SWIHA Blog

Everyone remembers their first love. For Audrey Washington, that love was massage therapy.

In 2007, with eleven years of massage and entrepreneurial experience under her belt, Audrey moved to Phoenix, Arizona, from Detroit, Michigan, to start her own massage business, ALW Massage Therapy. Once in Phoenix, she found that she preferred to hire graduates of SWIHA’s Massage Program to work as Licensed Massage Therapists on her staff. Although she was not yet formally acquainted with the school, she could tell that the curriculum taught there was strong. “They had more knowledge of anatomy, as well as the ability to do energy work and follow their intuition when working with clients,” she says. “I trusted the school and how they trained their LMTs.”

Avocadoes: you know them, you love them, and you devour them all the time… probably in the form of guacamole! Indeed, avocadoes are all the rage in the United States, an epicurean trend which has led to the American consumption of over 4 billion avocados a year. The vast majority of these come directly from 30,000 avocado orchards covering 275,000 acres in Mexico, which is the top exporter of the fruit to American vendors.

Creamy, sweet, and utterly delicious, avocados offer a distinct flavor of their own while still managing to be mild enough to compliment other food combinations. They’re also one of the best-loved superfoods known to the western world. Packed with vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and healthy fats, they can work wonders for your blood sugar, cholesterol, digestive system, and nutrient absorption. 

In 2003, Jason Zelich and his future wife, Kerri, were living out what some might describe as a dreamlike existence in Paris, France. Surrounded by glorious architecture, ample art, and a foodie’s paradise, they were both pursuing successful careers in the international fashion industry. Yet, this lifestyle still wasn’t quite as satisfying as either of them had hoped it would be—at least not in the long-term. With a passion for holistic wellness and a desire to bring people together, both started dreaming of something new…

Together, Kerri and Jason decided to make the move to Tempe, Arizona to fulfill Kerri’s dream to study therapeutic massage and energy work at SWIHA. She graduated with her degree—as well as certifications as a Master Massage and Bodywork Practitioner, a Registered Polarity Practitioner, and a Cranial-Sacral Practitioner—a mere two years later. Motivated by Kerri’s commitment to promoting health and vitality, as well as his own background in the world of sports injuries, Jason followed suit shortly thereafter and enrolled in SWIHA’s 750 Hour Massage Therapy Program.

Crystal Valentina Price knows that personal growth is a lifelong game—and, often, that game involves some pain. “They say that all suffering has a noble purpose,” she explains, “and it wasn’t until I was completely exhausted of being the victim of my own story that I truly stepped up into owning my story and creating my own reality.”

For Crystal, this process of letting go intersected with a new aspect of her identity: parenthood.  “When I became a mother, I felt like I had lost a sense of who I was and was really yearning to rediscover my sense of Self,” she reflects. Through her yoga practice and yoga teacher training, she was able to do just that: “I have realized through this practice that all we have to do is show up! Energetically holding space for ourselves and others has the power to heal!”

Many of us will agree that one of the best parts of Winter is getting to cozy up to a nice bowl of soup on a chilly evening. So, it’s too bad that it is far too hot to enjoy such a dinner on a summer night, right? Wrong!

A Lighter, Cooler Soup—And Diet!

If you have a craving for soup, yet don’t want to overheat or overindulge, look no further than The Plant-Based Diet Meal Plan: A 3-Week Kickstart Guide to Eat and Live Your Best. This tome—which is part instructional guide on the merits of becoming a vegan and part cookbook—was penned by Heather Nicholds Rhn, a Certified Holistic Nutritionist whose self-described mission is to help “newly minted vegans (or veg-curious) fully nourish their bodies so they have the energy to enjoy their lives.”

Ask Cameron Belanger for some words of advice, and she’ll simply tell you this: believe in the process.

It was believing in the process that first led her to embark on her healing journey. It was believing in the process that helped her survive an abusive relationship and learn to parent more resiliently as a result. And it was believing in the process that shifted her focus from a lengthy career as a public-school educator to a new entrepreneurial venture as the founder and owner of her own private practice, Peaceful Healing.

“Anything can be achieved and can continue to get better by practicing the process,” Cameron explains. “I have learned and practiced teaching, mothering, breathing, and pushing my body. Every day allows me to refine myself in my professional and personal life.”

You know the drill. It’s 8:00 AM and already 96°F, the sun is beating down mercilessly through your window, and you can’t remember a time before you woke up feeling like a pajama-clad puddle of perspiration…

Ah, yes, summer is here! And with it comes the best of times—dreamy sunsets, the smell of fresh-cut lawns, road trips to memorable locales—and the worst of times—like heat waves so abysmal they can make even the most enthusiastic Coppertone babies flee from the sight of the sun.

If you’re facing oppressive heat this summer, you may be tempted to lock yourself inside, crank the ceiling fan, and post up on your sofa with Netflix as your sole companion. Not so fast…  While summer IS the ultimate time for relaxation, try not to forget that a world exists outside your living room— a world just as scorched, sweltering, and sticky as you!

Spiritual awakenings don’t come easily. Just ask Stephanie Gangi, who in 2010 found herself facing exactly the kind of trauma that is so often the hallmark of emergence from a metaphysical slumber…

After a three-way car accident left her with a severe heart arrhythmia, anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. Stephanie was determined to eliminate the source of the emotional and physical chaos within her life. Although she had long been fascinated with the inner workings of the mind and the way that it dictates human behavior—even graduating in 2012 with bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Arizona State University—she felt that an intellectual approach was simply not comprehensive enough to resolve her distress.

For Nicole Fonovich, life was looking increasingly bleak. Born with two autoimmune diseases, a softball-sized fatty benign tumor between her shoulder blades, and a degenerative disc ailment, Nicole was struggling to tread the gray waters of her faltering health. Not only were her maladies causing her immense physical strife—including two surgeries on her lower back, another two surgeries to deal with the tumor, and a spinal fusion—they were also creating immense personal and emotional loss in the form of two miscarriages.

Thalia Ayres Randolph wants to set the record straight: she never set out to do any of this. Not the international travel, not being featured on one of the most popular reality television shows in America, not the dedicated work as a spiritual leader and teacher…

Exit, Stage Right

As a young woman pursuing a career in musical theatre in Toronto, Canada, Thalia was convinced that the performing arts were the foundation of her identity and would always serve as her path. Yet, performing on a professional level wasn’t exactly leaving her with a lasting sense of happiness, and she found herself pursuing solace through yoga and Reiki; as she strived toward the spotlight, her spiritual gifts were coming to light as well.