Shawn was born and raised in Massachusetts. After graduating high school, he joined the U.S. Army, where he served as a pharmacy specialist. He was stationed in Texas and Colorado and was deployed to the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Storm. After discharge from active service, Shawn remained in the Army reserve while attending pharmacy school. He graduated from Northeastern University in 1996, with a degree in pharmacy. Since then, he has practiced as a pharmacist in Massachusetts, Arizona and Tennessee.
While living in Arizona, Shawn developed a desire to help people in a more hands-on and natural way. In 2009, he enrolled in the Oriental Medicine program at the Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine & Acupuncture. He obtained a Master of Science in Oriental Medicine degree in 2014. He is board certified as a diplomate in Oriental medicine from the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). He became a licensed acupuncturist in Arizona and opened a private practice in 2014.
In 2016, Shawn moved to Jackson, Tennessee. Due to time constraints of his pharmacy job, he was not able to practice acupuncture until 2018, when he licensed in Tennessee and become part of the practice here at Payne Chiropractic. He is excited to be able to use his education and experience in both western and eastern medicine to help people achieve better health.
In 2020, Shawn became a certified Qi Gong Instructor. Qi Gong is an ancient Chinese exercise practice to enhance and maintain health. Currently, he teaches techniques to patients to supplement treatment. Additionally, he offers community classes that are free and open to the public in order to expose the community to Qi Gong and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
In 2021, Shawn became certified as a Flexibility Coach. He is thrilled to be able to add this skill to help people with flexibility, range of motion, and balance issues. This certification program has also opened up opportunities for him to work as a yoga instructor.
Shawn has many hobbies and interests. He likes movies and TV, eating good food, traveling, music, dance and theater. Shawn loves animals and has a pet dog, Raina. He enjoys singing and is am a member of the Jackson Choral Society and has performed with the Jackson Symphony Orchestra and in productions with the Jackson Theatre Guild . He enjoys attending performances of the Jackson Symphony and theater performances at the NED and the Orpheum in Memphis. Fitness and health are important to Shawn, so he makes time to work out and practice yoga regularly.
If you have any questions, or would like to learn more about acupuncture or other services offered by Shawn at Payne Chiropractic, please call us at (731) 660-6212 today!