SWIHA Blog

What do we do after experiencing a tragedy? How do we come back from a major setback? Is there hope after living a life of self-destruction and despair? Is it possible to heal and move forward in a positive direction after our deepest hurts? By taking the initiative to make positive changes, to let go, and to say ‘yes’ to transformation and growth, we can connect with our truest self, and spare ourselves even more suffering.

Ask Loren Evans what the greatest lesson he has learned in his 22 years at SWIHA, and he’ll tell you this: “The Universe will never present an opportunity that we are not prepared for.” While he may not have envisioned becoming an instructor at SWIHA or a well-traveled massage therapist, it was a journey and an opportunity that he was certainly ready to seize.

Loren was introduced to massage therapy through his former wife, who had suggested that the pair sign up for a community education massage class close to home in Salt Lake City, Utah. At the time, Loren was employed as a software designer for healthcare companies. This demanding career took him far and wide across the United States— and even internationally to places like India, where he helped complete a project involving open system design.

In 2008, Natalie McGovern met a woman who, in retrospect, seems to have been an angel…

“I was working at a psychiatric hospital, and I was in my 90-day grace period when the hospital decided whether or not I was a good fit,” she shares. “I was on psychiatric medications myself, so I knew what it felt like when interactions with the drugs were going wrong. In a couple of the small groups, patients were complaining about side effects. I told them to talk to their doctor and that they had a right to NOT take the medications that weren’t working for them. My employer didn’t like that, and I was very quickly let go…”

Karen Baker is no stranger to the ins and outs of holistic wellness. Before enrolling in the Associate Degree in Holistic Healthcare at SWIHA, Karen had managed to complete several continuing education classes, a certification in Complex Decongestive Physiotherapy and Lymphatic Drainage Therapy, and a 1000-hour massage therapy degree. Yet, with all this experience and academic prowess under her belt, was she done learning? No way!

Last week, we introduced you to three simple, fast methods for making homemade condiments for your vegan cookout. This week, we’re going to show you how to swap out your traditional burger for a better, meatless option that honors the principles of holistic nutrition.

Ask Loren Evans what the greatest lesson he has learned in his 22 years at SWIHA, and he’ll tell you this: “The Universe will never present an opportunity that we are not prepared for.” While he may not have envisioned becoming an instructor at SWIHA or a well-traveled massage therapist, it was a journey and an opportunity that he was certainly ready to seize.

Loren was introduced to massage therapy through his former wife, who had suggested that the pair sign up for a community education massage class close to home in Salt Lake City, Utah. At the time, Loren was employed as a software designer for healthcare companies. This demanding career took him far and wide across the United States— and even internationally to places like India, where he helped complete a project involving open system design.

Picture this: your vegan veggie burger is sizzling on the grill. Your buns, purchased fresh from a local bakery, are toasted and ready to go. Crisp lettuce and juicy tomatoes are standing by, waiting to be layered on top. You go to the fridge to retrieve your condiments, only to recoil in horror once you turn over the plastic bottles and inspect their labels… What the heck is food dye doing in your hot sauce? And since when does your vegan ranch dressing have so much sugar?

When Pam Field moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1999, she was determined to do one thing: bring science to the art of massage. While she already has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and had taught at a massage therapy school in Kansas City, Missouri, for 17 years, she was on the hunt for a new school—one that could help build on her current knowledge base to further refine her technique and teach her new information.

“When I found SWIHA, I was delighted at the quality and diversity of classes that it offered,” she discloses. “The school was forwarding-thinking when it came to health education.” As it would turn out, SWIHA had an equal appreciation for what Pam brought to the massage table, and she was asked to come on board as an instructor. Now, after 33 years of work and study, Pam teaches the Myofascial Energetic Massage program at SWIHA—and she’s still focused more than ever on making the myofascial approach as effective as possible. “I believe I can make my intent more appropriate in the executing of technique,” she says. “Intent causes the energy to flow toward the goal of the work.”  

We all know what the classic American breakfast looks like: eggs fried sunny side-up, a pile of crispy bacon, a side of hash browns, and white toast smothered in butter or jam. For those with extra big appetites, a plate of pancakes drowning in goopy syrup might just be served alongside it. Toss in a cup (or two!) of cream- or milk-laden, super sweetened coffee, and the meal is made complete. 

In the 1990s, Victoria Boutenko and her family found themselves in deteriorating health. Victoria was coping with the same heart arrhythmia which had killed her father, as well as severely swollen legs and mounting obesity. Igor, her husband, was suffering from progressive hyperthyroidism, chronic rheumatoid arthritis, and facing down a prognosis that he would die within a matter of months if his thyroid gland was not removed. Their children, Valya and Sergai, were respectively born with asthma and juvenile type 1 diabetes.

“After crying through an entire night, I decided that we had to take different action if we wanted get different results,” to Victoria explains on her website. “That was when we started to try various healing modalities and eventually arrived at the idea of becoming raw foodists…