SWIHA Blog

Mathina Ross has always been a healer and philanthropist at heart. Though her background is not necessarily one you would expect from someone who now has a bustling career offering signature massage experiences, throughout her life she has mastered the art of caring for others. In fact, before attending SWIHA and completing our 1000-hour Massage Therapy Program, Mathina cultivated a profoundly rewarding career in cosmetology, in which she chose to specialize working with children who experienced spectrum disorders toward the end. She shares that the work was fulfilling to her soul, yet left her feeling drained. “I loved the work, [however, I] got ‘burned out.’  Given my specialized status, when I chose to move on, my options were very limited.  Prior to specializing, I had worked in hair, skin and nail care, and had been massaging much of the body, so the transition to massage seemed an appropriate one.”

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.”

Stephanie Parejamaas decided to have a shift in her career field from Marriage and Family Therapy to Life Coaching. She wanted to create a different space to work with her clients in, based on their goals in creating the life they want. “I wanted to focus on their future looking at what they can do today, in order to truly achieve their goals. When I found the Mind-Body Wellness Practitioner Program at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) I knew it was what I was looking for.” It spoke to her on all levels and she was thrilled to feel the shift in her career. Now she has been providing Life Coaching services through her Live Happy Wellness practice since 2015.

The life coaching tool that Stephanie values most is a powerful follow-up question. “I think a great question can really open up the thought process for a client and allow them to dive into themselves and discover what they may have been overlooking before. This can lead to change or embracing their self-discovery.” 

Throughout her late teens and all through her twenties, Leslie Davidson struggled with self-esteem and self-awareness issues. Like a lot of young women, she didn’t have her father in her life when she needed him the most. “That sort of sent me into a place of dishonoring myself with men,” said Leslie. To understand herself better, she studied sociology in college, yet this career path didn’t fulfill her. “I was also looking for spiritual fulfillment and the ability to authentically be myself while providing service to others.”

One fortuitous day, she was talking to a co-worker about life coaching. Her co-worker quickly left the room, and came back in with a course catalog from SWIHA. “I kid you not, as soon as I opened the catalog and saw information all about life coaching… I couldn’t believe it!  All that I could say was ‘thank you God’!”  She enrolled herself in the Holistic Wellness Practitioner program, and recently graduated in June of this year. “I have been coaching since that time and really look forward to my holistic business growing,” exclaimed Leslie.

Someone recently asked me what my expectations were for signing up for the Reiki and Guides class that was offered in October of this year.  After a bit of thought, my first response was I didn’t have any expectations.  The reality of the situation was, I took the class because I needed more hours to graduate. When I signed up for the Mind-Body Wellness Program my goal was to graduate on the time table that I had set for myself a year before, and this class would help me do just that.

The Reiki part of the class, I had some familiarity with because I had experienced this energy healing modality from the Reiki 1 class that I had already taken.  When I walked out, I had loved what I had already experienced and was eager to learn more.  The spirit guide’s part of the class held more intrigue for me because of my limited knowledge on the subject.

During the eight-week holiday season—Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve—we are constantly surrounded by sweet treats and other foods we normally do not eat. However, in the grand scheme of things, two months is minute compared to the rest of the year when many people are not paying attention to what they are consuming on a regular basis.

Sugar is a sneaky crystalline substance that is in nearly everything we eat. Trying to avoid it is like trying to avoid getting hit by a raindrop while running to your car during a rainstorm! Almost all processed, canned, fast, and restaurant foods contain sugar or high fructose corn syrup (fructose). Companies know that adding sugar to their products will make them taste better to our Western-tongues. If you find you get a craving for certain foods from restaurants or grocery stores, it is very possible you have adopted a sugar addiction because your body is craving the sugar within the food.

When we talk about gratitude, we are talking about the act of truly being thankful. Thankful for the blessings we have in life -- the simple pleasures, the gifts of nature, health, happiness, family, friends, etc.

Gratitude shifts our focus from what we want to what we have.

It allows us to look at the ready abundance of all that is great in our lives. When we are truly grateful there is a profound change in our attitude towards life. Truly giving thanks makes us happier, healthier, and more resilient. It makes our relationships stronger and improves our overall health by reducing stress in our lives.

We all sometimes take for granted, the little things in our lives. The things someone else would and have given their lives for: freedom, food, a place to live, an education, a bed to sleep in, clothes on our backs, etc. What about simple things others don't have like sight, touch, smell, and hearing? I know most of us just take those things for granted. Just for a second, imagine your life without them. Think how your life would change and then you will truly be thankful.