SWIHA Blog

For Bridgett Zehnder, finding her niche as a life coach came as an extension of the challenges she faced and overcame in her own life. “Like most of us that work in the Healing Arts field, we have developed our message from our mess,” she confides. Bridgett’s “mess” wound up looking like co-dependency, alcoholism, dysfunctional relationships, divorce, and loss— roadblocks which stemmed from childhood trauma and which were keeping her from leading a healthy life.

“Because of the strain this put on me emotionally, I developed debilitating pain through fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue,” she explains. “I did not find any relief from the traditional medical field, yet I fought hard to find a path of healing.” After joining a 12-step program, implementing significant dietary changes, picking up a meditation practice, and engaging with other holistic therapies, like hypnotherapy, Bridgett finally found her hope returning. It was ultimately these triumphs over suffering that would shape her as a life coach and offer a blueprint for her clients facing obstacles in their own careers and lives.

Read More

In 2005, Brian Zahn was feeling lost and like he had hit rock bottom, especially after an ugly divorce had left him struggling with a negative outlook on life. Internally, he knew that the problems he was experiencing were temporary and that deeper connections with people and the world awaited him, yet it wasn’t until he accepted his calling with a career in Life Coaching that he found a way to break through to a brighter perspective.

It was in his first life coaching course that Brian was blessed with one of those beautiful SWIHA “ah-ha” moments that turned his life around and began his transformation: “I realized that we are all truly ONE, wanting to be heard, acknowledged, known for something positive, to live our truth, and most importantly to be unconditionally loved.” Brian had discovered that it is possible to break through the prisons we shape for ourselves—prisons with bars made of limiting beliefs, false perceptions, and negative self-talk—and to emerge into our truest and best selves.

Read More

Over ten years ago, Juan Te Daily remembers hearing about Life Coaching on one of her favorite TV shows and how coaches help their clients navigate through life’s many challenges. She grew up in her own challenges of South Central, Los Angeles, watching friends and family deal with drug addictions and financial trouble. However, she remained motivated to stay on a more responsible and healthy path. Seeing her older brother strung out lying in the streets saddened her, and Juan Te attributes much of her empathetic nature to these memories. So when she heard there was a profession of supporting people in a way that enriches their lives, she thought she’d look into it. She found Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) online and even wrote down the information on life coaching. It was more than ten years later that she happened to come across that piece of paper, and after many challenges with work and scheduling, she found herself in the Transformational Life Coaching program at SWIHA.

 

Read More