Before enrolling at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), Laura Blazak spent over a decade working as a nurse in western medicine, starting her career in 2009. Over the years, she witnessed countless people struggling with chronic illness, often resigned to the belief that “this is just the way it is for me.” She also listened to many friends and acquaintances, particularly women, sharing their struggles with hormonal imbalances and difficulty maintaining healthy eating habits.
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Topics:
Holistic Nutrition,
Great Graduate,
Mindfulness,
Holistic Healh and Wellness Coach,
Health and Wellness Coach
What was your life like before SWIHA? What led you to SWIHA and to your particular program of study?
I was working a high-level corporate job as a global leader. As my daughter was approaching completing her Bachelor's Degree, I was planning on life after corporate. I have a BS in Psychology and Kinesiology, obtained my yoga teacher certification, and trained in Qigong, I loved helping people, so I decided a hypnotherapy certification would allow me to start a business as an Alternative Therapy Practitioner (as I later also became certified in EFT). I feel the state of society today is in crisis, however, the power of nature and their mind can heal them, and all they need is guidance. I have always been passionate about empowering others, even in my corporate role.
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Topics:
Hypnotherapist,
Great Graduate,
Mindfulness,
hypnotherapy program,
Holistic Entrepreneurship
I am grateful for what I have learned through the SWIHA Health and Wellness Coaching program. Seven years ago, a talented tattoo artist created an image for me, “Be true to your being” intertwined with a butterfly. The butterfly is symbolic of transformation and the overall image illustrates living my life authentically. What I have learned throughout my coursework has helped to bring this visual imagery of living my life authentically to reality.
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Topics:
holistic entrepreneur,
Great Graduate,
Mindfulness,
Health and Wellness,
Holistic Healh and Wellness Coach
Changing your mind changes your life in many ways. Going to SWIHA, I have re-evaluated many things in my life for the better. During my journey, I realized how I handled tough conversations, happiness, and even sadness was not the right way to process emotions. Shortly after realizing that, I also realized these were taught behaviors and I was seeing no growth in the person that I wanted to be in life. After dissecting myself, I noticed I had to change my mindset and the way I saw things.
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Topics:
Great Graduate,
Mindfulness,
Mindful Meditation Facilitator,
Holistic Health and Wellness Coach,
Healing Journey
It’s a new year and a perfect time to reflect on our journeys, achievements, and the intentional paths we're on. I am thrilled to share a bit of my story with the SWIHA community, especially what led me to its Intuitive Guide/Intuitive Coach certificate.
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Topics:
Sound Healing,
Great Graduate,
Mindfulness,
Intuitive Guide,
Holistic Entrepreneurship,
Intuitive Coach
An ancient sage told of a rich man having all of life's luxuries — money, property, a doting wife, sons who bore him grandsons, adoring daughters, prize-winning steeds, overflowing barns from fruitful harvests. Despite his bounty, he was not happy because of his obsessive, worrisome attitude. His worry preoccupied his thoughts day and night, causing him untold paranoia and mental anguish. His wife, daughters, and servants began to avoid him for fear of his accusations and confabulations.
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Topics:
Gratitude,
Mindfulness,
KC Miller,
yoga,
Thanksgiving,
Yoga Philosophy,
The Bhagavad Gita
What is mindfulness? Where can you apply mindfulness in your life?
Mindfulness is to be present with what you are focusing on, in that moment. There are many different ways you can apply it within aspects of your life. We can start by creating a mindful habit that will help with being more present at the moment. This helps with the ability to be able to have non-reactive moments when fear or anxiety takes hold.
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Topics:
Holistic Nutrition,
holistic entrepreneur,
Great Graduate,
Mindfulness,
Holistic Healh and Wellness Coach,
Mindfulness Facilitator
Take a moment to recall the last time you felt stress in your life. Did it take you a while to remember the last experience, or was it too easy to quickly identify when stress has been present?
It's safe to say that stress is universal- stress is likely to arise at some time in our human experience, maybe even frequently. In fact, the Recovery Village states "
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Topics:
Great Graduate,
Mindfulness,
Self-care,
mind body spirit,
Stress,
Holistic wellness,
Holistic health,
Stress Management,
integrative healing arts practitioner,
SWIHA Students
“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
According to research professor and author Brene Brown, "Joy comes to us in moments—ordinary moments. We risk missing out on joy when we get too busy chasing down the extraordinary." This statement highlights an important distinction between happiness and joy. Happiness is often associated with external factors, such as material possessions or life events. It's the feeling we get when we achieve a goal or experience something positive. Joy, on the other hand, is an internal state of being that is not dependent on external circumstances. Recently I’ve settled on a joy/happiness distinction mantra of “Happiness is a response to life, joy is an approach to life.”
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Topics:
Great Graduate,
Mindfulness,
joy,
Brene Brown,
Happiness,
SWIHA Students,
Health and Wellness,
Holistic Healh and Wellness Coach,
Mindful Meditation,
Serving Others
