A Space to Breathe and Heal
Published Author. Massage Therapist. Teacher. Spiritual Coach. Aromatherapist. Clinical Nurse. Holistic Entrepreneur. These are just some of the many titles Marci Cagen can put on her resume. A graduate of SWIHA’s Massage Therapy program, Marci’s interest in massage therapy and holistic health stemmed from her years of experience as a clinical nurse, and grew into a business that extends beyond one or two holistic modalities. “I originally enrolled at SWIHA while I was working as a clinical nurse at Phoenix Children’s Hospital so I could learn some alternative therapies that would support the patients I worked with,” Marci explains. “They were in so much pain, and I wanted to be able to offer healing modalities that would complement the medications they were prescribed, alleviating associated side effects, while offering support to the mind, body, spirit and emotions.” Marci’s interest in reflexology guided her to massage therapy, and multiple other healing … Read More
Serving the Community through the Window Within
Kate Shipp was dreaming: She was stuck inside a building with a bunch of people, and it felt as if there was no way out. Every floor had a door, every door led to stairs which led to more doors and more rooms. She asked people in the rooms why they were there, and they told her they didn’t know, yet they felt they had everything they needed, except a way out of the building. Kate looked up and noticed windows lining the walls. She stood on a table, broke open a window, and escaped, telling everyone that sometimes we have to look to the window within to find or way out. This dream was a subconscious intervention of sorts, inspiring Kate to launch one of her businesses, The Window Within, a holistic wellness business that offering a variety of services including intuitive yoga therapy, energy healing, intuitive coaching and … Read More
Happy, Healthy, and Whole: Hotchickpea Holistic Health and Lifestyle Coaching
By Jenna Zizzo After a shocking and heart-wrenching break up, Tory Dube knew she needed to find methods for self-soothing. She felt that the only way to heal her wounded heart was to try meditation. However, instead of reading a meditation book or downloading the latest meditation app on her smart phone, Tory decided to embark on a nine day meditation retreat in the Bahamas. While on her retreat, she heard a doctor by the name of Joe Dispenza share about the science behind quantam physics and positive psychology. Once she heard about positive psychology, Tory was immediately enamored and knew it was something she wanted to pursue. The moment she returned to her home in New York City she rushed to the computer and searched for psychology programs. She found Southwest Institute of Healing Arts’ (SWIHA) Online Associates of Mind Body Transformational Psychology program, and within a month’s time … Read More
Helping Others Achieve their Best Self, One Facial at a Time
Linda Binette’s education at Southwest Institute of Natural Aesthetics (SWINA) brought more gifts to her life than she could have ever imagined. From the moment Linda toured the SWINA campus, she was confident it was the school for her. As a branch of Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, she knew that SWINA would provide her with the holistic education she was looking for. “I was interested in healing arts – treating the whole person: mind, body and spirit,” says Linda. “When I took my tour of the school, I was so impressed by the great energy I felt, the friendliness and professionalism of the staff, and the beautiful facility! I knew in my heart that I didn’t need to look anywhere else!” So Linda began her Natural Aesthetics program at SWINA. In addition to hands-on aesthetics training, such as skin care, makeup and waxing, spa technologies and even holistic theory … Read More
Following her “hART”: Great Graduate Lisa Hecke’s Road to Entrepreneurship
By Jenna Zizzo 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 … Read More
SWIHA Great Graduate Helps Raise Awareness through Upcoming NeoTribal Event
Graduates from Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) do BIG things in the world. They have launched successful holistic wellness businesses, created non-profits to help those in need, and even hold events to raise awareness within their community. One such graduate and event is Nicole Duran. Nicole began her healing journey as a SWIHA student in late 2000, mostly studying Reiki. Once she completed her studies at SWIHA, she was able to bring her Reiki healing energy to community events and share it with children and youth. Currently, Nicole is involved with an upcoming event called Neotribal the Gathering. Neotribal has been in collaboration for only about three months, and this will be the first major event for the group. The event will be held March 20th to March 22nd at Estrella Mountain Regional Park in Goodyear, Arizona. Nicole has worked in the field of behavioral health for 12 years, … Read More
Seeking Serenity in the Southwest
Kiera Stroup always wanted to move to Arizona. A native New Yorker, Kiera earned her Bachelor’s degree from Manhattan College and then began a corporate I.T. career that lasted 27 years and took her to Connecticut, California, and finally Memphis, Tennessee. It was at the University of Memphis where she earned her MBA. However, Kiera still longed to live in the Grand Canyon State. In 2013, Kiera’s corporate I.T. career came to an unexpected end when the company she worked for eliminated her position. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, Kiera took it as a sign and headed for the Valley of the Sun to fearlessly pursue her dream. Since Kiera had a longtime interest in skincare, she felt that a career change to the field of natural beauty would be a good fit for her. She found Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) and called to inquire about aesthetics … Read More
From Small Business Owner to Spa Director: Great Graduate Jorinda Nardone
While Jorinda Nardone currently holds the title of Spa Director of the 40,000 square foot Green Valley Ranch Spa in Las Vegas, the road to this level of success was paved with hard work, long hours and dedication. A 2001 graduate of Southwest Institute of Healing Arts’ (SWIHA) Massage Program, Jorinda came to SWIHA for what she thought was a career change, however, during her program she began to notice a transformation within herself, and heal old wounds in the process. Taking a look at herself and her healing process led Jorinda on a completely different path than the one she originally intended to take. Once graduated, and armed with an array of knowledge and her massage license, Jorinda went to work launching her business. She opened her first business, Lemongrass Massage Therapy, and quickly started to see clients. Jorinda jumped at the chance to open her own business, because … Read More
Life Coaching – The Journey Inward and Forward
By Guest Blogger Laura Barnes Life Coaching is a dynamic process of purposeful empowerment that sparks transformational change. Life Coaching develops trust through the journey inward. A masterful Life Coach helps you to listen and receive information from deep within and to trust and then act on that information. Life Coaching requires a journey inward. This encourages a sense of rigorously honest confidence and authenticity that is rooted in trusting and believing in you. For this journey inward, a masterful Life Coach will use a portfolio of artful coaching tools and techniques such as meditation, visualization, mantras, affirmations, the development of mindfulness, music, sounds and frequencies, colors, prayer, breathing techniques, empathy development, storytelling, signs and symbols, body awareness, dreams, archetypes, developing creativity and much more to awaken the mind. These tools and techniques essentially help to de-clutter, calm and quiet the mind so that you can tune out all the … Read More
All Aspects of the Art of Health
The ‘earth’ without art is just ‘eh’ . . .
. . . according to Holistic Wellness Practitioner Heather Krompacky, who works in the town of Talkeetna, Alaska, at the base of North America’s tallest mountain, the magnificent Denali.
Imagine . . .
. . . entering a room for a holistic session with a new practitioner, someone you have never worked with before. There are colorful candles burning, the light is low due to the salt lamps placed strategically around the room. Soft music is playing and a lovely, aromatic fragrance is wafting through the air. You begin your session with your practitioner; maybe you experience hypnotherapy, nutritional coaching, or aromatherapy, all as an aspect of a holistic life coaching session with a competent and caring practitioner. You feel a sense of comfort due to the open and honest space from which the ‘Change Artist Extraordinaire’, as the practitioner is known, works. At the end of the session, you are offered a soul-coaching card, to provide continued insight and affirmation. Read More