SWIHA Blog

At the age of 10, Kenneth visited Disney with his family, and immediately fell in love with the concept of serving others with the goal of always making people happy. Ever since, Kenneth has had a deep passion for helping others. Fast forward to adulthood, Kenneth found himself leaving his career in upper management hotel restaurant hospitality and launching his own business as a personal chef! 

“For years, I have served as a resource to those seeking inspiration, help, or advice. I finally decided to own that role and be intentional about it. I started by journaling about my passions, thoughts, and wonderings about our world. I learned through reflection and introspection that I can't cruise through life without support, and neither can anyone else. I discovered that there is a profession around just that - holistically supporting humans!”

There is no doubt that this has been an unprecedented year for so many reasons. It has provided a wide variety of global emotion, between bringing human rights to the forefront of the conversation and navigating a pandemic that has forced some difficult decisions to be made. This holiday season may look and feel a little different this year, however there are many ways we can still create a meaningful and conscious connection with those we love, even from afar.

“I have grown in more ways than one, I have a new appreciation for my life and my experiences. I am forever grateful for the SWIHA community,” Rocio Castellanos, a graduate of the Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner diploma, program tells us, “Even though I was an online student I felt I was always ‘there’.”

Prior to her journey at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, Rocio had worked in the healthcare field for twelve years as a Respiratory Therapist. “I have to say that I wish I had had this training when I was working in the medical field because it would have helped me be of better service to my patients,” she discloses, “Not that I wasn't, however, I know the skills I now have would have benefitted my patients even more.”

In a world where there is so much uncertainty and stress, it is easy to forget the power we still have in managing our own sense of wellbeing. This is why creating a program that is truly holistic in nature has been incredibly important to us! When we treat a fellow human being as already whole, they can connect with the part them that knows what they need—this is how people create lasting change.

At Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, we dedicate ourselves daily to our mission of inspiring individuals to discover their gifts and graces and support them as they share their talents with the world in a loving and profitable way. It was this idea that resonated with SWIHA graduate, Melissa Richardson:  “I didn't want to work for anyone else,” she says, “I wanted to make my own way and chart my own course. I had my own ideas of how I wanted to participate and give to the world.”

Melissa is a licensed Massage Therapist in Buffalo, New York. She loves what she does and one day realized that, while she was making a difference for her clients, she felt she was only helping them temporarily and in a physical way.

As a massage therapist, you are consistently educating yourself on new techniques and modalities to better serve your clients. After all, you have been called to be a healer and improve the lives of others! You’re already aware of the transformative effect that bodywork has, and today we’ll look at some reason you may want to consider adding Hypnotherapy to your skill set to truly integrate mind-body-soul wellness.

“Though I reside in Wisconsin and SWIHA is a distance from me, I know my people are out there,” Jamie Reklau says with a full heart.

From an early age, Jamie has loved to build others confidence, offer wisdom and lend an ear when needed. She tells us: “During my junior high school years, I passed around a notebook and started a ‘Dear Jamie’ column.  I had passion, even back then, to offer new ideas and do whatever I could to assist my classmates to have a better life.”

However, as she navigated adulthood, she realized that she had shut herself off from her authenticity: “I felt like I was not allowed to be my genuine self,” says Jamie, “I lived a highly traumatic life. I survived a Traumatic Brain Injury and lived most of my life feeling like I could never accomplish anything meaningful. My mindset was that it wasn't in the cards for me.”

We've all heard of "Internet Trolls"--those who intentionally stir up drama and discord. They comment mean things, thrive on shocking others, and generally target complete strangers.

It's said that they best way to deal with web-bullies is to ignore them--"Don't feed the Trolls!". Some, however, attempt to create a true connection with these types of people in hopes that they begin to see others as human and will stop being hateful to strangers.

New research into the personality of Internet Trolls suggests that this practice of building their empathy for others could be one way to change their behavior for good.