SWIHA Blog

Five years ago, Christine Iring’s life was falling apart. She had hit rock bottom and was unsure what was around the corner; she knew only, with the guidance of a therapist, that she had a responsibility to “do her work.”

And do her work she did! Over the course of three years, Christine steadfastly examined herself, even as the world continued to swirl and change around her. This period of transformation culminated in Christine moving to the Phoenix area and enrolling at SWIHA. “As soon as I walked in the building, I knew I found my new home,” she confides. “My first class was Life Coaching Foundations. Between the vibe, the instructors, the people that understood ‘my language,’ and learning the protocol for transforming lives, I knew this was part of my calling. I was on my way to being a life coach.”

Everyone’s heard the phrase, “The stars simply aligned.” For Life Coach and Astrologer Daune Thompson, that phrase is not just a beautiful metaphor— it’s part of her life coaching philosophy! Daune’s favorite tools to use with her clients are intuition and, of course, the stars.

Daune specializes in two very different yet interconnected kinds of coaching—relationship coaching and corporate coaching—both which require strong skills in learning how to connect with others while not losing authenticity. From business mergers to executive growth, from finding a life partner to starting a family, Daune relishes watching her clients achieve their greatest dreams.

For Sharon Rose, 2017 was the year of identity crisis. She had finished school and launched her business, yet was still suffering from a sense of disconnection. Nothing was resonating. After so after working up the courage to leave a truly toxic relationship, to deconstruct her old life coaching website, and to overhaul her personal image, she was out on her own again... and suddenly faced with the opportunity to become her most authentic self. 

I went from a focus on 'becoming the goddess' to 'I AM the goddess,'" Sharon explains, "and it all started unfolding out of awareness. 

Sue Shapiro of Spirit Knows Life Coaching doesn’t have a “one size fits all” client, so it stands to reason that she would not have one tool for every coaching circumstance. Her client base is varied and includes individuals who have left abusive environments, who have gone through near-death experiences, or who are seeking spiritual deepening. 

Like many coaches, Sue was led to pursue coaching in these three niches because of related events in her own life. Sue left an abusive environment many years ago, which created a unique set of challenges. "Over time, your capacity to hold onto some semblance of self-love and self-compassion erodes and you feel very broken," she explains. "The right life coaching tools have the ability to allow someone to see the opportunity to re-gift themselves with that love and compassion while accepting that they were always whole and complete instead of broken. It's like a re-birth of sorts." 

We pass hundreds—even thousands—of people on the street every day, usually without a second look. Yet, that’s not quite the case for Ann Marie Rubertone, who possesses the gift of “seeing” energy. "I can see and feel the frequences that others radiate, so I understand 'energetically' what they are thinking," she explains. 

This powerful form of seeing and empathizing perhaps evolved from Ann Marie's difficult and diverse background, which includes overcoming domestic violence, abuse, infertility, multiple sclerosis, and drug addiction. Although Ann Marie once felt that she was never good enough and that she would never fit in, her journey of recovery has been inspiring.

For Tammy Coin, wellness is not a destination; it’s a magical adventure through a hall of mirrors hidden behind locked doors. Tammy also believes that the key to unlocking those doors and understanding the confusing reflections in that hall lies in developing a conscious awareness of our own life stories.

Tammy's story begins with a history of childhood trauma and abuse and complex PTSD, factors which created a strong sense of separation from other people within her... something which other survivors of trauma can certainly relate to and understand. "We often have feelings of not being enough, being empty, unseen, unheard, invisible and like nobody gets us,” Tammy articulates. “Naturally, I attract clients with similar histories. There is no greater gift than to feel seen and heard... to feel that somebody ‘gets it.’”

Maureen Hayes' passions have always been centered around aiding and inspiring others... a flame fed by her unique ability to see the potential in others that they sometimes are not able to see themselves. Within a year of receiving the Master Life Coach Designation after completing the Advanced Life Coaching program at SWIHA, Maureen formed “Awaken Your Spirit – You, Only Better,” her coaching and consulting business focused on helping her clients live truly happy, fulfilled, and peaceful lives.

Maureen happily uses one of the tools she was introduced to while at SWIHA: the “True Colors” personality assessment from Carolyn Kalil, a coach education counselor, and author of Follow Your True Colors to the Work You Love. “I love to help people awaken to their authentic selves, and everything I do comes from that love,” Maureen explains. “It quickly became evident to me just how incredibly enlightening it was for my clients when I used True Colors, and so I reached out to Carolyn Kalil and through her course became a certified facilitator.” 

If you find yourself on the home page of Life Coach and Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist Sandy O’Neal’s website, you’ll notice a single quote printed across a beautiful lavender and pink sky:

“If you want to change your reality, then it’s time for you to change your mind…”

Changing minds and realities is indeed what Sandy is all about as she serves the world through her coaching and hypnotherapy business, appropriately called A Transformed Life. Her objective is to help her clients deepen and expand their lives through her specializations in fertility support, anxiety/stress reduction, weight reduction and movement, fears and phobias treatment, and pain management. She offers private sessions in-person at her Mesa, Arizona, studio and remotely via phone and Skype, as well as weekly and biweekly meetup groups which focus on managing anxiety, stress, and depression, promoting well-being and mindfulness, increasing self-confidence, and practicing healthy habits.

When Gabriela Milan was 16, she was ready to end it all. Struggling with eating disorders, health problems, and depression, she had just about hit rock bottom. At that point in time, she felt like there would be no end to her misery unless she put a stop to it herself. In that dark hour of desperation, someone noticed her and took the time to really talk to her. Those 10 minutes of conversation saved her life. While Gabriela doesn’t even remember what it was that he said to her in those moments that helped her to find herself, she does remember how it made her feel: “It gave me the hope I needed. It shook me. It woke me up. It reminded me that I was special. I promised myself that I had to do that for someone else someday.”

Breaking points are sometimes seen as negative events that stem from—or even represent—a failure in someone’s life. Yet for SWIHA Life Coaching graduate Laura Richer, hitting a breaking point is a golden opportunity— a valuable tool she attempts to pass on to her clients.