What was your life like before SWIHA? What led you to SWIHA and to your particular program of study? Why are you passionate about this modality?
Before SWIHA I was working in Western Medicine and always felt something was missing. Something deeper than just "the illness". It was stressful, and in my last five years, my calling to find the answers grew stronger. I was always drawn to Holistic Medicine and was gifted, however, I had a fear of acceptance in the community due to childhood trauma.
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Topics:
holistic entrepreneur,
Great Graduate,
Meditation,
IHAP,
End of Life Doula
"Meditation is not reserved for saints and sages; it is a practice for everyday people seeking peace and clarity in their lives." - Ram Dass
Have you ever felt like meditation is this elusive secret club reserved for the Zen masters of the world? You're not alone. The idea of sitting in silence, attempting to silence the endless chatter of the mind, can feel daunting, if not downright impossible. What if I told you that meditation isn't about achieving perfection or silencing your thoughts completely? What if I told you that you, yes you, can meditate too? Let's dive into this transformative practice together and discover its myriad benefits, debunking myths along the way.
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Topics:
Great Graduate,
Meditation,
integrative healing arts practitioner,
IHAP,
Mindful Meditation,
Meditation Practice
“Why am I here?” “What am I supposed to be doing with my life?” “What’s my life purpose?” “Am I even on track?”
Throughout my astrology readings, I hear these questions over and over again. We are taught from a very early age to seek out a purpose and direction in our lives. We ask, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” of our 3 and 4-year-olds as if they will declare their dream and direct the rest of their life by it. Flash forward 40 or 50 years, and as adults, for many, the dream is gone and we feel unfulfilled and “off track” or altogether lost on what our purpose is.
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Topics:
life purpose,
Great Graduate,
Meditation,
joy,
Purpose
“I started the Holistic Health & Wellness Coaching program at SWIHA after being sick of the repetitive feeling that I was missing something. I was a doula pre-COVID and felt like there was so much more I could be offering clients and their families, yet didn't know how to do that. I saw SWIHA come up on my internet screen more times than I would like to admit. I was a complete people pleaser at the time, so I continued to say no. I finally said, ‘YES, it's now. This is what I need’ and it's been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences. I am so glad I said yes. I love the closeness I feel with my classmates as well as the instructors and I also love that this program has challenged me to really focus on what I am passionate about.”
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Topics:
holistic entrepreneur,
Great Graduate,
Mindfulness,
Meditation,
Holistic wellness,
SWIHA Students,
Health and Wellness,
Holistic Health and Wellness,
Health & Wellness Coach,
SWIHA Graduate,
Holistic Health and Wellness Coach,
Mindful Meditation
“Before SWIHA, I had two decades of social work experience in the context of non-profit organizations and State Government. In 2009, I had a series of unfortunate, life-altering events occur that made me realize there are gaps in services for people like myself (grieving, going through a divorce and the loss of a parent, and also living away from my family) lacking a support network to help me navigate the process or hold space for my grief. This led me on a search for healing and eventually, I landed in massage school, reiki training, yoga, meditation teacher training, and end-of-life doula classes.”
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Topics:
aromatherapy,
Massage,
holistic entrepreneur,
Great Graduate,
SWIHA,
yoga,
Past Life Regressions,
Meditation,
Reiki,
Hypnotherapy,
SWIHA Students,
tarot readings,
End of Life Doula,
SWIHA Catalog,
Dreams and Metaphors
What is meditation exactly? Simply put, it is a technique that uses breathing exercises, mindfulness, and focusing on the mental status. Meditation can help to calm the mind and body, center us to better handle tasks at hand, and can help alleviate anxiety, depression, and possibly even pain. The common misconception is how difficult meditation is. Anyone can reap the benefits of meditation with a little consistency.
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Topics:
Great Graduate,
Mindfulness,
Meditation,
SWIHA Students,
Health and Wellness Coach,
Holistic Health and Wellness Coach,
Mindful Meditation,
Student Blog,
Meditation Practice
In honor of our intention to ‘Be on Purpose’ in the month of January, SWIHA staff member and Yoga Teacher, Joan Lloyd Collins, shares her story of discovering the power of holistic modalities.
What brought you to SWIHA?
My spirit guides and divine intervention. I called the Bay Area home for 25 years. Because I was driven by the teachings of western medicine, I pursued my Master’s in Public Health and my Bachelor’s in Nursing. However, things changed in 2010 when I developed a health issue. I went to my regular doctors—had scans, and tests of all kinds—and in the end the advice I received was that I had to live with it. That there was nothing that can be done.
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Topics:
yoga,
Meditation,
SWIHA Staff,
Inspiration,
National Be on Purpose Month 2023
Have you ever been told that you are too sensitive, too touchy, that you take things too personally, or even that you are too nice to people? I hear these things on a daily basis and if you have been told these things, chances are you could be a Highly Sensitive Person too. We are all sensitive to some degree; however, some of us are HSP (Highly Sensitive Persons). I am HSP. What is HSP and how do you get it? This is what I have learned about HSP. First, let me clarify that HSP is not a disorder, condition, or diagnosis, it’s a personality trait also known as sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) and approximately 15% to 20% of the population are HSP. Highly Sensitive People process all information more deeply including all types of stimuli such as emotions, what they see, hear, feel, and touch and are aware of subtleties that other people miss.
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Topics:
Southwest Institute of Healing Arts,
holistic entrepreneur,
SWIHA,
eft,
Mindfulness,
journaling,
Self-care,
Spiritual Coaching,
Meditation,
Hypnotherapy,
aromatherapy,
Arizona,
Tempe,
Empath,
integrative healing arts practitioner,
highly sensitive person,
Online Education,
SWIHA Student Blog Series,
Introvert,
Breath Work
Forgiveness
For centuries this word has been touted as a nonnegotiable for the betterment of society and the individual. The problem is, although most of us know that forgiveness is a necessity if we want to live a life free from anger and resentment, many of us struggle with understanding exactly what forgiveness means or how to achieve it. After all, forgiveness is merely a blanket term… Used to describe what people should do when faced with the pain of hurt or betrayal. Unfortunately, religious texts and enlightened spiritual leaders frequently fail to describe precisely what forgiveness is, why we should do it, or how it can be attained. With the aim of bridging these gaps, I’ll attempt to answer these questions throughout the course of this blog. Before we get to those answers, let’s first talk a little bit about what forgiveness is not and what it does not do.
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Topics:
self love,
Southwest Institute of Healing Arts,
Great Graduate,
SWIHA,
Self-care,
Forgiveness,
Meditation,
Holistic wellness,
Holistic health,
Arizona,
Tempe,
Grace,
Holistic Health and Wellness Coach,
SWIHA Student Blog Series,
Student Blog Submission,
Higher Self
“The reason you are not getting what you want is because you are focusing on what they got. Don’t get distracted by their results, focus on your process.” - Unknown
In a world of constant scrolling, scrolling, scrolling - it can be easy to come across an image or a piece of news that can throw you down the ‘comparison spiral’. This old, unwelcoming yet pervasive pattern of comparing yourself to others does not serve you. Living in a world plagued with comparison, as we are flooded with more information than we can handle; whether it’s social media or the news, our minds, often subconsciously, are running a mile a minute trying to process and analyze all the information we are viewing. Although social comparison is a part of our normal behavior strategy as humans, we don’t have to let it consume us to a level that affects our mental health. Learn these five strategies to help you overcome the plague of comparison.
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Topics:
Southwest Institute of Healing Arts,
Holistic Nutrition,
SWIHA,
Whole Foods,
Intuition,
Meditation,
energy healing,
Arizona,
Tempe,
conscious community,
Energy,
Microbiome,
Positive Affirmations,
Nervous System,
Life Journey,
Self-help,
Comparison,
Mindful Meditation
