SWIHA Blog

Those who know me know that my journey into yoga started very late in life. While I had always had an interest in yoga, I usually ended up feeling disheartened whenever I’d venture to an actual class. Time after time, I’d find myself in the same chaotic environment: a room full of sweaty people jumping through the poses at lightning speed while an instructor stood at the front of the room, barking out the moves like a drill sergeant! Leaving the studio after these experiences, I’d wind up feeling uneasy with the same thought plaguing me the whole journey home: “Well, that was not what I expected...”

As a yoga teacher, part of my preparation for each class is to come up with a focus or intention for the practice. This is typically offered through some sort of inspirational reading or compelling offering. My inspiration for the intention or focus for my classes is usually around something that I am currently working on in my life.

I figure, how can I ask my students to work on something if I am not working on it myself?

In the past, I tried surfing the net to find things to inspire me and was not having great success. So I started to search for inspirational quotes to use as my muse. This has proven to be very successful in putting together an offering for my yoga classes. The quotes and readings I use to open my yoga or meditation sessions are becoming so effective that students come up to me after class and ask for a copy of my offering. In fact, this happened recently as I facilitated a guided mediation for my fellow co -workers.

The guided meditation was inspired by a quote that I came across by Nick Vujicik, an Australian Christian evangelist and motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs.

By Will Zecco, Guest Blogger and SWIHA Success Center Manager

There are many aspects to the job that I do at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). The most rewarding is my role as mentor and coach for the graduates, helping them pursue their dreams and offer their gifts and graces to the world in profitable way.

It is my honor to support these individuals from the early stages of their business development and guide them toward entrepreneurial success. This process is always an interesting and eye opening experience because each one is very unique in their chosen path.

The most rewarding part of this is watching the transformation from being scared and overwhelmed at the thought of starting a business, to the point where they spread their wings and soar. For some this is a slow and possibly arduous process, with many starts and stops; things sometimes become stuck and just never seem to launch. I often tell my graduates, the challenges to build and grow a business are the same no matter what the business is. How do we take a product or service and turn it into a profitable business? It takes more than just a great idea; it takes imagination and perseverance to become successful.

It is seeing the success stories happen that makes my job so rewarding. Knowing that I was able to be a source of support to help these things happen is what makes my soul sing!