SWIHA Blog

For over 20 years Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) has been offering a 200-hour yoga alliance approved yoga teacher training under the banner of “Unity Yoga”. Students are encouraged to find their own authentic expression of yoga, with an emphasis on cueing safe, anatomically correct asana-based studio classes. We’ve successfully graduated hundreds of students over the years that have found their own voices and adapted what they’ve learned into compelling and creative studio classes that they offer all across the country.

As we have sought to enrich our Advanced Yoga Teacher offerings we have begun to focus on the deeper aspects of yoga including meditation in the form of Yoga Nidra —a guided yogic sleep system refined by Kamini Desai, PhD.

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Topics: Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, Mind Body Wellness, SWIHA, Certified Yoga Teacher, 200 Hour Yoga Training, Guided meditation, Advanced Yoga Training, Meditation, KC Miller, Yoga Teacher Training, yoga nidra, Breathing Techniques, yoga, YTT, spirit of yoga, Namaste, chakras, Wellness Industry, Amrit Institute, Yoga Philosophy, Postures of Consciousness, Amrit Yoga, Amrit, Meditation in Motion

1. When choosing a Yoga Teacher Training program, it’s important you choose a program recognized by reputable licensing or a credential is involved is so that when you present yourself for employment your training will be recognized.

Yoga Alliance (YA) is the largest independent organized credentials body available in the world. Their standards for a Yoga Teacher Training facility include:

• Has a definite, pre-defined curriculum with competencies and sub-competencies that meet Yoga Alliance’s standards;
• Offers a training program that is taught by experienced yoga teachers who are qualified to train others to become yoga teachers; and
• Offers a consistent approach that supports authenticity of lineage, style, or methodology, rather than a survey of different approaches.

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Topics: Certified Yoga Teacher, Yoga for Recovery, Yoga 200 Hour Training, yoga, I AM Yoga

When Gila Shire moved to Phoenix in 1997 after serving as a nurse in Germany for 14 years, little did she know that she would eventually end up teaching Prenatal Yoga at SWIHA. Once here, however, she made the bold decision to become a Certified Massage Therapist through SWIHA and build her own private practice. 

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Topics: Certified Yoga Teacher, Certified Massage Therapist, Yoga Teacher Training, Prenatal yoga, Restorative Yoga, Yin Yoga

Tiffany DeLancy does not quite remember how she originally heard of Southwest Institute of Arts (SWIHA), yet she does know that it was her interest in becoming a yoga instructor that was the original reason for attending the school. She went on to enroll in and graduate from the Yoga Teacher Training 600-hour program with Aromatherapy and Hypnotherapy as her electives.

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Topics: aromatherapy, SWIHA, Certified Yoga Teacher, Yoga Teacher Training, Hypnotherapy, yoga teacher training 600 hour program

Becci Rusinko was searching for a flexible Yoga Teacher Training program that she could do in the evenings and found the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts’ (SWIHA) YTT program.

She initially graduated in April of 2011 with her 200 hour YTT certificate. Then she came back in October of 2011 and completed her 800 hour yoga therapist program, which included holistic nutrition certificate.

Throughout the program at SWIHA, Becci felt that almost every class was her favorite and filled with so much valuable information. “I learned so much that I use daily in all of my classes.”

She felt that she had such fantastic teachers that taught her so much. “My most memorable teachers would be Dr. Henele and Dr. Mahdi and Chef Rachel from the nutrition program and Mary Bruce from the yoga program.”

The knowledge that Becci felt to be the most valuable was to be authentic to her true self and not to try and be someone who she isn't. Becci said, “I hold that so close to my heart every day.”

There was a part of Becci’s life when she was in search of the right thing and she re-found yoga.  “Not only did yoga help cure my physically, it also improved my mentality and made me a different/better person.” After a few years of practice, she looked back at her old self and saw how incredibly different she was. “I decided I needed to share with others what had changed me into such an amazingly different person.” Her passion for sharing yoga comes from having total faith and love for the whole practice. She loves knowing how yoga can help anyone who is open to allow it to transform their life.

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Topics: yoga therapy, Holistic Nutrition, yoga, Certified Yoga Teacher, yoga therapist, Yoga Teacher Training, Yoga for Runners, Yoga 200 Hour Training

When it comes to discovering Southwest Institute for Healing Arts (SWIHA), Antonieta Hensley has Google to thank! “After I saw all the courses, programs, and classes they offered, I was sold. It sounded like a temple or a mystery school available in the states and I knew it was calling for me before I ever stepped foot on the school grounds.”

Antonieta graduated from the 600-hour Mind Body Wellness Practitioner program. She also went through the Yoga Teaching Training, Transformational Life Coaching, and Hypnotherapy programs. She went on to share how her time at SWIHA dramatically changed her life for the better:

“The laws of attraction, eastern philosophies, energetic body healing, taboo subjects, and spirituality have always fascinated me. But that is only about 10% of what the school has to offer. It surpasses your expectations on both what you can learn and whom you can meet. There is no need to search for a guru in India or Thailand. With SWIHA you can become your OWN guru.”

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Topics: Sound Healing, Mindful Breathing, self love, Become a Hypnotherapist, Hypnotherapist, Blog, Car Yoga, Mind Body Wellness, Certified Hypnotherapist, yoga, Certified Yoga Teacher, Meditation, Lightworker, Reiki, Yoga Teacher Training, Hypnotherapy