About Sheena
Hi! I'm Sheena - a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Real Food Advocate, and serial entrepreneur.
Inspired by my extensive health journey, I founded Wild Mala in 2017. I set out to reconnect people with real food, emphasizing traceability and transparency. Wild Mala began as a handmade nut milk business and evolved into a brick-and-mortar grocer by the following year. Seeing the number of people seeking food to support their chronic health symptoms inspired me to pursue my Nutritional Therapy certification in 2020.
Wild Mala Wellness was launched in 2021 to help people across the country improve chronic symptoms and find answers to health puzzles. My Nutritional Therapy practice focuses on bioindivuality and the idea that we all thrive and suffer in unique ways. My philosophy is food and lifestyle first. I believe that more is more, and restriction is stifling. Finding the foods and movement that suit our individual needs is key to optimal health.
In 2023, I found myself at the beginning of a new health journey. Rather than myself as the focal point, it was my two foster dogs. They came to me with serious acute illnesses, including parvo and heartworm. Yet the most challenging aspects of their health were chronic issues like nonstop itching, digestive distress, and ear and skin infections.
It took just a couple of vet visits to realize that the canine healthcare system is similar to the medical system that had failed me. While conventional medicine is necessary and lifesaving, it doesn’t address the root causes of chronic illness. There is a tendency to mask symptoms rather than identify why symptoms are occurring. Canine health was a new world for me, and I quickly realized I was on my own. I had to dive into research and become my dogs advocate for real food, fewer chemicals, and less bullshit.
While initially overwhelming, it became clear that the root causes creating suffering in our canine companions align with what I had already learned as a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.
In Nutritional Therapy, we recognize six foundations of health: a whole foods nutrient-dense diet, proper digestion, balanced blood sugar, proper fatty acids, optimized mineral status, and sufficient hydration.
By applying these principles, I turned two sick pups into thriving beings, but it didn’t happen overnight. It took patience, extensive research, and belief that there had to be a better way. Had I let the many conventional vets I encountered bully me into believing that ultra-processed foods and synthetic drugs were the answer, I know my dogs wouldn’t have made it to the other side of pain. Seeing how far they’ve come motivates me each day to continue learning and to keep pushing for a world where fresh food and minimal chemical interventions are the norm.
I went on to complete my Canine Nutrition Certification and am currently completing a four-year Canine Herbalism program. I frequently pursue continuing education to support both human and canine clients, allowing me to utilize the most up-to-date research in my practice. However, I strive to honor ancestral wisdom and draw from ancient systems of medicine, including TCM and Ayurveda. There is no single modality, quick fix, one-size-fits-all, or supplement that changes a life. Putting together the pieces and living intentionally is where the true magic happens. Helping humans and dogs find their way to this place is my purpose and passion, and I am fortunate to call this my work.
Education
Current - Holistic Canine Herbalism - Ethos School of Canine Herbalism
2025 - Canine Nutrition Certification - Companion Animal Sciences Institute
2021 - Nutritional Therapy Practitioner Certification - Nutritional Therapy Association - Olympia, WA
2018 - Yoga Teacher Training - 200 hour - Shanti School of Traditional Yoga - Halifax, NS
2006 - B.S. - Consumer Sciences - Western Michigan University - Kalamazoo, MI
Who is Wild Mala?
Mala was a street dog I called "mine" during a special time I spent in Lake Atitlán, Guatemala. Although her physical being was skin and bones, her spirit was fierce. It sticks with me to this day.
I fed Mala each time I found her in the crowded streets where street dogs fought for their fix of scraps. I tried to give her a home, but she would only follow me far enough to eat and never up the steep hill to where I lived.
Mala's desire, stronger than hunger, was to be free. In her, I saw who I had spent my life becoming: a person who chooses freedom every time. Freedom from conventional ideas of success, freedom from broken food and medical systems, freedom over comfort.
It's hard to make choices that aren't popular. It's hard to go against the grain and to say no when everyone else says yes. Mala inspired me to push forward and find my authentic path to healing.
I had recently left behind my career of 10 years. I spent a decade paying "dues." It left me quite literally sick and tired. I moved to a new country to find a softer pace of life; to find new ways to heal. I started learning about food as medicine, yoga, and stillness as wisdom. I began to look towards nature instead of devices for answers. It was there I discovered the passions that would inspire the next chapter of my life.
I found Mala at a time when I needed the next bit of inspiration to dream again, to create, to believe in something bigger than me. I still see pieces of her in every dog in need. 10 years and many iterations of Wild Mala later, my desire is still to free dogs from suffering. This looks different for every dog I meet, but there is always a path forward when we choose to believe there has to be a better way.