SWIHA Blog

Maureen Ihle has always been dedicated to helping people, and yet it wasn’t until she enrolled at SWIHA that she realized that doing so was her life’s purpose (INSERT: www.blog.swiha.edu/life-coaching-corner-are-you-brave-enough-to-be-an-entrepreneur). Maureen shared that before she firmly found her path at SWIHA, she was struggling both personally and professionally. It took clearing away some of those personal cobwebs to ultimately see where her path was leading her.

“I was working at a job that was very unsatisfying. I had gained 30 pounds the year before I enrolled and was at my highest weight ever. I didn’t know where I was going in my life, and I certainly had no idea of how I was going to get there. I knew I needed to do something different with my life, and I knew I wanted to help people, so I started looking at psychology programs. I looked at a lot of programs at other schools, and nothing seemed to quite fit until I found the program at SWIHA. As soon as I saw the program, I knew that this is what I needed to be doing with my life. I am so passionate about life coaching and helping other people find their purpose.”

As technology, the pharmaceutical industry, and our modern obsession with treating the symptoms rather than the roots of illness have continued to evolve over the years, we have increasingly found ourselves living in a world that has separated itself from the natural healing perspective. At one point in human history, we relied directly on the earth for our spiritual sustenance and our inherent understanding of the different types of healing energies that exist within the world. Now, in search of what will make us look or feel better, most of us turn to the “quickest fix” without giving any thought to what the consequences may be.

Think about the amount of time you spend either holding in emotions or apologizing for them. It’s a lot isn’t it? Our culture doesn’t exactly encourage public displays of emotion in all circumstances. Sure it’s moving when a public figure drops a tear while giving a powerful speech to the masses, although bursting into tears at the office can be seen as juvenile. Or worse…weak. The truth is that sensitivity is a great gift because it means that you’re an empath. What does that mean? That YOU are spiritually gifted.

If you’ve ever found yourself suddenly moved to tears in yoga class, you’re not alone. The sensation can be a little alarming if you’re not used to crying at the gym, however, rest assured that it’s a sign of good things happening. Our bodies tend to hold onto a lot of tension that’s both physical and emotional at its root. Just like our shoulders can tighten up when we’re hunched over the keyboard day after day, our hips can tighten up from emotional stress as well. Certain yoga poses unleash the tension and suddenly make you feel something that you haven’t felt in a while.

When you’re holding a yoga pose you’re often attempting to balance as well as stay strong and support your own body weight. (Our egos fight pretty hard to avoid being the person who topples over onto their mat.) These moves are using a variety of muscles at once, require concentrated breath, and also physically stretch us in new ways.