SWIHA Blog

I still remember the first time I took a yoga class. It was February 2007, and my husband had presented me with a gift certificate for classes at a local studio. He had hoped that yoga would release my anxiety over being a new mom and alleviate the constant state of stress that overwhelmed me with every breath. I, too, was excited to try this new way of exercising. My daily workouts had left me feeling physically strong, so I had myself convinced that I would be “great” at yoga. Little did I know that my ego would be knocked down on its knees as soon as I stepped on the mat!

As I huffed and puffed through the poses in that first class, I struggled to understand the foreign guidance to “allow your breath to guide the movement of your body.” Finally, after much shaking and panting to force my hunched over body into triangle pose, the teacher approached me and gently asked, “Where are you trying to get into? Please come down into child’s pose and breathe.” Reluctantly, I listened. As soon as I followed her instructions, I was hit by a wave of peace and a softening in my mind. “What?!” I remember thinking. “I can rest? I’m receiving permission to rest, relax, and breathe?” In that moment, I knew the practice of yoga was going to change my life.

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Deena Gregory has always been a “seeker”—a woman with a self-described “natural curiosity about self and spirit” who in quiet moments often found herself gazing upward at the night sky with a deep sense of awe. Yet, after years of looking to institutions—from organized religion to the halls of academia—for the answers that could only be found within, Deena got caught in a spiritual drought, convinced that there was nothing else bigger “out there” than the humdrum of everyday human life.

“With a new reliance on my own thinking came what the Buddha referred to as ‘Dukkha,’ or suffering,” she explains. “I have always been hailed as a ‘critical thinker.’ Now I laugh and say, ‘Yes, as soon as I start thinking, things get critical!’”

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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.

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If you’ve watched television in the last 30 years, you’ve likely seen a popular commercial for Calgon bath products in which a woman’s chaotic home life proves to be more than she can handle. In the ad, the woman lunges to answer her ringing phone; meanwhile, her young daughter screams her lungs out as she cuts a frenzied path through the kitchen, the pet dog barks relentlessly, a tipped over houseplant sends soil scattering across the counter, and dinner starts to boil over on the stove.

Exhausted, the woman covers her ears, looks up to the heavens, and pleads, “Calgon, take me away!” The next scene reveals her relaxing in a hot bath, where she melts into a state of deep meditative bliss and leaves behind the domestic woes which had afflicted her mere seconds before. Brilliant marketing aside, the question remains: can a hot bath really soak away your stress and take you to an almost fantasy-like state of being?

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Kara Schaal had been feeling led to go back to school and she knew she wanted to do something holistic. She just wasn’t sure exactly what path to take. A friend recommended checking out the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). After researching different programs and talking to one of the guidance counselors, Kara felt that SWIHA was the best fit for her to begin her journey!

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Let's start with the “SAD” facts of our Standard American Diet and lifestyle. The effects of the Standard American Diet affect us more as we age. Health studies show that obesity is becoming an epidemic in women over the age of 40. Thirty-five percent of women over 40 are obese (a body mass index of over 30) and 65% are overweight (BMI of 25-29.9). That is alarming! We live in a world of fast (fat food) and packaged (not live) food, and it is considered the norm. One minute we are inundated with commercials for unhealthy food and then the next, we’re being told about weight loss surgery being a lunch time procedure. The mixed messages are making us sick. Over the last five years, I have tried to find a solution for these mixed messages for myself and for other women over 40 who are sick of being sick. I have discovered that holistic nutrition is the solution.

In starting my own health journey, I was like many women and had no idea what my nutrition, or lack thereof, was doing to me. So I found out what is in our food and its effects on our body as we age. In our 20’s, we think we are invincible, and I was the same way. I knew I felt terrible, was sick, and overweight. However, I had no clue that I was poisoning myself with every bite. I know it sounds dramatic and even silly, however it couldn’t be more accurate. I believe strongly in holistic nutrition, shopping organic and local, and walking (moving) instead of a diet. After losing 85 pounds, being very sick, and coming out of it with my Holistic Wellness diploma, there were many things I learned and I'd like to share them with women who feel like they have no way out of their unhealthy lifestyles. I feel I have the “Beginner’s Holistic Guide”.

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