A few weeks ago, I posted what I thought was an innocent plea, encouraging friends to “Pray for Israel”. This post was motivated by the fact that two of our graduates and longtime teachers were in harm's way, living on the banks of the Jordan and being forced to flee their homes. The morning after making the post, I woke up to a heart-wrenching message from another graduate with a Palestinian heritage, asking why I took sides against her. My heart sank. As a result, I’ve embarked on a deep, soul-searching, and self-education journey as to how “peace on earth” could be possible. What I share here is part of my personal plan, summarized in the acronym of P.E.A.C.E.
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Topics:
yoga,
KC Miller,
Inner Peace,
Peace,
Year of the Dragon,
Form a Yoga Habit
“Before SWIHA, I had two decades of social work experience in the context of non-profit organizations and State Government. In 2009, I had a series of unfortunate, life-altering events occur that made me realize there are gaps in services for people like myself (grieving, going through a divorce and the loss of a parent, and also living away from my family) lacking a support network to help me navigate the process or hold space for my grief. This led me on a search for healing and eventually, I landed in massage school, reiki training, yoga, meditation teacher training, and end-of-life doula classes.”
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Topics:
aromatherapy,
Massage,
holistic entrepreneur,
Great Graduate,
SWIHA,
yoga,
Past Life Regressions,
Meditation,
Reiki,
Hypnotherapy,
SWIHA Students,
tarot readings,
End of Life Doula,
SWIHA Catalog,
Dreams and Metaphors
“I was led to SWIHA by my intuition and my growing need to help others live a healthier and happier life. I knew that our health and wellness needed to be more important than any of the other things we put first in our busy lives. To be honest, I did not have a clue where this would take me or what a “Health and Wellness Coach” was. Yet, I still followed my intuition and drive to be able to grow my own knowledge of holistic wellness and ultimately help others to start putting their health and wellness first!”
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Topics:
Southwest Institute of Healing Arts,
holistic entrepreneur,
Great Graduate,
SWIHA,
yoga,
Reiki,
Holistic wellness,
Holistic health,
Arizona,
coaching,
Tempe,
Health and Wellness,
Holistic Health and Wellness Coach,
Imposter Syndrome
In honor of our intention to ‘Be on Purpose’ in the month of January, SWIHA staff member and Yoga Teacher, Joan Lloyd Collins, shares her story of discovering the power of holistic modalities.
What brought you to SWIHA?
My spirit guides and divine intervention. I called the Bay Area home for 25 years. Because I was driven by the teachings of western medicine, I pursued my Master’s in Public Health and my Bachelor’s in Nursing. However, things changed in 2010 when I developed a health issue. I went to my regular doctors—had scans, and tests of all kinds—and in the end the advice I received was that I had to live with it. That there was nothing that can be done.
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Topics:
yoga,
Meditation,
SWIHA Staff,
Inspiration,
National Be on Purpose Month 2023
As youngsters, we are often asked, “What do you want to BE when you grow up?” The question being asked is really what do you want to DO for a living?
For Will Zecco, he knew in middle school he wanted to BE a hairstylist. And yet his dad wouldn’t hear of it! He wanted Will to do “college”. So Will attended a community college and became a Fashion Designer, doing costume design for a local theatre group. He was good at what he was doing, including singing and dancing in the local productions, yet he still had a dream of being something else.
A hometown newspaper did an article featuring Will with the headline “Local Boy Becomes Designer.” A state Senator sent Will a letter congratulating him and offering that if there was ever anything he could do for him, to let him know. As Will often says, “We only get what you’re brave enough to ask for!” Will boldly asked the Senator about a grant and got a full ride to go to Cosmetology school.
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Topics:
SWINA,
Southwest Institute of Healing Arts,
Aesthetician,
SWIHA,
yoga,
200 Hour Yoga Training,
Yoga Teacher Training,
Southwest Institute of Natural Aesthetics,
YTT,
spirit of yoga,
Yogi,
Safe Space,
Holding Space,
Trauma-Aware,
Hairdresser,
Makeup Artist,
Esthetician School,
SOY
Journaling is about creating clarity, prioritizing your energy, and provides an opportunity for positive self-talk. It is also an amazing way to see how much you’ve grown, changes in mindset, and your progress toward your goals.
Through documenting our thoughts and feelings, we advance our self-awareness and self-control. It gives us the ability to analyze how we are currently showing up in the world and provides us the opportunity to feel empowered in our decisions.
Consider these 10 ways below on how to utilize journaling as Svadhyaya, or self-reflection, either through life, or especially during your experience of going through Yoga Teacher Training. Ultimately, your journal is a place to practice vulnerability and honesty, and bring that in to the world to truly live yoga!
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Topics:
Gratitude,
yoga,
Mindfulness,
journaling,
Yoga Teacher Training,
Yoga Sutras,
Arizona,
YTT,
Tempe,
Yogi,
yoga teacher,
Sacred Space,
Holistic Education,
Ahimsa,
Self-Awareness,
Gratitude Journal,
My Spirit of Yoga,
Svadhyaya,
Self-Control,
Principles of Yoga,
Alter,
Satya,
Self-Reflection
Around the year of 2010 and Kamini Desai, Education Director and Core Curriculum Developer for the Amrit Yoga Institute, was living in Phoenix and doing a lot of traveling, speaking and teaching about yoga and yoga nidra. A friend of hers mentioned that there was a school called the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), and that she thought she should connect with them. Kamini sent a message to KC Miller, Owner, Founder and Chief Spiritual Officer. The Universe brought them together when the timing was right about a year later.
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Topics:
yoga,
Yoga Teacher Training,
yoga nidra,
Yoga Body Psychology
How do you meditate when you have a busy mind? The average person has 60,000-80,000 thoughts per day; that’s 2.500-3.300 thoughts per hour. That’s a lot of thoughts to try to bring into stillness.
This was my challenge. I’d always wanted to meditate, but trying to stop my brain thoughts while on the mat were near impossible. That is, until I found Yoga Nidra. I’ll never forget my first time receiving a Yoga Nidra session, day one of Yoga Nidra level one training. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed up for this course.
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Topics:
spirituality,
yoga,
Meditation,
yoga nidra,
Healing Modalities
The dominant culture would not just separate us from ourselves, it also separates us from each other. This is a way to keep us from being able to realize our collective power. But how do we balance acknowledging our individual lived experiences, with the need to come together to create the necessary shift? We must eventually move beyond our identities to see our cosmic connection to each other, and the Divine Source, and work together to create a world that reflects this cosmic union.
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Topics:
yoga,
Guest Blog,
Social Justice,
Yoga Philosophy,
Samskaras
I started my yoga practice at home, when my grandmother gave me Richard Hittleman’s 28-day Exercise Plan. The cover depicted a thin, blonde woman in what looked to me like a contorted shape; an image that has many variations and has become the dominant depiction of what a yogi looks like. I’ve also spent most of my professional, academic and athletic life as one of few (or the only) BIPOC people in the room. So it wasn’t all that surprising that I found myself surrounded by bendy white women in my first studio yoga class. Since this was a normal experience for me — being or perceiving myself as the only BIPOC person surrounded by white people — I didn’t think twice about showing up again.
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Topics:
yoga,
Social Justice,
Inclusive Spaces,
Racial Equality,
Showing Up
