SWIHA Blog

Season’s blessings, SWIHA commUNITY—

While most people are singing songs and feeling merry and bright, we must be mindful that, for some people, the holidays are rather blue . . . or even gray.

As one who is coming up on the second anniversary of family tragedy (two years ago, our son took his life due to complications of PTSD), I’m especially aware that the holidays can be tough. Even well-intended greetings such as a simple “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” can trigger feelings of grief, angst, or even anger.

Just this last week, I was witness to such an incident. As I pulled up to my regular Starbucks location I noticed a woman having a full-blown meltdown over an innocent greeting given to her by a kindly gentlemen collecting for the Salvation Army. All he said was, “Happy Holidays!”

Many of us have the goal of making wellness a priority in 2019...but why not start today?

The Holiday season is busy with travel, shopping and plenty of get-togethers. We're often giving so much of our energy, that we may not even notice when our reserves are low until we're exhausted, foggy-brained and sometimes even sick. By remembering self-care, you can be more present (no pun intended!) for your loved ones and let the Universe know that we're ready and open to receive the good that's in store for the new year.

We created a 12-day challenge based on some of the programs here at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. If you decide to embark on this journey with us, let us know how it's going by using #SWIHAWellnessChallenge on social media! (Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see posts from our commUNITY!)

The brain is such a complicated machine that we’ve barely scratched the surface of its mysteries. In the last five years, however, many researchers have focused heavily on how our minds are affected by things such as nutrition, environmental pollution, screen time and multi-tasking. They’re exploring beyond mental health and now observing brain health—the ways in which the organ is physically responding to our fast-changing lifestyle.

With every new study, science uncovers a facet of the relationship between our body and our body. Optimal brain health will be at the forefront of wellness in the upcoming years, so today we'll look at some ways that holistic healing can help support mind, body and spirit.

For Nicole Fonovich, life was looking increasingly bleak. Born with two autoimmune diseases, a softball-sized fatty benign tumor between her shoulder blades, and a degenerative disc ailment, Nicole was struggling to tread the gray waters of her faltering health. Not only were her maladies causing her immense physical strife—including two surgeries on her lower back, another two surgeries to deal with the tumor, and a spinal fusion—they were also creating immense personal and emotional loss in the form of two miscarriages.

Thalia Ayres Randolph wants to set the record straight: she never set out to do any of this. Not the international travel, not being featured on one of the most popular reality television shows in America, not the dedicated work as a spiritual leader and teacher…

Exit, Stage Right

As a young woman pursuing a career in musical theatre in Toronto, Canada, Thalia was convinced that the performing arts were the foundation of her identity and would always serve as her path. Yet, performing on a professional level wasn’t exactly leaving her with a lasting sense of happiness, and she found herself pursuing solace through yoga and Reiki; as she strived toward the spotlight, her spiritual gifts were coming to light as well.

In 2007, I was introduced to yoga by a friend who directed me to take a class in Kundalini. Little did I know that the place where I would first step foot on the mat would be the same place I would train to become a yoga teacher myself nine years later: SWIHA.

A Rough Start

Back then, it felt like so much was happening physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually that I was not sure what to do or how to process what was coming up for me. While I dabbled in yoga since that fateful class in 2007—taking an occasional class and attempting to join Instagram yoga challenges—it wasn’t until 2015 that I finally committed to seeking yoga as a way of healing.

Like so many graduates, Leah Baguet’s path to holistic wellness began with a journey. She was surrounded by stress at her job, working through a series of medical challenges, and coping with the premature death of a close family member.

So, what makes Leah’s journey so different? Well, it was a literal one!

“I realized that life is just too short,” Leah shares. “I decided to quit my full-time job and travel the world with my husband. Upon returning, I didn’t want to go back to the regular hustle and bustle of a 9 to 5 job. That’s when SWIHA came into my life.”

Dana Marie Greenwood has officially gone full circle: from her roots as a middle school and high school teacher to her exploration as a student at SWIHA, she is now returning once more to the world of education as a Life Coach!

With 13 years of classroom experience backing her up, Dana intuitively knew that a relaxed state was necessary for her students to effectively absorb new knowledge. Yet, it wasn’t until she trained in a diverse spectrum of specialties at SWIHA—including massage therapy, yoga, aromatherapy, life coaching, mindfulness, guided imagery, and hypnotherapy—that Dana found an appropriate name for the phenomenon she was encountering. “I became consciously aware of the importance of returning to the parasympathetic—or “rest and digest”—state as often as possible,” she reflects. “So many of the body, mind, and spirit’s important functions take place in that state!”

According to Life Coach and Clinical Hypnotherapist Stacia Aashna, one of the best ways to start the New Year is with a detox of body and mind. In fact, she is offering a perfect prescription for wellness in 2018 with Hypnosis, Meditation, Booch at The Kombucha Room in Chicago in mid-January.

For those who don’t know, “booch” is the term for a fermented tea beverage that detoxifies the body and builds the immune system. It is an ideal companion for those brave souls who are ready to detox their mind of old “personal lies”– that inner dialogue of unconscious, reinforcing statements that keeps you from evolving into your best, most confident, happiest self.

Yet, drinking tea is not the only way to “clear” yourself internally in preparation for what 2018 will bring! This graduate from SWIHA’s Life Coaching and Clinical Hypnotherapy program firmly believes that hypnotherapy is one of the oldest proven detox tools available today and an incredible asset for life coaches to use with their clients.

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.