SWIHA Blog

You know the drill. It’s 8:00 AM and already 96°F, the sun is beating down mercilessly through your window, and you can’t remember a time before you woke up feeling like a pajama-clad puddle of perspiration…

Ah, yes, summer is here! And with it comes the best of times—dreamy sunsets, the smell of fresh-cut lawns, road trips to memorable locales—and the worst of times—like heat waves so abysmal they can make even the most enthusiastic Coppertone babies flee from the sight of the sun.

If you’re facing oppressive heat this summer, you may be tempted to lock yourself inside, crank the ceiling fan, and post up on your sofa with Netflix as your sole companion. Not so fast…  While summer IS the ultimate time for relaxation, try not to forget that a world exists outside your living room— a world just as scorched, sweltering, and sticky as you!

India gets into your soul. Seeing it is like meeting again with an old friend—a re-acquaintance with a land that is transformative, inspiring, and pure magic.

India is also vast and profoundly diverse in its landscapes, languages, customs, and clothing.  The big cities, and even some small towns, bustle with activity 24/7. It is said that India can be an assault on the senses and can lead to a feeling of “culture shock,” yet I feel otherwise. India touches a place within you that is as old as time itself. It reminds you that you are infinite. It reminds you of your Truth.

Those who know me know that my journey into yoga started very late in life. While I had always had an interest in yoga, I usually ended up feeling disheartened whenever I’d venture to an actual class. Time after time, I’d find myself in the same chaotic environment: a room full of sweaty people jumping through the poses at lightning speed while an instructor stood at the front of the room, barking out the moves like a drill sergeant! Leaving the studio after these experiences, I’d wind up feeling uneasy with the same thought plaguing me the whole journey home: “Well, that was not what I expected...”

I still remember the first time I took a yoga class. It was February 2007, and my husband had presented me with a gift certificate for classes at a local studio. He had hoped that yoga would release my anxiety over being a new mom and alleviate the constant state of stress that overwhelmed me with every breath. I, too, was excited to try this new way of exercising. My daily workouts had left me feeling physically strong, so I had myself convinced that I would be “great” at yoga. Little did I know that my ego would be knocked down on its knees as soon as I stepped on the mat!

As I huffed and puffed through the poses in that first class, I struggled to understand the foreign guidance to “allow your breath to guide the movement of your body.” Finally, after much shaking and panting to force my hunched over body into triangle pose, the teacher approached me and gently asked, “Where are you trying to get into? Please come down into child’s pose and breathe.” Reluctantly, I listened. As soon as I followed her instructions, I was hit by a wave of peace and a softening in my mind. “What?!” I remember thinking. “I can rest? I’m receiving permission to rest, relax, and breathe?” In that moment, I knew the practice of yoga was going to change my life.

The year was 2000, and Lisa Grunwald—who now goes by the name Gullveig—was facing her first year of college in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The stress of the transition from high school kid to university student was weighing heavily on her, and her normal anxiety had suddenly escalated to a whole new level. Some days, it got so bad that she would have dozens of panic attacks a day. To top it off, she suddenly developed lockjaw, a frightening condition which keeps the mouth from opening and functioning properly…

Deena Gregory has always been a “seeker”—a woman with a self-described “natural curiosity about self and spirit” who in quiet moments often found herself gazing upward at the night sky with a deep sense of awe. Yet, after years of looking to institutions—from organized religion to the halls of academia—for the answers that could only be found within, Deena got caught in a spiritual drought, convinced that there was nothing else bigger “out there” than the humdrum of everyday human life.

“With a new reliance on my own thinking came what the Buddha referred to as ‘Dukkha,’ or suffering,” she explains. “I have always been hailed as a ‘critical thinker.’ Now I laugh and say, ‘Yes, as soon as I start thinking, things get critical!’”

It has been a long road to get to where Tim Barber is today. By his account, that amounts to somewhere around 2,300 miles and 15 years since the graduate of SWIHA’s 1000-hour Master Massage Practitioner and 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training program first realized that he wanted to become a Licensed Massage Therapist.

Tim spent most of his life in New York. No, not that New York. “Everyone always assumes I mean New York City when I tell them where I am from, which couldn’t be further from the truth,” he laughs. Born and raised in the Central New York region, most of his life was spent surrounded by forests and water— not skyscrapers. Houses were often a half-mile to a mile apart. The town he grew up in was so small that there wasn’t even a four-way stop in it. His graduating class consisted of about 60 people. A trip to the mall would take about 45 minutes of driving to get there. The nightlife in his town consisted of crickets and lightning bugs. No, it definitely was not THAT New York.

Energy is everywhere, from the air you breathe to the life force that surrounds your body. Your energy, or lack thereof, affects every dimension of your life, including your mind, body, and spirit. Energy leakage can take shape in many ways: physical or mental tiredness, loss of motivation, frustration, and/or feeling stuck. These symptoms may be confusing for some, especially if you’re self-aware and cautious with your health. However, even if you have positive energy flowing in, that energy will continue to leak if you are not healed.

Of course, in order to heal yourself, you have to know that you are leaking energy in the first place! In my case, I was in Bali and was drawn to seek out some advice from a spiritual healer. Since this wasn’t my first time receiving guidance from a healer, I sort of knew what to expect during our meeting. However, she brought up a topic I wasn’t quite expecting: my energy. She explained that my energy had been leaking due to my inability to let go of a past relationship. This leakage was negatively affecting my energy levels and my current pursuit of love and happiness. This information came as quite a shock, yet made a lot of sense. My energy had been leaking for years, impacting my whole well-being, and I never once made the mind-body connection.

If you’ve ever found yourself suddenly moved to tears in yoga class, you’re not alone. The sensation can be a little alarming if you’re not used to crying at the gym, however, rest assured that it’s a sign of good things happening. Our bodies tend to hold onto a lot of tension that’s both physical and emotional at its root. Just like our shoulders can tighten up when we’re hunched over the keyboard day after day, our hips can tighten up from emotional stress as well. Certain yoga poses unleash the tension and suddenly make you feel something that you haven’t felt in a while.

When you’re holding a yoga pose you’re often attempting to balance as well as stay strong and support your own body weight. (Our egos fight pretty hard to avoid being the person who topples over onto their mat.) These moves are using a variety of muscles at once, require concentrated breath, and also physically stretch us in new ways.

About five years ago, Jonathan Siesel was struggling as a new resident of Arizona. He moved out here to be closer to his mom and to create a new life. His mom was actually working at SWIHA at the time, so naturally, he found himself roaming the campus quite a bit. Jonathan recounts his magical story of how he began his transformational SWIHA journey with us below:

One day, K.C. Miller saw me hanging out and approached me and said, "I See You." On the spot, she offered me an opportunity to take the Life Coaching program, and help me become the person we both knew I could become. Gratefully and humbly, I accepted her offer, and chose to take the Life Coaching program as my first class at SWIHA.