SWIHA Blog

Before attending SWIHA, Deborah Brown was a professional college student in Maryland, a Community Health and Wellness Facilitator, and a Minister. After going through what she refers to as a “Damascus experience,” she felt a calling to seek something bigger— the pursuit of the “missing piece” keeping her from delivering her gifts to the public. 

While Deborah had served as an entrepreneur in various shapes and forms for most of her adult life, the business journey had not always been completely satisfying for her. She had always had SWIHA in her sights, originally in the form of the Natural Aesthetics program at SWINA; however, Spirit had other plans for her and led her to the Mind Body Transformational Psychology Degree Program at SWIHA, where she would learn how to serve as a holistic healer and entrepreneur. “The Mind Body Transformational Psychology Degree called out to my Spirit because it had the components to feed me and fine tune my life's work in Ministry, Health and Wellness, Spirituality, and Entrepreneurship, as well as foster my leadership qualities,” says Deborah. 

In 2015, my uncle suddenly passed away from a heart attack. Because I was at his house when he was found, I had the terrible and sad experience of seeing him after death in a state that I wish I could erase from my memory. I dealt with nightmares and trouble sleeping, and so I decided to see a therapist to talk it out, as I could not get the images out of my mind.The therapist had a list of suggestions and tools to help me cope with this trauma. On this list was a familiar word: yoga training. 

Hannah Roen was in need of significant healing. She was suffering from two brain tumors, a liver tumor, severe acid reflux, pancreatitis, ovarian and breast cysts, pleurisy, and some other emotional conditions as well.

At the time, Hannah was living in Puerto Rico and suffering with serious health conditions when she met a holistic healer who taught at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Tempe, Arizona. He spoke to her of the self-healing power of Ancient Chinese Medicine and a specific technique called Tui Na. The term Tui Na (pronounced "twee naw”)—which literally means "pinch and pull”—refers to a wide range of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), therapeutic massage, and body work. Tui Na is not generally used for pleasure and relaxation; rather, it serves as a treatment to address specific patterns of disharmony in the body.

PTSD paralyzes, terrifies, saddens, and dulls the senses. We have long known that our mind and body record everything that happens to us. These highs and lows create Richter-scale size memories in our minds, with our emotional “seismograph” documenting the most crystallizing and paralyzing events of our life. If we were to take a metaphorical scan of the mind, we would clearly see PTSD appearing on the “map” as a series of dark, sharp peaks — indicators of turmoil from which it is very difficult to escape. Those dealing with PTSD get mired in those dark spots.

Grieving through the “Dark Spots”

Recently, after over twenty years of distinguished service to his country and three years of trying to reconcile the battles in his mind through intermittent psychiatric hospital stays, my stepson Todd made the permanent decision to end his life.

It is said that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. For Lisa Saylan, what is also true is that when the student is ready, that student will become the teacher! After nearly 1200 hours of education at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, Lisa Saylan took the bold step forward and became a dedicated—and very busy!—instructor for the college. For the last seven years, Lisa has been teaching a wide variety of courses at SWIHA, including massage, reflexology and Reiki training.  Even as a teacher, Lisa says she continues to learn from her students and clients. In fact, she describes herself as a “lifetime learner.”

Lisa learned first-hand that the human body is capable of healing itself when balanced, relaxed, and properly nourished. As a former elite triathlete who suffered from muscle fatigue, tissue damage, and stress, Lisa personally experienced the benefits of massage and other healing modalities during her competitive years and while recuperating from a significant cycling accident.

Amy Higgins, a loyal and committed employee at SWIHA, did something unexpected—she became a student again! Motivated by a childhood fascination with the natural world, Amy elected to participate in herbalist training and aromatherapy studies at SWIHA. She reflects on this decision, stating, “I’ve always been intuitively drawn to the magic of the plant world and the things which speak to my senses. I am deeply concerned with supporting individuals on an emotional level, no matter what they are going through.”

Amy finds nothing more satisfying than to know that the bottle of blended oils she makes for a client is being used to soothe their frazzled nerves, help them sleep better, or perhaps assist in regulating their hormones. Instead of digging up dandelions to add to her mud pies and river rock towers, she now knows how to create a healing tincture from dandelion root to tone and nourish a client or a batch of Chamomile Calendula healing salve for insect bites or burns. “I could do this work every day and never be bored. I feel I am contributing my ART and my PASSION to others who need extra support in their lives.”

For some people, the traditional college route is not the road to success. Amanda Petro is one of those very people.

After spending a year at Arizona State University, Amanda wound up feeling completely unfulfilled; she was beginning to lose interest in her path of study and was increasingly aware that she was not resonating with her classmates. In her search for more like-minded friends, she ended up connecting with two soul sisters here in Tempe, Arizona, who were soon graduating from the Yoga Teacher Training Program at Spirit of Yoga. “It was there at their YTT graduation ceremony that I realized I wanted to be apart of this incredible and seemingly magical school. I started off staying at ASU while I began my 200 YTT. Mid-way through, I quickly realized I couldn’t handle the workload of both. ASU was taking me away from diving deeper into my SWIHA education, so I decided to go full time at SWIHA and leave Arizona State University behind. It was the best decision of my life.”

As technology, the pharmaceutical industry, and our modern obsession with treating the symptoms rather than the roots of illness have continued to evolve over the years, we have increasingly found ourselves living in a world that has separated itself from the natural healing perspective. At one point in human history, we relied directly on the earth for our spiritual sustenance and our inherent understanding of the different types of healing energies that exist within the world. Now, in search of what will make us look or feel better, most of us turn to the “quickest fix” without giving any thought to what the consequences may be.

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself,” wrote Joseph Campbell, the iconic mythologist best known for his work The Hero's Journey.

Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, historically designed to honor the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Unfortunately, some of those brave individuals no longer walk with us on Earth because they have chosen to make a life-ending decision, often due to the complications of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In fact, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs estimates that roughly 11-20% of veterans who have served in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom suffer from PTSD. 

With these numbers in mind, let’s explore the Hero’s Journey and consider how we can better honor our veterans on this significant day…

Barbara Iuliano’s reason for joining the SWIHA community may sound surreal to some, and yet to other SWIHA students, graduates, and staff, it is actually the norm! Why might some find it strange? Because Barbara claims that her own intuition and the guidance of the Universe brought her through our doors. “I was at a point in my life where everything was shifting... relationships, jobs, careers, dreams etc... I wanted to do something more, something of value, of service. SWIHA was one of those serendipitous blessings that fell into my lap.”

As a graduate of our Mind Body Transformational Psychology AOS, Barbara has taken her acquired knowledge and integrated it magically with her innate gifts and interests in healing and service to launch her own successful practice. Although when she first started her program, she had no intention of becoming a coach, she has since surrendered to the obvious and grander plans that the Universe was conjuring for her behind the scenes. “Life coaching has been one of the most transformational and valuable practices that I have learned in my life. I couldn’t thank SWIHA enough for introducing me to this area in a holistic and professional manner. Coaching was love at first sight for me. Beyond life coaching, I also found my business classes of immense value as they encouraged me to set up my business ‘before I felt ready.'"