SWIHA Blog

Tami Sharp excels at seeing past people’s stories and emotions, right to the crux of what is going on beneath the surface. For most of her life, she was very good at hitting people’s nerves in order to get them into the healing work. She had a very impactful and ‘no- nonsense’ way of getting into the core of the matter. However, she lacked the skill set to be able to get to these same results through a more gentle, less abrasive way.  “My old way of helping people move forward in their story usually involved some sort of angry falling out where we would go a certain amount of time without speaking.  I had grown used to this process and knew I had done my part when I got a strong backlash response and they needed the time to process. All of the people I encountered in these instances did come back around into my life with a new found awareness and understanding of themselves and confirmed that what I had said was correct. They just weren’t in a place to understand or receive it at that time. If my delivery had been less cut throat, then I am sure their response would have been much more accepting.” 

Loree Bischoff had always been intrigued with what causes people to think a certain way, what makes them tick and what motivates them to do the things they do. “I’ve also always loved helping others so in 2007 I, along with my sister, developed a special event called ‘Motherhood Redefined’, a weekend seminar for mothers that ended up being very successful. My sister and I noticed that most of the mothers we knew were really struggling on some level with the balance – or lack of it – in their lives. We saw this great need for moms to have access to new tools and strategies for having a more balanced and fulfilling life.” The weekend event consisted of speakers, interactive workshops, and fun. At the time, Loree wasn’t familiar with life coaching as a profession, yet one of the speakers she had hired for the Motherhood Redefined event happened to be a life coach who specialized in working with mothers. It was then she knew that she really wanted to begin her own private coaching practice. So she picked the brain of the life coach she’d hired, looking for recommendations for training. One of the places she suggested Loree check out was the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA).

Reine Matthews was diagnosed with Lyme disease four years ago and decided to treat it naturally. Having felt and seen firsthand how taking the natural holistic route really worked and helped inspired her to share it with others so they, too, can find health and wellness inside and out. “I researched holistic schools online and found Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) and it just felt like a perfect fit for what I wanted to do and learn.” She went on to study Mind- Body Transformational Psychology specializing in Holistic Nutrition, Urban Farming, and Life Coaching.

Stephen Hubbell says he was drawn to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) due to his curiosity in exploring the healing arts, and he was on a spiritual adventure! He elaborated by saying, “My adventure’s purpose was to find a way to bring my spiritual relationship more fluently into the physical world in an applicable way to help and heal people, as well as myself. I was most interested in the Polarity Therapy program at SWIHA when I first found out what Polarity Therapy was.” He went on to graduate from the 750-hour Massage Therapy program, in which he was certified in Massage Therapy, as well as in Polarity Therapy. “SWIHA has been a huge part of my transformation.”

As far as massage goes, Stephen continues to stay focused on studying and applying for his massage license in the state of California. He plans on combining massage, polarity, and astrology together to form the perfect business trine. In the meantime, he really enjoys giving his friends short massage sessions to help them feel better. He is currently doing astrology readings for both individual and couples sessions.  “I enjoy working with clients on a longer term basis. For example, it’s awesome to work with someone for three months at a time so that I can really help people free up their minds and their lives for more enjoyment, love, pleasure, etc.”  To supplement his energy work, he is currently working at Camp Cedar Glen, which has awesome programs like archery and rock climbing, and there he helps maintain the grounds and campsites and enjoys being immersed in nature!

Kara Schaal had been feeling led to go back to school and she knew she wanted to do something holistic. She just wasn’t sure exactly what path to take. A friend recommended checking out the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). After researching different programs and talking to one of the guidance counselors, Kara felt that SWIHA was the best fit for her to begin her journey!

Noushin Mazlaghani admits that it was life’s challenges that brought her to study at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). “More than 8 years ago, when I had my first massage, I was at the lowest point in my life.” She was divorcing after 27 years, grieving for her dad's death, recovering from two major surgeries, and dealing with an empty nest. “I experienced total relaxation and freedom from all my anxieties during my massage, and I had complete peace. This experience totally shifted my life, and I committed myself to bring this peace to others.”

This transformational experience led Noushin to go on and graduate from both the Massage Therapy Professional Massage Practitioner 750-hour program and the Polarity Associate Polarity Practitioner 200-hour program. “After graduating in 2010, as a licensed Cranial Massage Therapist and Polarity Practitioner, I opened my own center to be at service to others.” This center is called the De Language Healing Arts and it is located in Scottsdale, AZ. It is here that she serves her clients with the unique combination of the modalities of Cranial Therapy and Polarity. There are no other Polarity clinics around other than the one on the SWIHA campus. The mission of her center is for clients to experience serenity. “My practice is all about YOU experiencing total health and freedom in your own body. We look at your body in a deeper context as just a structure, we explore the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical aspect of your being together, for a tranquility and vibrant experience of yourSELF in all areas of your life that are most important to YOU.”

After moving to Phoenix as a Supervisor/Analyst in the Federal Government, Tammy Coin received a massage from a graduate of the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, who told her about the school. Soon after, Tammy decided to enroll and subsequently graduated from the Mind-Body Wellness Practitioner  program. During this time, she learned how to finally integrate all the pieces of herself, unearthing her identity and the WHAT to go with her WHY. “I have known my WHY for being on this earth for a very long time. I just didn't know the WHAT that was going to bring it together. I entered the program with a Masters in Human Relations Counseling. The Mind-Body Wellness Practitioner program helped me pull the rest of my pieces together.” The tools she has learned on this journey have been the gift that helped her to finally connect the teachings of her life.  This gift, ultimately led her to start her own business. 

The Doors of Wellness, LLC is Tammy's business. She is using the experience, expertise and education of her life to help other people find their own door of wellness. “I believe that stuck emotions are at the root cause of physical illness, mental illness, addictions, weight issues, relationship challenges, loss of sense of self-worth and spiritual disconnect.  I'm truly passionate about the Mind-Body Connection.” She describes herself as a Life Strategist, Mind-Body Wellness Practitioner & Trauma and/or Abuse Recovery Coach focusing on the unhealed emotions at the root of her clients obstacles. She offers many tools and modalities to her clients.  

A desire to learn healing arts, to refine the skills she already had, and to give her some new ones is exactly what brought Connie Gensamer to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). Truly, she has always been on the path to healing work, however in early in 2014, she was introduced to a modality called The Reconnection by Eric Pearl. “I read his books and then had the process done. My feet were reconnected to the earth and my crown chakra reconnected to the cosmos as a way of reclaiming who I was and my life purpose. After the process, I really didn’t know if things had shifted, yet three months later, I was looking for a school to teach me how to help people heal, and I found SWIHA.”

Over ten years ago, Juan Te Daily remembers hearing about Life Coaching on one of her favorite TV shows and how coaches help their clients navigate through life’s many challenges. She grew up in her own challenges of South Central, Los Angeles and knew the ways of the ghetto from an early age. Watching friends and family deal with drug addictions and financial trouble, she remained motivated to stay on a more responsible and healthy path. Seeing her older brother strung out, laying in the streets saddened her, and Juan Te attributes much of her empathetic nature to these memories. So when she heard there was a profession of supporting people in a way that enriches their lives, she thought she’d look into it. She found Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) online and even wrote down the information on Life Coaching. It was more than ten years later that she held that paper again.