SWIHA Blog

Sometimes, the journey leads us to a destination we never could have expected. For Nickole Swensen, it was that unanticipated curve in the path that led her to her true purpose: a life of healing, though certainly not as she had planned it...

“I originally went to SWIHA to study holistic nutrition,” Nickole confides. “I was fascinated with the way food impacts our bodies and wanted to share my love of food with future clients. I was really interested in learning more about ways to heal and help others that would use all the elements—mind, body, and spirit.”

Yet, it was in the midst of her nutritional studies in SWIHA’s Mind-Body Wellness program that Nickole learned about auriculotherapy for the first time. Immediately, she was hooked. “I found it amazingly powerful, so I started using it on myself and my family,” she says. “The energy and knowledge that instructor Cheryl Speen brought to my auriculotherapy class was unbelievable. I actually loved her class so much that I took it twice—just for fun!”

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Before SWIHA, Carrie Guthrie-Gray was doing a job that would frighten most people to death: drawing blood. As a phlebotomist working for the same company for 15 years, she had great pay, great bonuses, and paid time off. Yet, despite the nobility of performing a service that is critical to the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions, Carrie found herself bored by performing the same task day-in and day-out with little variation.

“When working in the medical field, you are only allowed to spend a certain amount of time with each patient,” Carrie reflects. “It was like moving cattle. I was unable to connect with people, or if I did connect with someone, I had to usher them out of the room shortly after. When I worked in the oncology department, there were many occasions when I was the first person that the patient saw after being diagnosed with cancer, and they would literally start bawling in my chair. I wanted to spend more time with them. I wanted to listen and hold space for them, yet I wasn’t able to do it in that setting. It broke my heart. It was draining the life out of me to be so pulled to hold space, yet not allowed to do so.”

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When the student is ready… a book may just jump off the shelf and change her view on the world! 

That’s exactly what happened for Saori Mayumi— one of the most successful Toe Readers and Toe Reading Teachers in Japan. Toe Reading wasn’t something Saori was looking for at all; in fact, as is often the case when the Universe has unexpected plans for you, Toe Reading seemed to find her!

Saori was at a bookstore when she just happened to see a copy of KC Miller’s Toe Reading – Are You Walking Your Destined Path? that had been translated in to Japanese. Remembering the moment when she first picked up the book, Saori says, “I didn’t mean to read it, yet it was there, right in front of my eyes! There was also a leaflet announcing that KC was going to have a special seminar in Japan. I read the book and went to see her at the seminar. There was no doubt in my mind that Toe Reading would be a big part of my destiny!”

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The word "sucks" isn't exactly eloquent; however, it does describe my message perfectly, so please excuse the uncouth nature of the word!

The real reason I'm using the word at all comes from an experience my brother had a couple of years ago when he was diagnosed with Beckett cancer, a rare form of carcinoma. On a cold snowy day at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Minneapolis, he sat with an oncologist to receive the news of exactly how rare his type of cancer was and its aggressive nature. My brother reflected on this information--sitting for a few moments upon hearing the shocking news, closing his eyes, taking a really, really deep breath, and then simply saying, "Well that sucks! What's the plan?"

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On June 8^th, 2011, Helen Hurry was diagnosed with Stage-3 breast cancer. It was advanced and aggressive. “I experienced a bi-lateral mastectomy, chemo, radiation, a full hysterectomy, and numerous reconstructive surgeries. All of this spanned over a three-year time period.” After this grueling process, she began to look into holistic modalities and energy work, both of which eventually helped her to heal. “Once my personal battle was coming to an end,” shared Helen, “…I decided that the world needed these modalities. I enrolled at SWIHA and it completely changed my life.”

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