SWIHA Blog

Kara Schaal had been feeling led to go back to school and she knew she wanted to do something holistic. She just wasn’t sure exactly what path to take. A friend recommended checking out the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). After researching different programs and talking to one of the guidance counselors, Kara felt that SWIHA was the best fit for her to begin her journey!

Learn from Great Graduate, Laura Hightower

Laura Hightower was told about Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) when she expressed interest in wanting to learn more about herbalism to someone she knew. That led her to enroll and graduate from the Associates in Holistic Health Care with concentrations in Western Herbalism and Holistic Nutrition, 300-Hour Clinical Hypnotherapy and 100-Hour Transformational Reiki programs.

Herbalism was an interest of Laura’s ever since she walked into an herb shop at age 16. “I just found a natural connection to using herbs in order to heal naturally.” Reiki was something she had been doing since she was 9 and the attunements she received in her program helped amplify that. “I love how pain and excess energy just seems to effortlessly flow out of the body.” Pain is simply trapped energy and Reiki was the vehicle she learned to move it out. She had been interested in hypnotherapy ever since she went to a hypnotherapist when she was 20. She was guided by an ex-classmate who told her that her guides said she needed to take the nutrition program and learn a lot of valuable skills. It was that experience that led Laura back to school again for her Associates Degree.

After graduating, Laura created her business, Magickal Heart. Its focus is on inspiring others to grow and move past the things they have long-held onto so they can be empowered to change their lives to a whole, new level. She currently travels the Valley and beyond to see clients throughout Arizona.

Anita Tanjutco was working for UPS’s pre-load shift, and she had 100%-free health benefits. One day she decided to take advantage of her benefits, so she found a chiropractor for routine maintenance. Her massage therapist was a graduate of Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). They became friendly and would always chat during their treatments and one day the massage therapist said, “You would love SWIHA! I think you should check it out!” Anita was twenty-three at the time and not exactly sure which direction she was heading in her life and career. Actually, she had toured another Valley massage school a few years before, however it didn’t feel like the right place or the right time. She decided she was open to suggestions, especially since this topic was coming up again for her. A week after this SWIHA chat with her MT, she called the school and set up a time for her to tour of the campus. The moment she arrived on campus, she fell in love, and she knew she was exactly where she needed to be! This felt right: when the timing is right, you just know. So she enrolled in the next available Master Massage Practitioner program.

Each class and teacher had something so unique and special to offer. From start to finish within the massage program, Anita’s interests seemed to evolve. At first she loved Myotherapy, however towards the middle of her studies her passion was energy work, which is working with meridians (energy pathways across the body) and the metaphysical body rather than the physical tissue. Then she found Release Point Therapy and absolutely fell in love. In 2008, these classes were taught by Dr. Henele and deeply impacted Anita’s life and her future success. The series of classes really took students through a step-by-step journey of healing the body and layers, one by one. “In massage school, you give and receive each treatment during class: it’s how you learn the skill. Every single day, we watched our classmates have these breakthroughs, and each of us were witnessing how fascinating and powerful the human body really is. Everyone in the program experienced at least one, huge emotional breakthrough. To have the opportunity to assist my fellow classmates in achieving such magical releases, is why I’d say it was my favorite class. Now that I get to watch the same in my clients-- it is such a blessing.”

Mary Ernsberger truly believes that she was Divinely guided to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). She had been in administrative work for over 25 years and was struggling with health issues. She wanted to do something that would allow her some freedom, as well as give her the ability to serve others. Mary recalls that Massage Therapy was ‘really big’ when she walked through the doors at SWIHA, however, she couldn’t see herself giving people massages all day, especially since her health issues involved weakness in her wrists. “I was already a Reiki practitioner, so when I discovered I could utilize my prior training as part of a new career, I was excited. There is something about the energy at SWIHA; you can feel it the minute you walk in.  I knew this was the place for me, so I enrolled in the AOS degree program in Mind-Body Transformational Psychology.” After earning that diploma, she then re-enrolled and graduated with a second AOS degree in Western Herbalism.

When it comes to discovering Southwest Institute for Healing Arts (SWIHA), Antonieta Hensley has Google to thank! “After I saw all the courses, programs, and classes they offered, I was sold. It sounded like a temple or a mystery school available in the states and I knew it was calling for me before I ever stepped foot on the school grounds.”

Antonieta graduated from the 600-hour Mind Body Wellness Practitioner program. She also went through the Yoga Teaching Training, Transformational Life Coaching, and Hypnotherapy programs. She went on to share how her time at SWIHA dramatically changed her life for the better:

“The laws of attraction, eastern philosophies, energetic body healing, taboo subjects, and spirituality have always fascinated me. But that is only about 10% of what the school has to offer. It surpasses your expectations on both what you can learn and whom you can meet. There is no need to search for a guru in India or Thailand. With SWIHA you can become your OWN guru.”

With the saguaro cacti in bloom, I am reminded of the very first floral essence I created. It was a memorable experience that produced a potent brew! I’d love to share my story with you:

First of all, I am a Cactus Whisperer.

I have had a connection with plants my entire life. It’s a gift that was given to me by my mother. Since I love plants so much, I took the Flower Essence Course at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in July of 2014. I loved the class and bemoaned the fact that I would have to wait almost a year to create a flower essence from my favorite of all cacti, the saguaro, since their blooming season is in the April-May time frame.

Before I continue with my story, you might be wondering what a flower essence is. A lot of people mistakenly believe that flower essences hold the fragrance of flowers, when in fact flower essences actually contain the vibrational energy of the plant. They are taken orally (a few drops in a cup of water) versus a topical application, and they hold no fragrance.

In 2010, Gisele Marasca-Vargas had to close her graphic design and publishing company and file for bankruptcy (mostly due to the 2008 economic crisis). She lost her home in the process and had to practically start from scratch. She got a temporary job at the U.S. Census Bureau and went through a phase when she was feeling lost and confused about her next steps. At a certain point, she realized that she needed to reinvent herself.

During her years as a graphic designer and publisher, she had worked on the side as an “energy healer”. She felt that the challenges she had gone through were a sign from the Universe that it was time to change the course of her life -- to find her true path. Gisele decided that her “on the side” work was going to become her main career and life path.

“That’s when I started researching schools from all over the country for a degree in energy healing and other holistic practices. I was attracted by the AOS degree in Holistic Health Care (Concentration in Mind-Body Transformational Psychology) that Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) offered. I was also very intrigued by the fact that it’s very rich curriculum included Hypnotherapy and Life Coaching. The facts that SWIHA offers online programs and is nationally accredited by ACCET and is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education sealed the deal,” shared Gisele.

After retiring from the Air Force and moving back to Arizona, Tom Kreienbrink found the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) through a Facebook friend. Throughout the duration of his Air Force career, Tom was in Graphic Arts and Multimedia, and for the last 10 years he was in leadership and management positions. “I worked in a design position for FEMA in Washington D.C. for a few years after retiring from the Air Force. Bottom line – I was ready to get out of the 'rat race,' and when I found SWIHA it was the second career I’d been waiting for.”

Tom shared how he’s always had a passion for learning about natural healing methods, nutrition, energy, and spirituality. “When I started studying at SWIHA, I found it was a school that offered practical holistic modalities and techniques that I could take out into the world and help people in my community and beyond.”

Tom graduated with his Associates of Occupational Studies Degree in Holistic Health Care – with a concentration in Mind-Body Transformational Psychology. The programs he completed with his degree included the 750-hour massage program, a Certificates of Excellences in Myofascial Energetic Massage, Transformational Reiki, Cranial Unwinding, Reflexology, and Hypnotherapy.

Tom went on to share how he uses all of the combined wisdom from each of his areas of specialization in his sessions. “Of the classes and programs I’ve taken, I love them all. I use them all. Even some of the required classes like Ayurveda, Western Herbalism – Foundations of American Herbal Studies, Life Coaching, and even Public Speaking offer me a lot to draw from when working with clients.”

We have all lived through the following scenario or something similar: You wake up in the morning and are well rested, refreshed, and ready to start your day. You happily get ready and you might even sing along to the songs playing on the radio while driving in your car. You are in a wonderful mood and feel as if you are on top of the world. You get to work and head to your desk. All of a sudden your supervisor comes over and hands you a mountain of work along with a deadline that seems impossible to reach. As you go through the mountain of work and complete the assignments, you feel as though maybe you will make the deadline after all. However, after lunch your supervisor comes to tell you that your work is mediocre and needs to be redone. But you know that you did your work to the best of your ability. You are now in a negative funk for the rest of the day.

As a recent Great Graduate from the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), I was a bit nervous about getting my first client for a flower essence session. It all started when a client learned about my services online and wanted a spiritual reading. As the reading began to unfold, Spirit shared some spiritual visions and insights that wowed the client. It was very clear that she was a ‘Lightworker’ who had gotten out of touch with her true spiritual self. I asked her if she had ever heard of flower essence and she said “no, however, I’m open and willing to try them.” It was the perfect opportunity to explain what flower essence was and how it worked. Therefore, I mailed her flower essence brochure to share with her all about flower essence, how it worked, and the type of flower essence services we offered at our healing center.