SWIHA Blog

Why SWIHA’s Massage Therapy Program was Worth the Wait for Great Graduate Libby Schaible

Posted by Jade Marvin on 8/24/23 4:00 PM

“The Universe knows the perfect timing for all those things you want and will find, through the crack of least resistance, the best way to deliver it to you.” - Esther Hicks

Life can be all about timing. For SWIHA Great Graduate, Libby Schaible, this happened to be the case when starting her journey going back to school for SWIHA’s 1000 hr Massage Therapy program as well as being ordained through the Spiritual Coaching program. Libby shares, “I wanted to do the massage therapy program there (SWIHA) for at least 5 years before I actually started. By the time I finally started I absolutely knew I would be walking the right path. Being a longtime yoga practitioner and my love for yoga adjustments brought me to massage. I am passionate about massage and it lights up my soul. I love being able to connect one on one with people individually. And to indeed be of service to them in mind, body, and spirit.”

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Topics: Great Graduate, Spiritual Coaching, massage therapist, thai foot-massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Thai Massage, swedish massage, LMT, Deep Tissue, 1000 hr Massage, Gua Sha

Mindset over Matter: How Jami Papenberg Followed Her Heart & Light

Posted by Jade Marvin on 5/12/22 4:00 PM

I had settled into a comfort zone before SWIHA. Back in 2008, I decided I wanted to become a massage therapist, and I wanted to get out of the Midwest and start my life over in Arizona. I bought a plane ticket and scheduled a tour of SWIHA, then met a guy who wanted me to stay in the Midwest. I took the trip, toured the school, and really liked it, yet I let that guy talk me into staying and going to massage school in St. Louis, closer to home. We divorced in 2018 -- turns out living someone else's dream doesn't lead to much happiness. Over the years I've become passionate about mental health, from healing from the traumatic birth of my son in 2011 to navigating divorce, and seeing how my massage clients could gain so much more healing if they worked on their emotional health as much as they worked on their physical health. I had my eye on life coaching, and what popped up on my first Google search was SWIHA! Things came full circle, and I took it as a sign.”

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Topics: Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, Life Coaching, Great Graduate, SWIHA, entrepreneur, Holistic Healing, Hypnotherapy, Arizona, coaching, Tempe, mysticism, massage therapist, Holistic Healer, integrative healing arts practitioner, Licensed Massage Therapist, LMT, IHAP, Books, Published Author, Podcast, Universal Laws

5 Grounding Techniques to Cultivate Success & Self-Regulation

Posted by Jade Marvin on 1/18/22 4:00 PM

Anxiety is a primal human experience to anticipate and prepare for threats, which can serve as a good thing. However, too much anxiety can quickly turn into mental health issues and can disrupt your daily life, relationships, work, and more. Anxiety can feel different for everyone, luckily, there are some very effective and scientifically proven ways to help us become more grounded, balanced, and in tune with our bodies. Here are 5 Grounding Techniques you can utilize to self-regulate when life is feeling out of place:

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Topics: Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, Massage Therapy, SWIHA, Mindfulness, massage, Holistic wellness, exercise, Holistic health, Breathing Techniques, Arizona, LMT, Mindfulness Exerise, Grounding Techniques, Earthing, Stretching, Massage Therapy Program, Grounding

The Healing Power of Serving Others with Massage Therapist and Great Graduate Robert Pruett

Posted by Jade Marvin on 1/11/22 4:00 PM

Everyone has a story to tell, a lesson to teach, and wisdom to share… Life is a beautiful masterpiece bound together by your experiences. Open up and share your story; become an inspiration to others. You can make a difference because you matter. You were created with purpose. Live your life with intention, go out there and make a difference by being the difference.” - Melanie Koulouris

Great Graduate, Robert Pruett shares his story of high highs and low lows that ultimately led him to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. Robert asserts, “Mine is a story of extremes - I came from a place of trauma, abuse, and resulting depression - to being very successful and actualized.” After some very turbulent times, Robert encountered some very unlikely teachers that ultimately changed the course of his life. Robert apprenticed under a yoga master and learned musical theory, as well as guitar from two notable musicians. Robert explains, “I was a software developer, and unfulfilled. I felt like I had missed my calling. I kept encountering the word ‘Reiki’ and I didn't know what it meant. One day at a party some of my friends were talking about a Reiki program at SWIHA and I perked up. The next day I saw an admissions counselor. I quit my job and enrolled that very day.”

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Topics: Sound Healing, Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, Life Coaching, myofascial, Massage Therapy, Great Graduate, SWIHA, massage, Myotherapy, Reiki, Ayurveda, yoga, Arizona, Tempe, LMT, Non-Profit, Lumi Lumi, Lumi, Deep Tissue, Ayurvedic Massage

Loving Myself Again: Audrey Washington Shares the Healing Power of Spirituality and Massage

Posted by Staff on 6/28/18 2:00 PM


Everyone remembers their first love. For Audrey Washington, that love was massage therapy.

In 2007, with eleven years of massage and entrepreneurial experience under her belt, Audrey moved to Phoenix, Arizona, from Detroit, Michigan, to start her own massage business, ALW Massage Therapy. Once in Phoenix, she found that she preferred to hire graduates of SWIHA’s Massage Program to work as Licensed Massage Therapists on her staff. Although she was not yet formally acquainted with the school, she could tell that the curriculum taught there was strong. “They had more knowledge of anatomy, as well as the ability to do energy work and follow their intuition when working with clients,” she says. “I trusted the school and how they trained their LMTs.”

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Topics: Massage Therapy, spiritual Studies, Meditation, Hypnotherapy, AOS degree, massage therapist, LMT

Open Letter to our Massage Therapy Students & Graduates – Do the ‘Right’ thing!

Posted by KC Miller on 12/18/17 3:07 PM

Our hearts are extremely heavy as we read the news about the massage industry and those who have experienced misconduct and sexual assaults by Licensed Massage Therapists (LMTs). As a nationally accredited college with a 25-year history of providing massage therapy education, we believe it is our responsibility to take a clear stand on sexual harassment, violations of personal boundaries, and the kinds of unconscious behaviors that are how coming to light in the massage community.

Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) is resolved to be on the forefront of reminding, retraining, and encouraging all massage therapists to honor and recommit to the ethical oaths they took when they became an LMT.  We seek to remind them that at each step of their journey toward becoming an LMT – from their first class, through graduation and licensure, and investing in massage liability insurance – they made and affirmed their commitment to ethical practice.

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Topics: ethics, Massage, Massage Therapy, yoga, Yoga Teacher Training, Massage Therapy Ethics, Boundaries, LMT, Sexual Misconduct, Sexual Harassment, Yamas, Sankulpa, Niyamas, Yogic Philosophy, Massage Therapy CEUs, Professionalism, Consciousness

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