SWIHA Blog

Heather Clore had always had a passion for herbalism and holistic nutrition, yet it was not until she became a mother that she realized she wanted to turn her approach to holistic living—and the approaches of her family and, eventually, her community—totally around.

“I knew when my son was born that I wanted to take an all-natural approach to raising him,” she explains. “I knew I wanted him to have a great, joyous, happy life and that herbalism and nutrition are both so important to that. I knew it would be best to raise him on nature and what the Divine gave us naturally.”

For many people, the first day of school can be filled with unexpected surprises. That certainly was the case for Tamara Lucero, who found herself in quite a messy situation when she stopped at her local gas station on the way to campus.

“As the fuel pumped and filled my tank, I began to daydream what my first day of class would be like,” she remembers. “As I stared off into the clouds, I suddenly heard what sounded like water running. I looked down and realized that the gas pump had malfunctioned and soaked me in gasoline—from my shirt to my socks!”

SWIHA graduate Shashirekha Banavar, affectionately called “Shashi” by friends and family, is described by those who know and love her as sophisticated, sassy, shy at first, sensitive, and super committed to whole food cuisine. Shashi lives in India, where for the past 30 years she has served as a lawyer and a consumer activist, written a book entitled Shashi’s Recipes – Authentic South Indian Vegetarian Dishes, and received the President’s Guide Award for top performing Girl Guides (similar to the Girl Scouts in the United States) from the President of India. Shashi is a superstar by many standards, although she will blush hearing it said!

As one of the first students to graduate from the online 750-hour Holistic Nutrition Wellness Practitioner diplomas, Shashi actually flew to Tempe, Arizona, to attend the September 2017 Gifts and Graces event, where she was recognized as being a one of SWIHA’s Great Graduates!  She easily gets the award for traveling the furthest to attend graduation on campus!

Way up in Anchorage, Alaska, SWIHA Graduate Kris Hwang comes from a family of entrepreneurs whose business has been running strong for 40 years. Growing up with that background had fostered a strong entrepreneurial spirit in her, as well as a desire to be her own boss and do what she loves on her own terms.

Kris’ work as a bartender had left her feeling emotionally and spiritually drained. As an empath and highly sensitive person working in the service industry, it can be easy to give too much of yourself and take on the energetic and emotional baggage of your customers. Kris found herself seeking balance and looking to grow, and so she began practicing meditation exercises and nurturing a personal yoga practice— her first steps towards beginning a new chapter of her life.

Did you know that July is National Watermelon Month? According to Mary Ritter, SWIHA’s Chief Executive Director, this is perfect timing because watermelon picking is at its absolute peak the week of July 4^th!! Watermelon has long been a favorite treat for Americans looking to consume something light and refreshing during the sweltering summer months. Interesting enough, over 300 watermelon varieties are grown in the US and Mexico.

For some people, the traditional college route is not the road to success. Amanda Petro is one of those very people.

After spending a year at Arizona State University, Amanda wound up feeling completely unfulfilled; she was beginning to lose interest in her path of study and was increasingly aware that she was not resonating with her classmates. In her search for more like-minded friends, she ended up connecting with two soul sisters here in Tempe, Arizona, who were soon graduating from the Yoga Teacher Training Program at Spirit of Yoga. “It was there at their YTT graduation ceremony that I realized I wanted to be apart of this incredible and seemingly magical school. I started off staying at ASU while I began my 200 YTT. Mid-way through, I quickly realized I couldn’t handle the workload of both. ASU was taking me away from diving deeper into my SWIHA education, so I decided to go full time at SWIHA and leave Arizona State University behind. It was the best decision of my life.”

Inga Tara once felt that she had it all—a beautiful family, financial security, the freedom to spend her time traveling abroad. And yet there was still something undeniably missing. “I was feeling dissatisfaction in my career, disconnect inside me, and a lack of inner peace,” she remembers. After participating in a full-body detox program in 2009, Inga finally found something that resonated powerfully with her: a love of nutrition. This shift is what Inga considers a major point of self-mastery and a significant first step in the journey to her divine purpose.

Years later in 2014, with an empty nest and a husband at work, Inga knew it was the perfect time to pursue her interests more actively. “I felt that that was a good time to go back to spiritual practices that I used to do for years (and made me feel happy and complete) and work on my creativity, self-actualization, and giving back to people.” Still, reconnecting to self through spiritual practice was not filling the void that Inga felt within her. She yearned to formalize her knowledge of holistic healing to bring happiness and well-being to others. She began to seek out schools and programs and decided to enroll at SWIHA soon after discovering it on an online search.

Sharon Rose made the trek out to Arizona following an opportunity in her previous career of hospitality and to experience a much-needed change in scenery. Attending a school like Southwest Institute of Healing Arts was far from her mind. At the time, she had no idea that her recreational and self-preservationist interests in yoga would become such huge components of her life path, and ultimately, the fulfillment of her life purpose.

After four months here in the desert, a sinking feeling began to creep into her soul that something significant was missing. Looking back, she shares, “I became uninspired and mentally checked out. I started practicing yoga at Spirit of Yoga around this time. I realized then that I wanted to pursue yoga full time and decided to look into SWIHA.”

Meet Cameo Rose of Foxy Fruit Açai Bowls & Smoothies! This girl is serving beautiful bowls to beautiful souls and changing lives through her passion for and knowledge of Holistic Nutrition.

This dream life wasn’t always her reality, though. To hear Cameo talk about her sheer fervor and zeal for Holistic Nutrition and Urban Farming, you would never believe that just a few years ago before attending SWIHA, Cameo found herself trapped in a cycle of negativity. As she puts it, “I knew something had to give, or else I would feel this way forever.” She decided to dive in and begin researching how to live a more healthful life.

From there, she was exposed to a seemingly infinite fount of information about healthy eating. She talks of this time fondly; as if her life burst open, made colorful in the presence of organic options after living for years in the black and white world of processed foods and unconscious living. “I started falling in love with healthy eating, creating delicious vegetarian recipes, and taking care of my mind, body, and soul for what seemed [to be] the first time in my life.”

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.”