SWIHA Blog

When it comes to discovering Southwest Institute for Healing Arts (SWIHA), Antonieta Hensley has Google to thank! “After I saw all the courses, programs, and classes they offered, I was sold. It sounded like a temple or a mystery school available in the states and I knew it was calling for me before I ever stepped foot on the school grounds.”

Antonieta graduated from the 600-hour Mind Body Wellness Practitioner program. She also went through the Yoga Teaching Training, Transformational Life Coaching, and Hypnotherapy programs. She went on to share how her time at SWIHA dramatically changed her life for the better:

“The laws of attraction, eastern philosophies, energetic body healing, taboo subjects, and spirituality have always fascinated me. But that is only about 10% of what the school has to offer. It surpasses your expectations on both what you can learn and whom you can meet. There is no need to search for a guru in India or Thailand. With SWIHA you can become your OWN guru.”

I have been a yoga teacher for eight years. I have had some exhilarating times and some heart-breaking trials. Like anything in life, my yoga practice and my teaching has had highs and lows. In the beginning, every time I taught a class, I was on cloud nine. I left the class feeling as good if not better than the students I taught. I felt exhilarated, uplifted, accomplished, and joyful. I had found my groove, my path, my calling.

I always thought that once you had found what you love to do, hardships never came again and life would be easy and uncomplicated. This is true to a degree, but doing what you love isn’t separate from life and so can’t be completely free from the challenges that naturally arise. For the first 5 years of my teaching career, I taught 1-2 classes a week as a weekend passion. Then an opportunity presented itself to open my own studio and I couldn’t resist. I went from teaching 1-2 classes a week to teaching almost 80 classes a month. In what seemed like an overnight shift, yoga became everything. Not in the way I had envisioned – the 3 hours of uninterrupted meditation each morning, strictly Ayurvedic diet, traveling to India, doing what I love kind of immersion. It ended up being grueling 14 hour days away from home, constant computer time, cleaning clogged toilets, going 2 weeks without taking a yoga class kind of immersion. It was hard, it was fun, it was gut-wrenching, and it was new.

Two years into teaching 15-20 classes every week, things had become a little less exhilarating. The joy of teaching, while still there, had become a little harder to feel. Like most things that we do repetitiously, my teaching shifted to autopilot. While this can be somewhat of a necessity to reserve our physical energy and mental fuel in stressful times and preserve our sanity when we are all too quickly depleting it – it is not the ideal place to teach from.

Zoey Greco was wrapping up her studies towards a Bachelor’s degree in sunny, Southern California back in 2012 when she began to feel a bit lost about how she was going to move forward in her life. “I knew I wanted to be a healer, yet I had NO idea how to enter into such a metaphysical field. I pondered how could I tell my family who had poured thousands of dollars into my education that I wanted to be an intuitive channel and energy healer?” All of her friends were applying and receiving acceptance letters to graduate programs or Fulbright scholarships and Zoey was wondering how she could possibly make her dreams a reality. Other careers have more clear paths to success—formal internships, graduate programs, the rat race. Zoey knew that those paths were not for her.

Before she found SWIHA, Sarah Peters a young woman, working a stressful job in a medical office – She was sick, overweight, and lost.

“I was just starting to expand my health knowledge and learning how to self-heal. As I was searching for photography schools online, I 'accidentally' stumbled upon SWIHA,” shared Sarah. After 'stumbling' onto SWIHA’s website, Sarah enrolled into the Mind/Body Transformational Psychology program, specializing in hypnotherapy, Reiki, Life Coaching and yoga. Sarah became fascinated with almost every subject in her program: “I love the psychology of the mind; I love having deep conversations with people and I have always been sensitive to energies – other people’s energy as well as mine! It was so amazing to find a program that connected everything together for me – mind, body, energy and coaching!”

Sarah is currently transitioning into a Sound/Energy Healer and Yoga Teacher position at Knead Me Wellness in North Phoenix – a move she’s very excited about. She’ll begin taking clients there in March 2016, where she’ll share her wide array of gifts, including Reiki, Hypnotherapy, Coaching, Sound Healing and private yoga instruction.

Taran Emmert was initially going to a fine arts school, yet she couldn’t fathom the idea of waiting six more years until graduation. So, she followed her inner yearning to discover a new path. She always had an interest in massage and yoga, so she checked out four different schools. SWIHA was the last one she checked out, and immediately, it felt like home. While other schools were pushy with their approach, Taran shared how SWIHA felt so different than the others. “My advisor said: Take your time to think about it. Pray about it, let the answers come to you.”

In February of 2012, Taran enrolled into the 750-hour professional massage practitioner program, which allowed her enough elective credits to also complete the 200-hour Yoga teacher training.

Taran chuckled, then shared how at SWIHA “everybody was a bit different and weird, and it felt like home.” She went on to reveal how for the first time in her life, she found a community of people interested in the same things as her. So why did she choose Yoga and massage? “Yoga was the first time I experienced spirituality in an unconditional form, and it allowed me to connect to my body, mind and breath without having to do anything else.” Taran went on to add that she wanted to bring that feeling to other people, while also helping them process their emotions and feel better. Taran’s passion for massage grew throughout her time at SWIHA, yet she recalled how she often massaged friends and family as a child. “I always massaged everyone when I was little, and I always loved touch and healing. I was always giving friends and family back and shoulder rubs, so I guess it was in me all along!”

Kathy Koziol had just received her license as a Real Estate agent prior to enrolling at SWIHA. She did the job for just a single day, and immediately knew that she wanted her life to head in another direction. She was ready to fulfill her Dharma, her life’s purpose that she was Divinely designed for. Kathy had held many careers throughout her life: Elementary School Teacher, Army Officer, Hearing Instrument Specialist, Luxury Automobile Sales Consultant, Master Gardener and Stay at Home Mom (which she referred to as “Domestic Goddess). “I was very satisfied with my life and always have been. I cherish every moment of the life given to me,” shared Kathy. “Every experience I had, positive or negative, helped me to lay the foundation of where I am today.” However, she wasn’t satisfied with the path she was heading down from a career perspective. Enter SWIHA.

Adrian Ealy is a multitalented and equally meticulous practitioner who’s calling and current practice as an energetic bodyworker complements his strong background in Kung Fu and fitness. His approach to his own thriving health, as well as those he serves, integrates mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. Thanks to a series of events, conversations and a strong sense of discernment on his part, Adrian’s journey is now very much in alignment with his purposeful calling.

Just before his studies began, Adrian worked for a corporate company, and began noticing signs of stress and strain on his body. His knowledge in fitness led him to pursue yoga as an additional means of healing physical discomfort, especially because the roots of Kung Fu stem directly from yoga. Adrian chose to enroll in Yoga Teacher Training at Spirit of Yoga offered through Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) solely for the purpose enhancing his own personal practice.

Actively doing the work required in the Yoga Teacher Training program, Adrian was gifted a certificate to receive a massage. He willing took advantage of the opportunity to receive as massage as he was still experiencing job-related discomfort.

Six years ago, Lisa Hecke felt lost. More than that, she was frustrated, angry and unhappy. No longer satisfied in her day job, Lisa found herself hunched over her knees, crying, sobbing, and seeking a new path. She recalls asking aloud for help, gasping through tears and heart wrenching sobs.

“Please show me how to be happy again,” she begged the universe. “If I am meant to stay at this job then please show me how to be happy there, but if I am meant to move on then please show me where to go.”

Suddenly, Lisa says, in one breath her entire body relaxed. A sense of calm washed over her, and she was finally able to surrender. This surrendering and asking for change was the first step on Lisa’s journey to career transformation. Almost immediately, Lisa began to see great opportunities open up before her very eyes, in the areas of interest she always wanted to pursue.

One such opportunity was Yoga Teacher Training. The days and times of the training program aligned perfectly with Lisa’s schedule, so she knew she couldn’t pass it up. Even though the cost of the training was a big financial investment for her, Lisa put her deposit down and as if out of nowhere, the rest of the money presented itself.

“Everything was flowing and it was a clear indication that this was the right thing to do,” Lisa shares.

Once her yoga teacher training hours were complete, Lisa began pursuing other interests, such as Aromatherapy. During her yoga teacher training, she learned a little bit about

Aromatherapy, and used essential oils to help soothe her body from all of the new and different physical movement that goes along with teacher training. “The oils helped to soothe my muscles and at times my spirit,” Lisa says. She wanted to learn all about this time honored healing modality, so she enrolled in the 100 hour Certificate of Excellence Aromatherapy program at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). “I saw this as another example of my spirit guiding me toward my interests,” says Lisa.

By Jenna Zizzo

When the word ‘core’ is used in a yoga class, thoughts of six-pack abs often come to mind, a picture of what most people often refer to as the ‘outer core’ or the ‘superficial’ abdominal muscles. While anatomically correct, there’s another core, our ‘Deep Core Line’, which is more of aligned with the purpose in our yoga practice.

A new type of yoga is beginning to sweep the nation. This yoga, called Core Strength Vinyasa, is a unique perspective on the overall practice of yoga. Founded by New York-based yoga teacher Sadie Nardini, Core Strength Vinyasa (CSV) focuses on our ‘Deep Core Line’, allowing us to practice and bring awareness to the core of each yoga pose. The process of CSV is drawing inward, becoming empowered through the poses and learning to move from our deep center – the core of our being!

The Deep Core Line that Sadie refers to in Core Strength Vinyasa is a myofascial line or meridian that begins in the arch of our feet, and travels up our mid-line, through the oh-so-important psoas muscle, into our torso and up and out through our tongue!

Core Strength Vinyasa is its own expression of Hatha yoga, as well as a set of physical and energetic alignment principles, core postures and even core philosophies that teachers or students can use to boost the benefits of any style of yoga. It has been said that Core Strength Vinyasa is one of the most effective yoga practices for creating changes both inside and outside the body.

By Jenna Zizzo, Guest Blogger

It’s no secret that yoga and all things holistic are on the rise in America. Once considered esoteric by some, and often perceived as being practiced only by those who fell into the category of “hippie” or “granola,” recent decades have demonstrated how yoga has catapulted into mainstream society, becoming a popular way for people to stay in shape, relax and connect with their higher selves.

It is widely known that the history of yoga dates back to ancient India. While there isn’t any official written proof as to the exact date that yoga began, there are many accounts online and in books about the birth of yoga, and how it came to America from India. However, what is even less documented is the history of yoga teaching.

It’s been written and recorded that one yogi taught another who then brought those teachings to another individual or group, and the tradition and philosophy was passed down from person to person, group to group. From old school yoga masters such as Patanjali and his yoga sutras and B.K.S. Iyengar’s alignment instruction, to contemporary instructors like Tara Stiles and Sean Corn, the influence of yoga in America is an essential part of today’s culture.