The Dumpster Fire Formerly Known as 2020™ offered several insights into our weird and wild human experience: namely, life is chaotic. Unexpected things happen constantly, schedules can be cleared and refilled in an instant, and the best we can do is hold the f&@% on.
We also learned that as comforting and rewarding as routine can be, it’s also important to shake things up, try new things, and get out of your comfort zone. That’s why we turned to Shaw Academy, an online academic institution flexible enough to ride life’s unpredictable rollercoaster right alongside you.
What Is Shaw Academy?
Shaw Academy was first founded in 2012 in Dublin. The online academic institution offered one course with over 700 enrollees. Three years later, the academy added nine new classes and over 20,000 new students.
To withstand its whopping 322% growth over just a few years, Shaw Academy launched Phoenix in 2017, the world’s largest live online educator platform, capable of delivering high-quality courses to millions of students at once.
Today, Shaw Academy offers a wide range of classes, from finance to design to health and wellness. The courses are flexible, affordable, and certified by Austin Peay State University.
We’ve rounded up our favorite unique, exciting, and interesting Shaw Academy courses below.
Crystal Healing
Shaw Academy’s Crystal Healing course teaches students how to select, cleanse, and energize crystals; balance chakras and cleanse auras; enhance psychic ability, and run a crystal healing practice.
The gorgeous, rainbow-hued stones and crystals you’ve been collecting for years have been utilized for their powerful influence over internal and external energies for millennia. Still, it can be challenging to find reliable online resources for this ancient practice.
This crystal healing course is certified by Austin Peay State University, offering exceptional instruction on how to harness crystals’ energy over 16 weeks and 32 lessons.
Pet Grooming
Our dogs are our best friends—it’s only appropriate we pamper them as such. As easy as it is to hand them off to the dog groomer once a month, learning how to primp your pooch yourself can strengthen your bond with your pet and save you money in the long run.
The academy’s all-inclusive Pet Grooming course teaches proper pet handling and equipment usage, pet nutrition and common health issues, basic and breed-specific grooming techniques, and setting up and running a dog grooming salon.
Whether you’re looking to spoil your fur babies or start a new business, this course equips you with the proper training, tools, and techniques to get the job done.
Floristry
Planning a DIY wedding requires the betrothed-to-be to become event planners, designers, culinary artists, talent scouts, bookkeepers, and florists. Outsourcing these jobs can quickly add up, and besides, it’s DIY, not DI-someone else.
Luckily, Shaw Academy offers the perfect solution for brides-to-be, aspiring wedding planners, nature lovers, and floral arrangement enthusiasts alike: a 16-week Floristry course. Over four online modules, students become proficient in floral design, identification, and arrangement.
An excellent floral arrangement is a lot like a good song—you might not know why it’s good, but you definitely know when it isn’t. This course teaches how to capture that floral magic and create stunning bouquets, corsages, and more for any occasion.
Tarot Reading
Like crystal healing, tarot card reading has been around for centuries. As is the case with most subjects of the occult, it can be difficult to sort through what’s real and what’s…a reach. Shaw Academy’s Tarot Reading course breaks the mystical magic down into 32 easily digestible lessons.
In this course, students will learn how to give accurate and intuitive tarot readings, use tarot for healing and guiding, make tarot spreads, and consult the tarot for important decisions.
One of the most daunting elements of the tarot is its 78-card lexicon of specific imagery and symbolism. Shaw Academy instructors take a deep dive into the tarot deck’s imagery so you can navigate the deck with confidence.
Mindfulness and Meditation
Counterintuitive as it may seem to practice being mindful, meditating, and relaxing, such is life in the 21st century. The average person’s schedule doesn’t often include time for rest, rejuvenation, and refreshment, despite all three being vital for mental and physical well-being.
And because wading through thousands upon thousands of online resources for meditation doesn’t make one feel particularly zen, Shaw Academy has cleared the clutter with their wildly popular Mindfulness and Meditation course, which boasts over 11,000 graduates.
This mindfulness and meditation course teaches breathwork techniques, developing mindful relationships, tapping into intuition and self-reflection, and reaping the total mental and physical rewards of frequent meditation.
Pilates
If the word “pilates” conjures up images of late ‘90s Denise Austin VHS’s, you might be surprised to know that a British spy developed this exercise method in Germany during World War I.
In Shaw Academy’s Pilates course, students are taught the history of Pilates and its six basic principles. The course goes above and beyond your parents’ old VHS tapes by breaking down the basics of human anatomy and how it correlates to the Pilates method.
Pilates increases muscle tone, strength, and flexibility without putting undue stress on joints or the spine. The low-impact exercise is excellent for individuals who are pregnant or recovering from a new or recurring injury.
Yoga
Having trouble distinguishing between Vasisthasana and Kumbhakasana? Don’t worry; our Sanskrit is pretty shaky, too. That’s why we love Shaw Academy’s comprehensive Yoga course, a 32-lesson class that teaches beginner to advanced yoga forms, poses, techniques, and history.
This ICSOC-certified yoga course covers everything from breathwork to learning yoga’s relationship with the body’s muscular, skeletal, and neural systems. This is a perfect option for budding practitioners, everyday yogis looking to advance their flows, or aspiring yoga instructors.
If your schedule allows for multiple course loads, we highly recommend taking this course in tandem with the academy’s Mindfulness and Meditation class to stretch the body and mind simultaneously.
Wine Appreciation and Tasting
Look, we get it—sometimes, the only qualification a bottle of wine needs is to be under $10. But if you’re interested in exploring the vino world outside of Barefoot Pink Moscato, Shaw Academy’s Wine Appreciation and Tasting course is an excellent place to start.
This course covers all the bases, from the barrel to the pour. Students learn how to properly taste wine and develop a well-informed palate, how wine is made, principal wine styles, and how to pour and serve wine.
Never have another “oaky afterbirth” moment à la Michael Scott again. In just 16 weeks, this course will transform you from a cheap date to a bonafide connoisseur.
Why Choose Shaw Academy?
Online academia is nothing new, and there are currently thousands of online courses available from institutions, organizations, and individuals—what makes Shaw Academy any different?
In addition to its international accreditations by educational councils and brick-and-mortar universities, Shaw Academy provides live educator chat support, exams, and continuous assignments to ensure you’re getting the most bang for your buck. All students get access to four weeks for free, so it’s a great option for those of you who only want beginner-level knowledge.
Once registered, students can complete courses at their own pace and enjoy lifetime access to lessons once finished. As we move forward in a new, post-pandemic world, Shaw Academy promotes lifelong exploration, discovery, and curiosity amid life’s more chaotic moments. What are you waiting for? Sign up for Shaw Academy today and get access to four free weeks and over 70 courses!
