traumatic event that led me down another awakening — this time realizing that I was the creator of my reality, and could change what I wanted. I was highly anxious at the time and leaned on medication to help me manage it. That shift in events, while difficult, was what allowed me to move forward: I went off my medication, started embracing healthy habits to support my mental state, and stayed off it ever since. I stand by needing it when I did. I know how supportive it can be for others, but realized I no longer needed it.
I ended up becoming an elementary teacher, meeting my soulmate (a story for another day), and we moved to England together for two years. I taught there, we traveled, he had a job. We eventually moved back, bought a house, got jobs, and got married. Did all the "normal things" in life. I got teaching jobs fairly easily when we returned, and while I do love teaching — and especially LOVE working with children, one of my passions — something never sat right. Things kept coming easily though, so I just kept moving along.
In 2020, I started deep diving into more spiritual courses. Each time, I had a gut feeling to do something, so I followed that feeling. I completed a mediumship course, an Akashic Records course, and a few others. I don't feel these are my gifts, but each one, just like a breadcrumb on the path, led me exactly to where I am today. Along the way I found other teachers, healers and friends who would lead me down different paths, all of them interconnected. These courses helped me stop being afraid of the dark, realize I was an empath, and embrace who I truly was — while still being a teacher.
Becoming a Mother, Finding Reiki
Life continued this way until 2022, when I was pregnant with my eldest son. I was teaching at the time, close to a permanent contract, when a series of events at work shifted everything in the blink of an eye. I believe there are just times the universe smacks you in the face and you know life is going to change. In that moment — my "dark night of the soul" — I knew my career would drastically shift, all while about to become a mother. The following year was extremely challenging, but deep down I knew everything would eventually be okay.
My eldest son shifted everything for me on so many levels. Following his birth, while figuring out what came next, I completed my Reiki Level 1 & 2 certification — once again, I just "knew" it was time. I returned to teaching in a casual position and practiced Reiki on friends and family, including my son, for over a year, watching the benefits unfold even as I still doubted my own gifts.
Spirit Babies
In May 2024, I found out I was expecting our second son. We had tried for longer than we did with our first, but this time I trusted my body that it would happen when it was meant to. A friend told me about a spirit baby book, and — with some reluctance — I tried a meditation where I visualized the baby's aura entering my field. I saw a green orb come in and enter my uterus. Within weeks, our 18-month-old started pointing at my belly saying "baby, baby." I found out I was pregnant a week later.
There are some things in life that can't be explained, and that was one of them for me.
The pregnancy itself was extremely challenging — for the first three months I was often bedridden with nausea, vomiting or migraines. Then in July, out of the first trimester, I felt the call to start donation-based Reiki. It took off massively and grew exponentially. Around that same time, I felt naturally drawn to work with women who were struggling to conceive. I noticed that in sessions with these women, as we worked together over time, I could not only do deep healing for the mother but also communicate with the souls of the children still to come — Spirit Babies. Some of those children are now earthside.
Where I Am Now
Since the pregnancy and birth of my youngest son, I've been on an accelerated timeline — my gifts have expanded faster and more strongly than ever. That's also meant, like so many people I end up working with, my own share of challenges and uncertainty. In October 2025, I began a Somatic Practitioner training program, and as of July 2026 I'm proud to share that I'm a Certified Somatic Practitioner and trauma-informed practitioner.
Through this work I've faced more of my own wounding and connected more deeply with my inner child — the piece that brought everything full circle. Every part of my work is linked to children in some way: the children coming in, the children here with us now, or helping someone reconnect to the child they once were. All of it comes together in my Spirit Baby Containers, for the mamas called to work with me. I am also stepping into the role of Forest School Teacher this fall, where I truly feel all of my worlds blend beautifully.
What My Work Looks Like Today
I offer a variety of sessions that support a person in different ways. They have evolved greatly from when I initially started. I recommend looking at each page to dive into my particular services and offerings, but in general, my sessions go deep. Regardless of the session I meet you in, there is deep healing in surfacing wounds, fears or limitations that you usually can't take forward with you. In Reiki, there's a portion where you lay down to receive the healing, and I channel — often accessing wisdom that connects to deep inner reflections, or to things you're actively thinking about in your life. That channelled information combines with the energetic healing itself, and together they support your physical healing in a way that helps you move forward with more confidence and clarity.
The Spirit Babies have also shared that all of this work will combine in my containers, where we will be removing some of the heavier, darker energy and making more room for the light they need to enter.
There is so much still unfolding.
If you're still here, reading — thank you. Thank you for being here, and for being open to healing yourself. I believe so much healing comes not only through energetic work but also through conversation, and that's my hope in being vulnerable here: that a piece of this resonates with you, makes you feel less alone, and brings a little peace to your heart. Your energy, your words, your time matter to me. I will never take this for granted.
If any of this speaks to you, I'd love to connect — book a session or reach out and let's talk about where you are.
I can't wait to meet you!
Certifications
