SWIHA Blog

Courtney Long’s journey to SWIHA was, well, long. Her journey began back in 2002, while she was working as a social worker in Michigan. She was helping adults with Alzheimer’s, dementia, serious mental illnesses, developmental disabilities and traumatic injuries. While she loved to help people, the job was mentally and spiritually exhausting, and never quite felt like her true calling. While in Michigan Courtney starting hearing of this new thing called Life Coaching, yet the timing wasn’t ever quite right to do anything about it.

As a fashion design graduate and stay-at-home mom of two boys, Nickole Swensen thought feeling lackluster and exhausted was normal. She realized she had taken advantage of her health and let herself go for too long. With my poor self-care and health habits she started to not fit into her clothes, she had issues with swelling in her body, was constantly tired and was unable to get help from my family physician. Once he decided to make her health a priority she found her energy again, felt rejuvenated, and became a happier woman and mom. Nickole became hooked on this new healthier, happier lifestyle and decided to pursue a career in wellness. 

In her journey to heal herself, she found her true passion and purpose was in helping others heal themselves heal from the inside out, just the way her healed herself. Once Nickole discovered her gifts and knew she wanted to learn more about supporting others in living a more healthy and happy life and do it in a loving and profitable way. That's when she sought training at SWIHA – Southwest Institute of Healing Arts.

"My passion for health developed when I started to change my own health habits. From the moment I consciously began making new choices, I realized how happy I felt. I soon invited my family to join me in feeling happier and healthier. As I changed my diet, my family's diet changed as well, shifting into a healthy vegan/vegetarian way of eating. It has been an amazing transformation to be health-minded. I love being able to share the powerful information I have embodied with my clients so they are able to transform their lives, as well as the lives of their kids and families.”

By definition, a dream is described as:

a series of thoughts, visions, or feelings that happen during sleep an idea or vision that is created in your imagination and that is not real something that you have wanted very much to do, be, or have for a long time

Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary

More often than not, each new day in our modern lives comes with an overwhelming number of responsibilities and duties that have to get done: work, school assignments, childcare, cooking, cleaning, doctor appointments... the list goes on and on!

Unfortunately, our contemporary fixation on being busy leaves very little room for dreaming. Whether we aspire to find a better job, meet the love of our life, be the first in our family to pursue a post-secondary education, or even to open our own business as a holistic entrepreneur, the reasons we all desire success are as numerous as the stars in the sky. 

Many times, however, the stark reality of our current lives keeps us fixated on our fears, causing us to avoid our futures and to stop dreaming. Dreaming requires the intentional devotation of time to a vision of a better life and self; it is, in itself, part of the process of change. 

William Mauzerall’s transformational journey from military service to massage therapist is an inspirational testimony of accepting and leaning into life’s opportunities. William, an honored military veteran, completed three years of services to our country and found himself at a crossroads after completing his military career. Having been fortunate to have the GI Bill assist with funding his educational dreams, William asked for guidance from his brother on the educational direction in which he should travel. William, a strategic thinker with an openness to consider many educational endeavors pursued the Massage Therapy program at SWIHA (Southwest Institute of Healing Art) for a few reasons: He would earn an associate’s degree from an accredited institution, he could enjoy the climate of the Southwest and it was a program that gave him man options to choose from in developing his gifts. William describes a peace and serenity in making his decision to pursue massage therapy through SWIHA -- he knew in his soul it was the right direction for him. In looking back on this decision, William now can see his footsteps to SWIHA transformed his life far deeper than a massage program.

As William began his program, he quickly found the coursework academically challenging. He embraced the notion that if the program did not challenge him, it would not change him. Through coaching and mentoring from his teachers, he learned the key difference between being a good massage therapist and great massage therapist is the ability to view the body as a whole instead of the sum of its parts. Through the life cycle of his program, beginning with the anatomy class, William learned the basics by breaking down the body to its simplest elements: molecules, cells, tissues and systems. As awareness and exploration continued through his coursework, William learned it is impossible to touch a body without understanding the impact on the whole body as every level.

As awareness and exploration continued through his coursework, William learned it is impossible to touch a body without understanding the impact on the whole body as every level.

Linda Binette’s education at Southwest Institute of Natural Aesthetics (SWINA) brought more gifts to her life than she could have ever imagined. From the moment Linda toured the SWINA campus, she was confident it was the school for her. As a branch of Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, she knew that SWINA would provide her with the holistic education she was looking for.

“I was interested in healing arts – treating the whole person: mind, body and spirit,” says Linda. “When I took my tour of the school, I was so impressed by the great energy I felt, the friendliness and professionalism of the staff, and the beautiful facility! I knew in my heart that I didn’t need to look anywhere else!”

So Linda began her Natural Aesthetics program at SWINA. In addition to hands-on aesthetics training, such as skin care, makeup and waxing, spa technologies and even holistic theory and business courses, Linda learned how to be centered and present in all that she does. One of the most important skills she gained was how to really listen to what her clients are saying, or NOT saying. “It is so fulfilling to know that I am in tune with my client’s goals, and that the client trusts me to lead them in the process,” Linda explains.

Six years ago, Lisa Hecke felt lost. More than that, she was frustrated, angry and unhappy. No longer satisfied in her day job, Lisa found herself hunched over her knees, crying, sobbing, and seeking a new path. She recalls asking aloud for help, gasping through tears and heart wrenching sobs.

“Please show me how to be happy again,” she begged the universe. “If I am meant to stay at this job then please show me how to be happy there, but if I am meant to move on then please show me where to go.”

Suddenly, Lisa says, in one breath her entire body relaxed. A sense of calm washed over her, and she was finally able to surrender. This surrendering and asking for change was the first step on Lisa’s journey to career transformation. Almost immediately, Lisa began to see great opportunities open up before her very eyes, in the areas of interest she always wanted to pursue.

One such opportunity was Yoga Teacher Training. The days and times of the training program aligned perfectly with Lisa’s schedule, so she knew she couldn’t pass it up. Even though the cost of the training was a big financial investment for her, Lisa put her deposit down and as if out of nowhere, the rest of the money presented itself.

“Everything was flowing and it was a clear indication that this was the right thing to do,” Lisa shares.

Once her yoga teacher training hours were complete, Lisa began pursuing other interests, such as Aromatherapy. During her yoga teacher training, she learned a little bit about

Aromatherapy, and used essential oils to help soothe her body from all of the new and different physical movement that goes along with teacher training. “The oils helped to soothe my muscles and at times my spirit,” Lisa says. She wanted to learn all about this time honored healing modality, so she enrolled in the 100 hour Certificate of Excellence Aromatherapy program at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). “I saw this as another example of my spirit guiding me toward my interests,” says Lisa.

By Dee McCaffrey

If you’ve been chewing on the thought of improving your food choices and starting your journey toward a healthy lifestyle, there is no better time to begin than now. March is National Nutrition Month, an annual campaign organized by the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics aimed at educating and empowering Americans into healthier lifestyles. The theme for this year’s nutrition month is “Bite into a Healthy Lifestyle” which encourages everyone to make informed food choices, keep portion sizes in check and engage in fitness routines that are meaningful and enjoyable.

The word “bite” means to take a small piece of a bigger portion, chew it well, savor the flavor and then swallow before taking the next bite. This year’s theme can be interpreted to mean that healthy living is not about making grand changes all at once. Rather, it is a steady continual process that allows for gradual improvement in many areas of your life. The focus is on taking one “bite” at a time into new territory—savoring a small change and allowing it to become a new habit before taking the next “bite.” The small changes you make each day or week will add up to big changes over time.

While Jorinda Nardone currently holds the title of Spa Director of the 40,000 square foot Green Valley Ranch Spa in Las Vegas, the road to this level of success was paved with hard work, long hours and dedication. A 2001 graduate of Southwest Institute of Healing Arts’ (SWIHA) Massage Program, Jorinda came to SWIHA for what she thought was a career change, however, during her program she began to notice a transformation within herself, and heal old wounds in the process. Taking a look at herself and her healing process led Jorinda on a completely different path than the one she originally intended to take.

Once graduated, and armed with an array of knowledge and her massage license, Jorinda went to work launching her business. She opened her first business, Lemongrass Massage Therapy, and quickly started to see clients. Jorinda jumped at the chance to open her own business, because not only was it the perfect way to use her education in a loving and profitable way, it was also a great opportunity for her own personal growth.

By Melanie Albert, Guest Blogger

March is National Nutrition Month, a month dedicated to nutrition and education. National Nutrition Month was created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, focusing on the importance of making informed food choices and healthy eating habits. So the perfect way to kick off this month is with some fun, healthy snacks!

This is a great time to add three delicious healthy snacks, primarily inspired by a vegan and raw food way of eating, to your life. Have fun this week trying superfoods including raw cocoa and goji berries, and make your own almond butter.

By Guest Blogger Laura Barnes

Life Coaching is a dynamic process of purposeful empowerment that sparks transformational change.

Life Coaching develops trust through the journey inward.

A masterful Life Coach helps you to listen and receive information from deep within and to trust and then act on that information.

Life Coaching requires a journey inward. This encourages a sense of rigorously honest confidence and authenticity that is rooted in trusting and believing in you.

For this journey inward, a masterful Life Coach will use a portfolio of artful coaching tools and techniques such as meditation, visualization, mantras, affirmations, the development of mindfulness, music, sounds and frequencies, colors, prayer, breathing techniques, empathy development, storytelling, signs and symbols, body awareness, dreams, archetypes, developing creativity and much more to awaken the mind.

These tools and techniques essentially help to de-clutter, calm and quiet the mind so that you can tune out all the distracting noise and nonsense and tune into your own essential truth that is available and accessible in each and every moment. This inner truth offers the humbling opportunity to guide your life in more purposeful, meaningful and joyous directions.