SWIHA Blog

Ingrid Huffman is tackling the major issue of PTSD among military veterans... and she’s using tools she learned at SWIHA to help.

While the health issues facing returning military personnel are many, few present such a unique set of challenges as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As a military nurse who served in the Navy–and later with the Army Nurse Corps in Iraq—Ingrid is committed to creating a world without PTSD—and a world without the suicide and homelessness rates among veterans and their families to which it contributes.

Ingrid is intimately familiar with the toll this disorder takes. After graduating from the University of Colorado, she spent four years with the Navy Nurse Corps and another nine as a civilian nurse. When the United States invaded Iraq, she joined the Army Nurse Corps—a decision which profoundly shaped her life and her understanding of the world around her.

Reine Matthews is a SWIHA graduate both doing great things and writing great things! Her first book, Thriving After Diagnosis: Instead of Merely Surviving, was just published… and she is already working on a second! Hailing from Northern Idaho, Reine received an AOS Degree in Mind Body Transformational Psychology from SWIHA, with concentrations in Holistic Nutrition and Wellness, Life Coaching, and Urban Farming and Conscious Living.

Reine chose to get into the field of holistic wellness because of her personal journey of being diagnosed with (and thriving beyond!) Lyme Disease. According to the CDC, Lyme disease is the fastest growing vector-borne, infectious disease in the United States, with 25,000 new cases being reported every month for an estimated 300,000 new people being affected per year (25% of which are children). This illness is typically transmitted through a bite from an infected deer tick and has been reported in all 50 states and on every continent, excluding Antarctica.

High in the mountains of Northern Arizona, in a little town called Pinedale (population: 588), you’ll find SWIHA graduate Lisa Kaiser carving out her dream of a self-sustaining community.

In 2015, Lisa graduated from Southwest Institute of Healing Arts with a degree in Mind-Body Transformational Psychology and a diploma in the Mind-Body Wellness Practitioner program. The focus on body energy work, Ayurveda, aromatherapy, urban farming, raw food preparation—as well as the tools and support she got from entrepreneurial classes—provided the foundation of success that led to the beginning of Lisa building her dream.

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.”

The exciting alternative programs that Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) has for holistic health is what brought Shannon Coleman to the school. She enrolled and graduated within one year with a Mind-Body Wellness Practitioner diploma. “This program has opened my eyes to many things such as staying more positive, having confidence, facing my fears, and to just do it. Many of these tips have helped me already, and continue to help me be a better mother, wife, and business woman.” The most valuable thing she learned at SWIHA was to stay positive and face her fears. A quote she loves sharing is, “Release the negative, and truck on with the positive.”

Shannon’s passion for holistic health started when she spent many hours and thousands of dollars on doctors to treat an unknown illness that was leaving her incapacitated. “I met a holistic doctor that saved my life and changed it forever. I am passionate about what I do because I have lost family members, including my mother, to cancer. I know from experience that taking care of the mind, body, and soul as a whole, works! And, I want to educate others who are interested.”

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.”

Reine Matthews was diagnosed with Lyme disease four years ago and decided to treat it naturally. Having felt and seen firsthand how taking the natural holistic route really worked and helped inspired her to share it with others so they, too, can find health and wellness inside and out. “I researched holistic schools online and found Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) and it just felt like a perfect fit for what I wanted to do and learn.” She went on to study Mind- Body Transformational Psychology specializing in Holistic Nutrition, Urban Farming, and Life Coaching.

Cameo Wilson is one incredible individual who has learned to nurture her own self growth and in doing so found her roots and a deep-seated passion for urban farming and sustainability. What brought her to SWIHA was a self-imposed desire for self-growth, followed by the committed decision to take care of herself.

“By taking care of myself physically and emotionally through eating well and observing my own nutritional intake, I found a love for my own well-being and the ability to share my journey of health with others. I decided to further my education in what I love and pursue Nutritional Coaching as an avenue to serve. Food, eating healthy and wellness all resonated with me so I began searching online for schools that offered programs with these options in coaching. SWIHA was the first one to pop up and instantly I felt like that was the option I wanted to explore.”

Cameo states excitedly with smile in her voice, “It just felt right to me to check it out and it felt like home right away. I came to a Gifts and Graces event (which are held the First Friday of every month) where I received a complimentary Life Coaching session around my career goals.” Instantly, her gut feelings were confirmed and it was obvious that she was destined to be a student walking the very halls she was visiting that First Friday.

Like many in my generation, for most of my life I only knew white rice. Although I heard about whole grains I did not incorporate them into my daily eating until I was learning about whole grains about eight years ago. At that time I decided to get tested for food sensitivities and found that I’m sensitive to gluten, the protein in whole grains including wheat, barley and rye. I stopped eating most food with gluten and now find that when I do eat gluten, I almost immediately get hives. Last year, I was also tested for celiac disease, a serious autoimmune condition in which our body does not absorb nutrients. Fortunately, I do not have celiac disease. I’m glad that I’ve had these experiences as I can now share gluten-free eating with my clients and in my writing.

Why We Need Carbs

People are confused about carbs and about whole grains. Many diets are no carb or low carb, but in reality our bodies need about 40-50% carbs every day at every meal. The problem is that people eat low quality carbs, like cookies, cakes, crackers and bread. Other carbohydrate-rich foods, such as whole grains, beans, vegetables are good for us.

When we cook and enjoy eating real whole foods we have the opportunity to create a wide variety of tasty, beautiful, colorful, local, in-season dishes.

• Cook with variety. You can cook the same foods different ways – raw, steamed, roasted, blended - and enjoy very different, delicious meals.
• Eat with the Season. When we eat real whole foods, we have the opportunity to eat in tune with what’s in season, and enjoy the food that nature naturally creates for us in the geographic area where we live.
• Eat with Color. By incorporating whole foods into our life, we easily enjoy the infamous "rainbow of fruits & veggies" that we hear about so often, getting a variety of nutrients and phytonutrients (natural plant chemicals).