SWIHA Blog

Sharon Rose lights up any room she enters—and it’s not just an illusion; it’s her signature glitter makeup! She finds her power in feminine energy and leaves a little sparkle wherever she goes. That simple philosophy has become the foundation for her successful coaching business, The Soul Stylist.

“To me Life Coaching is the space where we can finally take full responsibility for how our life turns out,” she says, “The practice opens you up to see the experiences, emotions, people, and life itself from all perspectives. There is no room for blame or shame, only acceptance and forward movement.”

Some people get messages very early in life that they are destined for greatness.  This is the case for Becca Briley.  When she was a little girl about eight years old she had a very powerful and beautiful vision. It was no ordinary dream!  “It felt so real,” recalls Becca tapping into a very vivid and visceral memory.  “Jesus himself appeared to me, at bedside, with the simplest of message: 'You Can Fly.'”

Becca continues: “Even then I knew humans do not fly, yet those three words have served as my life’s marching orders. In the vision, I stepped to my windows ledge and felt the most liberating sense of freedom. I jumped into the wind that carried me to elevations only winged creatures were capable of.”

Our bodies are filled with electrical and chemical impulses that keep our brain and body in constant communication. Most of the time, we actively decipher the information and can quickly interpret it. A common example of this is when we accidentally touch a hot surface, our body moves itself away without a conscious thought to do so.

“It is our Soul’s divine journey into a still point, a quality that is filled with a richness of rhythm and harmony,” is how Jennifer Emperador, a SWIHA admissions coach and holistic practitioner, defines the practice of sound healing.

Jennifer has graduated from SWIHA’s Hypnotherapy, Life Coaching, Yoga and Yoga Nidra programs--just to name a few!--though, the modality she most has a passion for is sound healing.

“What’s there not to love?! I was introduced to sound healing back in 2010 and hooked ever since!“ says Jennifer, “All of my instruments emanate energy and I named them based on the energy they hold. For me, they are ‘alive’ and have developed a status of their own.”

Yoga Body Psychology is not your average asana practice; it’s science.

“If we know that everything is energy and that by being able to transmit and transmute energy, we can effect change in our external environment,” explains Kate Shipp, the Associate Dean of Yoga Education at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts,  “then we also know that we are capable of doing the same in our internal environment.“

This amazing modality’s transformational tools are rooted in tradition while also integrating the principles of psychology, creating profound change for those with past trauma.

If you’ve ever been to our yoga studio and training facility, Spirit of Yoga, you’ve surely noticed our shelled friends sunbathing in the pond. Due to their wide-eyed, slow-and-steady nature, many consider turtles to be the wisest souls in the animal kingdom. When Katie Hembraugh first saw them, she took it as a sign to “come out of her shell” and pursue Yoga Teacher Training!

“I had developed a habit of not showing up and letting opportunities go by while hiding behind being not ready...[so] I landed at SWIHA because of the turtles!” laughs Katie, “Synchronicities are one way I see my life guided by my Great Attractor. I met Laura Mckinzie and saw the overflow of turtles living in the pond at Spirit of Yoga and the decision was made.”

With incredible tenacity, Nyla Jones, a graduate of Southwest Institute of Healing Arts’ Yoga & Mind-Body Wellness Practitioner programs, states: “In my mother’s death, she gave me life.”

At the tender age of twenty-four, Nyla stepped in to the role of family matriarch. Cancer had claimed her mother, placing Nyla as caretaker to her youngest siblings—her two-year-old brother and her three-year-old sister who was born with Down syndrome.

Instead of allowing herself to be consumed by anger and self-pity, Nyla felt that her mission was to become a vessel of compassion and help her family thrive—not despite the hardships—rather, inspired by them.

In 2003, Jason Zelich and his future wife, Kerri, were living out what some might describe as a dreamlike existence in Paris, France. Surrounded by glorious architecture, ample art, and a foodie’s paradise, they were both pursuing successful careers in the international fashion industry. Yet, this lifestyle still wasn’t quite as satisfying as either of them had hoped it would be—at least not in the long-term. With a passion for holistic wellness and a desire to bring people together, both started dreaming of something new…

Together, Kerri and Jason decided to make the move to Tempe, Arizona to fulfill Kerri’s dream to study therapeutic massage and energy work at SWIHA. She graduated with her degree—as well as certifications as a Master Massage and Bodywork Practitioner, a Registered Polarity Practitioner, and a Cranial-Sacral Practitioner—a mere two years later. Motivated by Kerri’s commitment to promoting health and vitality, as well as his own background in the world of sports injuries, Jason followed suit shortly thereafter and enrolled in SWIHA’s 750 Hour Massage Therapy Program.

Crystal Valentina Price knows that personal growth is a lifelong game—and, often, that game involves some pain. “They say that all suffering has a noble purpose,” she explains, “and it wasn’t until I was completely exhausted of being the victim of my own story that I truly stepped up into owning my story and creating my own reality.”

For Crystal, this process of letting go intersected with a new aspect of her identity: parenthood.  “When I became a mother, I felt like I had lost a sense of who I was and was really yearning to rediscover my sense of Self,” she reflects. Through her yoga practice and yoga teacher training, she was able to do just that: “I have realized through this practice that all we have to do is show up! Energetically holding space for ourselves and others has the power to heal!”

Ask Cameron Belanger for some words of advice, and she’ll simply tell you this: believe in the process.

It was believing in the process that first led her to embark on her healing journey. It was believing in the process that helped her survive an abusive relationship and learn to parent more resiliently as a result. And it was believing in the process that shifted her focus from a lengthy career as a public-school educator to a new entrepreneurial venture as the founder and owner of her own private practice, Peaceful Healing.

“Anything can be achieved and can continue to get better by practicing the process,” Cameron explains. “I have learned and practiced teaching, mothering, breathing, and pushing my body. Every day allows me to refine myself in my professional and personal life.”