“My life was lacking drive, passion, and purpose before SWIHA. I was ready for a change and to do something that filled my life. My aunt had taken classes at SWIHA years earlier so I looked into it and fell in love! I am passionate about this modality because I believe that there are better ways to heal our mind, body, and soul than only what traditional medicine provides.”
Read MoreTopics: Great Graduate, SWIHA Students, GRIT, Health and Wellness Coach, NBHWC, Holistic Health and Wellness Coach
“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.”
Read MoreTopics: 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
According to research professor and author Brene Brown, "Joy comes to us in moments—ordinary moments. We risk missing out on joy when we get too busy chasing down the extraordinary." This statement highlights an important distinction between happiness and joy. Happiness is often associated with external factors, such as material possessions or life events. It's the feeling we get when we achieve a goal or experience something positive. Joy, on the other hand, is an internal state of being that is not dependent on external circumstances. Recently I’ve settled on a joy/happiness distinction mantra of “Happiness is a response to life, joy is an approach to life.”
Read MoreTopics: Great Graduate, Mindfulness, joy, Brene Brown, Happiness, SWIHA Students, Health and Wellness, Holistic Healh and Wellness Coach, Mindful Meditation, Serving Others
In 2014, I experienced a year of heartache that was followed by the devastating loss of my brother in 2015. I was in desperate need of support and turned to yoga as a source of healing. I had been attending yoga classes and began working with a mentor who introduced me to yoga therapy. During my darkest moments, I was searching for a connection to something greater than myself and embarked on my own Hero's Journey. My mentor was teaching Transformational Yoga Coaching at SWIHA and an instructor at her studio recommended that I sign up. Learning that I had signed up for Transformational Yoga Coaching (TYC), my mentor suggested that I take my 200hr Yoga Teacher Training to support me during this difficult time. In January 2016, I took the leap and enrolled, which marked the beginning of my healing journey.
Read MoreTopics: yoga therapy, holistic entrepreneur, Great Graduate, Amrit Desai, yoga therapist, Holistic Healing, mind body spirit, Yoga Teacher Training, Amrit Institute, I AM Yoga, Amrit Yoga, International Association of Yoga Therapy
When asked about their favorite Southwest Institute of Healing Arts instructors, many students exclaim “Linda Bennett!” without hesitation. Linda Bennett, Queen of Hearts, and Certified Clinic Hypnotherapist, is a Senior Curriculum Specialist and the Hypnotherapy Program Director for SWIHA’s On Campus and Online Hypnotherapy programs. Linda is also a Board Certified Hypnotherapy Instructor and Certifying Examiner as well as a Certified Life Coach. She has almost 30 years of experience in the fields of Higher Education Development and Corporate Training. Linda’s passion is making learning a comprehensive and fun experience that is engaging to all students, whatever their learning style.
Read MoreTopics: Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, clinical hypnotherapy, Self-Hypnosis, Advanced Hypnotherapy, Linda Bennett, Awards, Benefits of Hypnotherapy
What is meditation exactly? Simply put, it is a technique that uses breathing exercises, mindfulness, and focusing on the mental status. Meditation can help to calm the mind and body, center us to better handle tasks at hand, and can help alleviate anxiety, depression, and possibly even pain. The common misconception is how difficult meditation is. Anyone can reap the benefits of meditation with a little consistency.
Read MoreTopics: Great Graduate, Mindfulness, Meditation, SWIHA Students, Health and Wellness Coach, Holistic Health and Wellness Coach, Mindful Meditation, Student Blog, Meditation Practice
“I was inspired to become a Holistic Health and Wellness coach because I’m passionate about helping people gain the knowledge, skills, tools, and confidence to become active participants in their health care so that they can live their most fulfilling life with a chronic illness.”
SWIHA (soon to be) Great Graduate, Katina Kondos, spent the last twenty years of her life in the health and wellness industry, operating several Massage Envy franchises in Illinois, until she sold them in 2018 and moved to Arizona for a fresh start. Katina shares, “Much of my career has been dedicated to helping people navigate through pain management and improving their quality of life.” With a new journey beginning in Arizona for Katina, it just made sense that she found herself attracted to SWIHA. Katina enrolled in the Holistic Health and Wellness Coaching program to further her education in this field she is so passionate about, meanwhile, expanding her tool belt of offerings to help serve others live their best, and healthiest life.
Read MoreTopics: Holistic Nutrition, Great Graduate, GRIT, Health and Wellness Coach, Holistic Health and Wellness Coach
At the age of 40, is when I noticed I was feeling tired, not just lack of sleep tired, it felt like fatigue, just plain exhaustion. As the year went on, I noticed I was missing sleep during the night, waking up between 2-3 am constantly, and this led to just not feeling me. I was moody. My stomach hurt with everything I ate and was nauseous when I woke up. My body ached, my skin was red and I was getting adult acne. My body was calling for my attention. I felt like each month - year added a new symptom. It was robbing me of life. My mind keep spinning why was this happening to me, and can I feel better again?
Read MoreTopics: Holistic Nutrition, Great Graduate, self discovery, Holistic wellness, Holistic health, Health and Wellness Coach, Holistic Health and Wellness Coach
Adrienne Rue-Brock was living a life full of stress, unhealthy habits, and anxiety which resulted in her being diagnosed with several illnesses. Her body was crying for help, and she knew she needed change. Adrienne desired to seek a holistic way of healing herself and became inspired to want to help others do the same. Adrienne knew that by enrolling in the Holistic Health and Wellness Coach Diploma program with a concentration in Holistic Nutrition, that she would be able to achieve these goals. Adrienne shares, “I became physically ill and was diagnosed with anxiety, high blood pressure, and was pre-diabetic. The physical illness my doctor stated was due to my being under a lot of stress, which brought about all the other conditions. I am a believer in natural cures and started to seek out alternative medicines and therapy and that's when I found SWIHA.”
Read MoreTopics: Holistic Nutrition, Great Graduate, mind body spirit, Holistic wellness, Holistic health, Health and Wellness Coach, Mindset, Holistic Health and Wellness Coach, Healthcare Industry, Ministry, Healthcare
There is beauty in being different. Embracing our individuality is a magical way for us to accept our truest selves. Moving away from a past life, Elliot is now embracing a life full of hope and healing. Elliot McMonagle is a SWIHA Graduate of the Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner with a specialty in Advanced Hypnotherapy. Utilizing these tools and modalities learned at SWIHA, Elliot is crafting a beautiful online community of healing and transformation. Follow along as Elliot shares his story and his passion for serving others.
Read MoreTopics: Toe Reading, holistic entrepreneur, Great Graduate, Reiki, Hypnotherapy, integrative healing arts practitioner, IHAP, Linda Bennett
