SWIHA Blog

Many people think they can’t meditate. Maybe it’s not that they can’t meditate, rather the way they have been instructed to meditate doesn’t resonate with their Soul!

In the past, much of what was taught about meditation came from a restrictive mindset, often couched in needing to be more disciplined or committed to be a good yogi or person.

Restrictive meditation is a form of meditation where concentration is emphasized and epitomized. One is to focus on a singular object to the exclusion of all other thoughts. It can almost be described as the “sit down-shut up-suck up” approach to meditation. Clearing the mind of all thoughts is the guiding edict. And while the goal is to really experience whatever you are focusing on, whether it's your breath, a specific word, or a mantra in order to reach a higher state of being, the result is often a feeling of defeat because total concentration is almost impossible for most of us.

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Topics: Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, SWIHA, Mindfulness, Self-care, Guided meditation, Holistic Healing, Meditation, Yoga Teacher Training, yoga, Arizona, YTT, Yogi, Holistic Education, Mindset, Soul-care, Invitational Meditation, Soul

There is a story told of a guru who was approached by many people wanting to know the secrets of manifestation. He closed his eyes, and so did those saying they were seeking wisdom. The yogi took a deep breath, as did those waiting. After what seemed to be a long time, the wise man opened his eyes and said, “If you want pears, plant pear seeds!” With that, he descended the mountain, leaving some to understand, while many only mumbled in their confusion.

The first Friday in September of 2019, over 300 people gathered to listen to Yogi Amrit Desai, one of the few remaining living yoga masters who originally brought over the authentic teachings of yoga in the early 1960’s. Nine years before his arrival, the seeds were planted!

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Topics: Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, spirituality, SWIHA, Amrit Desai, Yoga Teacher Training, yoga nidra, Gifts and Graces, Yoga Sutras, yoga, Arizona, YTT, Spiritual, community, Yogi, Yoga studio, yoga teacher, Manifestation, Amrit Institute, New Years Resolution, Amrit, Yoga Practice, Divine Timing

Have you seen the holiday meme that says “Deck the Halls” and in a finer font “…just don’t deck your relatives?” As funny as the meme is meant to be, for some families, the holidays can be intense times where conflict and chaos abound. Calling a truce might be exactly what’s needed.

A favorite holiday story is that of Silent Night and the truce it brought. As the legend is told, there were two countries at war during the Christmas season. Both countries celebrated the tradition of Christmas by singing Silent Night in their own native tongues.

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Topics: Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, SWIHA, Holistic Healing, Reiki, Holistic wellness, Arizona, Christmas, Holidays, Holistic Education, Holiday Season, Truce, Transform, Silent Night, Peace, Calm, Honor, Grace, War Treaty, Deck The Halls

G-IVE GRATITUDE A TRY

Gratitude has always been familiar to me; basically, I’ve been a pretty happy-go-lucky person my whole life. By nature, I’m an optimist! As a longtime student of A Course in Miracles, I consciously choose to be “miracle ready” which means choosing to be in a state of gratitude and readiness as a daily practice. An “attitude of gratitude” was fully reinforced during my travels to India.

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Topics: Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, Kamini Desai, Gratitude, SWIHA, Mindfulness, KC Miller, Yoga Teacher Training, yoga nidra, Spirit, Holistic wellness, yoga, Arizona, India, Holistic Education, Amrit Institute, Thanksgiving, Gratitude Journal, Amrit Yoga, Grateful, Blessings, Blessons, Wisdom

For over 20 years Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) has been offering a 200-hour yoga alliance approved yoga teacher training under the banner of “Unity Yoga”. Students are encouraged to find their own authentic expression of yoga, with an emphasis on cueing safe, anatomically correct asana-based studio classes. We’ve successfully graduated hundreds of students over the years that have found their own voices and adapted what they’ve learned into compelling and creative studio classes that they offer all across the country.

As we have sought to enrich our Advanced Yoga Teacher offerings we have begun to focus on the deeper aspects of yoga including meditation in the form of Yoga Nidra —a guided yogic sleep system refined by Kamini Desai, PhD.

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Topics: Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, Mind Body Wellness, SWIHA, Certified Yoga Teacher, 200 Hour Yoga Training, Guided meditation, Advanced Yoga Training, Meditation, KC Miller, Yoga Teacher Training, yoga nidra, Breathing Techniques, yoga, YTT, spirit of yoga, Namaste, chakras, Wellness Industry, Amrit Institute, Yoga Philosophy, Postures of Consciousness, Amrit Yoga, Amrit, Meditation in Motion

For SWIHA graduate Michael Anthony Suszczynski, St Patrick’s Day is the anniversary he left the corporate world and began to recognize his ability to manifest what he wanted. A few years back he asked the Universe for help to leave his secure job doing IT recruiting of almost 10 years in exchange for the “real work" for which he had deep passion. The next day Michael went into work and was laid off completely out of the blue. He was momentarily taken aback, and was surprised at how upset his co-workers were for him. After he caught his breath, he realized he has manifested exactly what he had asked for.

Michael reflects, “Being freed from my job that day, on St Patrick’s Day, I now consider it St. Freedom and Faith in Me Day. I asked Spirit for something with childlike passion and it showed up incredibly fast. It was such a beautifully alive moment for me," he continues, "The more I have come to have faith in myself and my conversations with the Universe, the more I am able to manifest into my life.”

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Topics: Recipe, Healthy Eating Tips, Nutrition Coach, Raw Foods

With deep sadness, we as a community honored one of our recent graduates, Edwin “Bud” Sims. He passed from this earth the evening of Father’s Day. While Bud was a big, bold, beautiful black man, it was the size and availability of his heart that stood out as his most defining feature.

“Bud had one of the biggest hearts ever!” was the most consistent and prevalent comment made when people learned the news of his unexpected death due to congenital heart failure.

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Topics: Great Graduates, Gifts and Graces, black lives matter, Scholarships

‘Happy Father’s Day’ does not always seem to fit for some people who had less than an ‘A+’ experience with their fathers.  The ‘A’ often stands of Abusive, Abandonment, or Awfully-emotionally-unavailable.

Long ago, I learned to celebrate the lessons my father gifted me as a child of an Alcoholic father.  Yes, I have an overdeveloped sense of responsibility; yes, I highly prefer to be ‘in control’, and yes, I tend to ‘do it myself’ because I can predict the results.  While I have had to learn to temper and refined all these qualities I inherited as a result of who my father was, in the end, they have served me well.

The last lesson my father taught me has most shaped my life.  It is the importance of being able to imagine. 

My father’s birthday was June 13 and often fell on Father’s Day.  In late December, 20 years ago, my father had just returned from an AA meeting with a burning desire to work the 5^th & 8^th steps:

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Topics: spiritual Studies, Happy Father's Day, Celebrate Your Dad, Forgiveness, AA, Alocholics Anonymous, Natural Healing, Chose Your Father

It has often been said, one of the worst mistakes a leader can make is to do too little in a time of crisis.  While wearing a mask has been something I was hesitant to commit to due to my personal traumas with having my face covered, the time has come for me ... for SWIHA ...to do more to help prevent the widespread increase of coronavirus infections in Arizona.

As of Friday, June 19, 2020 SWIHA will require Face Coverings (e.g., masks, cloth face covering, face shield, etc.) to be worn by staff, instructors, and students when entering the building, walking in the hallways, shopping in the bookstore, and in any communal areas until safe physical distancing can be established within the classrooms.

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Topics: Covid-19, Masks, Physical Distancing, Prevention of COVID

Using hashtags, also known as the pound sign (#), is a way to create and collect like-minded communication or influence. The little tic-tac-toe looking symbols are used regularly by millions of social media users to turn phrases and words into searchable links. A hashtag is used to unite posts about specific topics and collect those who want to participate in the meaningful conversations wherever they are in the world.

Hashtags are effective. They can be traced back to 2007, to resident of San Diego, California who started appending all his posts with the #sandiegofire. It was intended to inform people worldwide about the ongoing wildfires in the area at the time. His ability to gather people in unity and curiosity was quickly noted by communication and marketing experts.

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Topics: Racism, allies, conscious community, black lives matter, bipoc