SWIHA Blog

Taran Emmert was initially going to a fine arts school, yet she couldn’t fathom the idea of waiting six more years until graduation. So, she followed her inner yearning to discover a new path. She always had an interest in massage and yoga, so she checked out four different schools. SWIHA was the last one she checked out, and immediately, it felt like home. While other schools were pushy with their approach, Taran shared how SWIHA felt so different than the others. “My advisor said: Take your time to think about it. Pray about it, let the answers come to you.”

In February of 2012, Taran enrolled into the 750-hour professional massage practitioner program, which allowed her enough elective credits to also complete the 200-hour Yoga teacher training.

Taran chuckled, then shared how at SWIHA “everybody was a bit different and weird, and it felt like home.” She went on to reveal how for the first time in her life, she found a community of people interested in the same things as her. So why did she choose Yoga and massage? “Yoga was the first time I experienced spirituality in an unconditional form, and it allowed me to connect to my body, mind and breath without having to do anything else.” Taran went on to add that she wanted to bring that feeling to other people, while also helping them process their emotions and feel better. Taran’s passion for massage grew throughout her time at SWIHA, yet she recalled how she often massaged friends and family as a child. “I always massaged everyone when I was little, and I always loved touch and healing. I was always giving friends and family back and shoulder rubs, so I guess it was in me all along!”

Alise Holland, like many of SWIHA’s students, was brought to the school by Spirit. On Labor Day, 2014, she saw a vision of a school for healing and the name, Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, came through in her vision. At the time, she had been teaching in a public classroom for eight years, and took a leap of faith and left the classroom in 2011. Alise shared how, even though she had her Doctorate in Education and had a flexible job, she knew that there was something missing and needed to find out what SWIHA had to offer. “It wasn’t until I attended SWIHA to better understand myself and how I show up in the world… That’s when it became simple; my life purpose is to serve others and be a Merchant of Hope.”

Although she grew up in poverty, Alise has realized that nothing is truly wasted, and she is grateful for all of her challenges. “What I find is that now that I am on my spiritual path, I am able to share my knowledge with others to enlighten them on their own spiritual path. In other words, I am able to turn all of my sufferings into service to help others.” For the longest time, Alise couldn’t figure out why she chose to become a teacher, when her true passion resided in tapping into her spiritual gifts. After attending SWIHA, she learned why. “I am still a teacher and mentor, but my audience has changed. It is now the World, and I am destined to be a Spiritual Guide to souls throughout humanity. People need the right kinds of knowledge, yet I will be using my spiritual gifts and knowledge to educate souls.”

Prior to registering at SWIHA, Jessica Ireland was, in her own words, “barely existing.”

“I lacked a post-secondary education, and the 15 years I worked in the finance industry meant nothing while I was applying for employment during the recession. I was struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over my head, while spiraling further and further into a state of depression.”

After receiving a steady stream of rejection letters from potential minimum wage employers, Jessica realized that unless she obtained some form of post-secondary education in an area that was growing throughout North America, she would eventually end up homeless and hungry. Enter SWIHA.

“As soon as I discovered SWIHA, I knew that my search for the school and the education I desired was over. I relocated my 3 dogs and myself from Calgary, Alberta Canada to Phoenix, Arizona and haven’t looked back since.” Jessica shared how SWIHA allowed her to shed the weight of her past, while discovering her dreams and tapping into her infinite potential.

Kathy Koziol had just received her license as a Real Estate agent prior to enrolling at SWIHA. She did the job for just a single day, and immediately knew that she wanted her life to head in another direction. She was ready to fulfill her Dharma, her life’s purpose that she was Divinely designed for. Kathy had held many careers throughout her life: Elementary School Teacher, Army Officer, Hearing Instrument Specialist, Luxury Automobile Sales Consultant, Master Gardener and Stay at Home Mom (which she referred to as “Domestic Goddess). “I was very satisfied with my life and always have been. I cherish every moment of the life given to me,” shared Kathy. “Every experience I had, positive or negative, helped me to lay the foundation of where I am today.” However, she wasn’t satisfied with the path she was heading down from a career perspective. Enter SWIHA.

Like many SWIHA students’ stories before, the school just happened to find Tami Sharp. She had just moved to Arizona from Maui, Hawaii with her baby girl, so that she could be closer to her mom. Tami recalled the synchronicities that led her to joining SWIHA. “I had no intention on starting school but after a series of universal events, I tripped across SWIHA and within one week’s time found myself enrolled full time going for a degree in Mind-Body Transformational Psychology with Certifications in Life Coaching, Clinical Hypnotherapy and Reiki.”

Before moving to AZ, Tami had spent 10 years on Maui doing a wide range of jobs and businesses. As a professionally trained model and actress, she also had the honor of teaching modeling and acting to teenagers and young adults. It was through these teachings that she really found passion in helping others see their inner beauty, to find their own style and confidence, to believe in themselves and reach for their goals. “I was inspired everyday by these youths. I have helped with a lot of workshops, conferences and public speaking events and am passionate about inspiring others to live their most authentic and fulfilling lives.“

Going into SWIHA, Tami was aware of her intuitive abilities, yet SWIHA really helped her to develop and grow them.

Talibah Young Veverly always knew she was meant to be a healer. When she was a child, her deep connection to the wide-open starry skies of Missouri nights made her feel like she was a part of something much greater. The vast forests around her home also echoed this sentiment. As an adult, she’s had countless synchronicities that have reminded her that she was indeed meant to be a healer.

There was the time in 2002 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento when a lady began shouting to her across the room, “You’re a healer!” She hurriedly came over to Talibah, put her hands on her shoulders, looked her in the eyes, and said “I’m a minister’s wife and I can see Jesus in your face. You’re meant to do healing work.” Then she just walked away, leaving Talibah in shock!

Then one time she had an astrological reading, where she was told “You need to write a book. When are you going to write it? You’re a master healer, and that’s the only way people are going to know who you are.” Lastly, Talibah mentioned the time she was at the Agape International center, waiting to meet Lisa Nichols, the author of the best-selling book The Secret. Out of nowhere, someone came up to her and said, “One day this will be a line that we’ll all be standing in to sign your book.”

Courtney Long’s journey to SWIHA was, well, long. Her journey began back in 2002, while she was working as a social worker in Michigan. She was helping adults with Alzheimer’s, dementia, serious mental illnesses, developmental disabilities and traumatic injuries. While she loved to help people, the job was mentally and spiritually exhausting, and never quite felt like her true calling. While in Michigan Courtney starting hearing of this new thing called Life Coaching, yet the timing wasn’t ever quite right to do anything about it.

Alexis Holland (who also goes by her soul name Wayah) is a soul that’s wise beyond her years. As a graduate from SWIHA’s 800 hour Yoga Teacher Training, Life Coaching and Polarity programs, she recently launched herself (and her amazingly adorable coyote/husky pup Kiya!) on an adventerous sound–healing tour, bouncing around to various yoga studios throughout the Southwest, camping out wherever there were tall trees and a patch of Mama Earth to hold them both. In our interview, Alexis shared her journey pre- and- post SWIHA, what inspires her, and how she moved through things like fear, doubt and resistance while following her dreams.

Tell us a little bit about your journey to SWIHA. What led you here, and what did you end up graduating with?

Surprisingly enough, my journey to SWIHA began with love. An emmense love for myself, and a true love I stumbled upon along a cross country journey to discover who I really was, and who I was becoming. My interest for the healing arts had been growing already for a long time. I was blessed with these brilliant seeds of knowledge at a very young age by people of all walks of life with one thread in common – freedom, health and art. As I began my ‘spirit walk’ of discovery, I found myself in the depths of the playa in Black Rock City, Neveda at a celebration for the freedom of expression known as ‘Burning Man.’ It was there that I met a man that changed my life in the way that I view love and passion today. He told me all about his experience with SWIHA, and I was hooked. A place where I could learn everything that I could possibly dream of doing? SOLD. Sitting in a parking lot in Santa Cruz, CA, I made the decision and I began driving to Phoenix, AZ for a new life, a new beginning, and a risk I was willing to take.

Dear One, are you like me? Do you sometimes get stuck creatively? Although these blocks can be crippling, fear not! We (you and I) are going to get through this, and here’s how:

1. Try to figure out what’s stoppin’ you

At the core of creative blocks of any kind, I usually find some kind of deeply rooted belief that we don’t deserve to create the life we desire. Somehow a crazy, non-serving thought slips into our head that we’re not good enough, smart enough, driven enough, talented enough, gifted enough. The list goes on. Personally speaking, I’ve struggled with this a lot in the past, whether it was my fear of not being a good enough writer/singer/musician/artist . . . you name it, just fill in the blank ____________! What have you not felt ‘good enough’ about?

The fear of failure (and of greatness) lurks perpetually around the corner, waiting for us to confront it, for us to tell it off, for us to own up to the fact that, YES, we do deserve to be the creators of our destiny! Many times we simply need to acknowledge our fears and recognize that being afraid is perfectly normal. Instead of viewing fear as some big scary monster, one strategy is to befriend our fears, or at least persist on in spite of their existence!

As a recent or former graduate of SWIHA, I’m sure you can attest to the growing pains you’ve experienced upon leaving school, suddenly tasked with building your own business or practice from the ground up. Of course, you have all of your accumulated wisdom, teachings, experiences, healings, lessons, trials and tribulations to lean on from your time at SWIHA. So what do you do when you get stuck, unmotivated, or caught up in fear and doubt around moving forward? When you hit those imaginary, yet oh-so-real walls? When you just want to give up your path, lay in bed and just binge watch Netflix until your next incarnation (isn’t that how Buddha did it)?

The mind can create a million different ways in which you can fail. We’ve all been there, and some of you might be in that space currently. If you’re not, read on, as I’m sure you’ll gain something from this article. Wherever you’re at, love it, since if you’re feeling it, you’re healing it! This week, I wanted to focus on the importance of balancing and clearing our chakras, and how each chakra blockage corresponds to a certain set of emotions, physical pains and states of dis-ease. I’m sure some of you have seen this information before, so treat this as a refresher if that’s the case. By slowing down, and becoming aware of where we are experiencing certain pains or emotions in our physical and energetic body, we can accept them, work with them, and ultimately heal, moving through whatever so called wall, stuck-ness or resistance we were dancing with before!