SWIHA Blog

In 2015, Gena Hailey and her family were going to the doctor a lot for colds, to the point where they were spending a lot of money on co-pays and prescription drugs. Most of the time, the treatments didn’t even work. She had been doing internet searches on home remedies, and now and then, she would accidentally come across articles that mentioned holistic healing. She admitted that at the time, she wasn’t even sure what holistic meant. She ended up seeing an ad for the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). “I was like (imagine a soft, high-pitched voice), ‘What is this magic they speak of?’ Ha! Within that next week I had researched the school, the programs they offered, and spoke to an Admissions Coach - and I was absolutely ecstatic to enroll in the Mind-Body Wellness Practitioner program with a focus on Urban Farming & Conscious Living, and begin the journey that would eventually teach me that ‘magic’ and end up a #GreatGraduate.”

Cora Love was actually led to the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). She was seeking, very diligently, an affordable program that covered multiple modalities. “Another effort I was following was being thwarted at every turn. Then, I saw SWIHA, which offered  everything I was interested in, accepted financial aid, and was able to get me enrolled within days to start my two-year program, on-time, January 19, 2015.”

Cora went on to graduate from the Mind-Body Transformational Psychology program, with a concentration in Spirituality and a specialty in Hypnotherapy. “One of the most valuable things SWIHA taught me was that my spiritual gifts are real; they can be enhanced with study and practice, and I am more powerful than even I originally thought. I also learned that what most of us think we know and believe, we really, really don’t. Long-held beliefs can be shattered with a sentence, or an image.”

Stephanie Parejamaas decided to have a shift in her career field from Marriage and Family Therapy to Life Coaching. She wanted to create a different space to work with her clients in, based on their goals in creating the life they want. “I wanted to focus on their future looking at what they can do today, in order to truly achieve their goals. When I found the Mind-Body Wellness Practitioner Program at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) I knew it was what I was looking for.” It spoke to her on all levels and she was thrilled to feel the shift in her career. Now she has been providing Life Coaching services through her Live Happy Wellness practice since 2015.

The life coaching tool that Stephanie values most is a powerful follow-up question. “I think a great question can really open up the thought process for a client and allow them to dive into themselves and discover what they may have been overlooking before. This can lead to change or embracing their self-discovery.” 

The story behind Tammy Coin getting to the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) is a long one. When she enrolled at SWIHA, she wasn't really sure of her direction. She arrived with a Masters in Human Relations Counseling and since her own life journey was connected to holistic practices, she opted to enroll in the Mind-Body Wellness Practitioner diploma program, rather than a degree program.  At the time of my enrollment in September 2014, she had several life issues taking place, and she was about to leave town for the birth of her first grandchild. Since she did not have a specific direction in mind, she opted for the Holistic Nutrition program and the Polarity program.  A few months in, she went through her required 20-hour Life Coaching weekend.  ”I KNEW it was for me, yet I wasn't sure how I was going to work in Life Coaching because my schedule was already full.  Shortly after that, I completed my required 20 hours in Hypnotherapy.  As much as I was enjoying Polarity, I KNEW that Life Coaching & Hypnotherapy complimented my Masters degree and was absolutely the right choice for me.” By this time, she had completed Polarity 1, Polarity Reflexology, & Cranial Unwinding.  She is so grateful for that knowledge, yet she knew where she was being led.  By the time she graduated, she had completed 120 hours of Life Coaching, Hypnotherapy 101 (on-campus) and Hypnotherapy 201 and Hypnotherapy 301 online. “ I guess in the technical sense, I have been coaching for about one year.  In the literal sense, I have been coaching my entire life. ”  

At a young age, Sue Shapiro recognized that her words could either cause harm or help someone feel better, and she believes this knowing came from the near death experience she had at the age of four. This inner knowing was a frightening space for her to be in because most people could not accept that a little one could be so perceptive, so she eventually shut down and was so painfully quiet and shy, that her grandmother thought there was something wrong with her.  

Reine Matthews was diagnosed with Lyme disease four years ago and decided to treat it naturally. Having felt and seen firsthand how taking the natural holistic route really worked and helped inspired her to share it with others so they, too, can find health and wellness inside and out. “I researched holistic schools online and found Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) and it just felt like a perfect fit for what I wanted to do and learn.” She went on to study Mind- Body Transformational Psychology specializing in Holistic Nutrition, Urban Farming, and Life Coaching.

Someone recently asked me what my expectations were for signing up for the Reiki and Guides class that was offered in October of this year.  After a bit of thought, my first response was I didn’t have any expectations.  The reality of the situation was, I took the class because I needed more hours to graduate. When I signed up for the Mind-Body Wellness Program my goal was to graduate on the time table that I had set for myself a year before, and this class would help me do just that.

The Reiki part of the class, I had some familiarity with because I had experienced this energy healing modality from the Reiki 1 class that I had already taken.  When I walked out, I had loved what I had already experienced and was eager to learn more.  The spirit guide’s part of the class held more intrigue for me because of my limited knowledge on the subject.

After moving to Phoenix as a Supervisor/Analyst in the Federal Government, Tammy Coin received a massage from a graduate of the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, who told her about the school. Soon after, Tammy decided to enroll and subsequently graduated from the Mind-Body Wellness Practitioner  program. During this time, she learned how to finally integrate all the pieces of herself, unearthing her identity and the WHAT to go with her WHY. “I have known my WHY for being on this earth for a very long time. I just didn't know the WHAT that was going to bring it together. I entered the program with a Masters in Human Relations Counseling. The Mind-Body Wellness Practitioner program helped me pull the rest of my pieces together.” The tools she has learned on this journey have been the gift that helped her to finally connect the teachings of her life.  This gift, ultimately led her to start her own business. 

The Doors of Wellness, LLC is Tammy's business. She is using the experience, expertise and education of her life to help other people find their own door of wellness. “I believe that stuck emotions are at the root cause of physical illness, mental illness, addictions, weight issues, relationship challenges, loss of sense of self-worth and spiritual disconnect.  I'm truly passionate about the Mind-Body Connection.” She describes herself as a Life Strategist, Mind-Body Wellness Practitioner & Trauma and/or Abuse Recovery Coach focusing on the unhealed emotions at the root of her clients obstacles. She offers many tools and modalities to her clients.  

One of the best things you can do for your mind and body each morning is stretch. During sleep, the body spends hours rejuvenating at a cellular level and by morning lengthening the muscles and filling the lungs with fresh, clean air will do wonders for setting up your day. Here are three yoga poses that will support your organs, open the hips, loosen the neck, release tension from the shoulders, and align all seven chakras (energy centers). Start with taking five slow, deep belly breaths and work your way up ten or more. Click here to learn the Ujaii breathing technique and apply it to the following poses.

A desire to learn healing arts, to refine the skills she already had, and to give her some new ones is exactly what brought Connie Gensamer to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). Truly, she has always been on the path to healing work, however in early in 2014, she was introduced to a modality called The Reconnection by Eric Pearl. “I read his books and then had the process done. My feet were reconnected to the earth and my crown chakra reconnected to the cosmos as a way of reclaiming who I was and my life purpose. After the process, I really didn’t know if things had shifted, yet three months later, I was looking for a school to teach me how to help people heal, and I found SWIHA.”