---
title: "From Banking to Botanical Healing: Ashley Clements’ Journey to Purpose at SWIHA"
description: After 20 years in banking, SWIHA graduate Ashley Clements followed her intuition into herbal healing and spiritual coaching, launching a purpose-driven wellness business.
---

[Mindfulness News | Healing Arts Stories | SWIHA Blog](https://www.blog.swiha.edu)

# [From Banking to Botanical Healing: Ashley Clements’ Journey to Purpose at SWIHA](https://www.blog.swiha.edu/from-banking-to-botanical-healing-ashley-clements-journey-to-purpose-at-swiha)

 Written by [Jade Marvin](https://www.blog.swiha.edu/author/jade-marvin) | 3/9/26 3:00 PM

For many people, the path toward a meaningful career doesn’t begin with certainty—it begins with a quiet feeling that something is missing. For recent graduate Ashley Clements, that feeling eventually led her to a life-changing journey through the [programs](https://swiha.edu/all-healing-arts-holistic-health-education-programs/) at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA).

Today, Ashley is stepping into a new chapter as a holistic practitioner, entrepreneur, and advocate for women seeking healing and transformation. Her journey to this work was not conventional.

 

### **A Life Searching for Something More**

Before enrolling at SWIHA, Ashley spent two decades working in banking while raising her child as a single mother.

“*I felt like something was missing*,” she shares. “*I was a single mom, in banking for 20 years, and just trying to get by.*”

Like many people who eventually find their way to healing work, Ashley experienced a series of unexpected life events that began to shift her perspective. Those experiences ultimately became catalysts for growth.

“*There have been several unexpected events and experiences I know I had to go through to make me a better practitioner, woman, and mother*.”

When Ashley discovered SWIHA’s [Spiritual Coach](https://swiha.edu/modern-spirituality-celebrant/) & [Healing Botanicals and Earth Ceremonies](https://swiha.edu/healing-botanicals-earth-ceremonies-facilitator/) programs, something clicked. These studies offered a path that aligned with her intuition and her long-standing interest in the healing power of plants.

 

### **When the Universe Clears the Path**

Ashley’s journey began with a moment she now describes as deeply transformative.

On her very first day scheduled to start classes at SWIHA—May 6, 2024—she arrived at work excited to begin a new chapter after her shift.

Instead, she discovered she had been let go from her job.

“*I was so excited to get off work to begin my journey*,” Ashley recalls. “*Then I found out, on my own, that I had been let go. As I sat there waiting in tears, I couldn't understand why this was happening.*”

Yet as the shock settled, a different perspective emerged.

“*Then I realized the universe was just clearing the path. I never wanted to be in banking for 20 years, and it was time to make a change and follow what my intuition was telling me*.”

What felt like a loss in that moment ultimately became the beginning of a new purpose-driven life.

 

### **Transformation Through Learning**

While studying at SWIHA, Ashley immersed herself in a variety of healing modalities that expanded both her personal awareness and her professional vision.

Rather than experiencing dramatic external change, Ashley says the most powerful transformation happened internally.

“*My life hasn't changed so much as my perception has*,” she explains. “*I look back at the way I used to think and communicate, and that is where I see the most growth*.”

One of the most meaningful lessons she gained was learning how to approach challenges differently.

“*I learned my strengths and weaknesses. These are things that came up from resistance. I didn't look at challenges in that way before—I looked at them as struggles*.”

Through practices like somatic healing and herbal studies, Ashley developed tools that helped her regulate her emotions and navigate life with greater awareness.

“*That has been the biggest impact.*”

 

### **Inspired by the Healing Power of Plants**

Interestingly, Ashley’s journey toward holistic healing began with something simple: tea.

“*Tea is what inspired me, believe it or not*,” she says. “*I had been thinking for years about how plants and herbs are healing and wanted to create my own products*.”

That curiosity opened the door to a much deeper exploration of herbal medicine, spiritual coaching, and holistic wellness.

Today, Ashley is building her own wellness business, [**Sacred Bliss**](https://sacredbliss.org/), offering healing and wellness coaching sessions alongside herbal products designed to support clients’ wellbeing.

“*Everything I have learned at SWIHA has guided me to be able to make an impact on my clients*,” she says. “*It gave me the confidence and foundation to start my own business*.”

Her mission is especially focused on supporting women and mothers who may be navigating difficult chapters of life—just as she once did herself.

“*The tools and modalities I learned here guided me through what some people would call the darkest time. However, it was just a doorway to transformation and healing.*”

“*I want nothing more than to help women and mothers do the same*.”

 

### **A Community of Support**

Ashley credits much of her growth to the supportive learning environment at SWIHA.

“*Each and every teacher has had an impact*,” asserts Ashley. “*They all shed a different light on my journey here, and those courses always came exactly when they needed to.*”

Among her favorite classes were those focused on herbalism and somatic healing, which helped deepen her understanding of the mind-body connection and plant-based healing.

“*My teachers all had words that I needed to hear at the right moment*,” Ashley reflects. “*I have grown so much and appreciate how supportive they all have been*.”

 

### **Advice for Future SWIHA Students**

As someone who has experienced firsthand how transformative the SWIHA journey can be, Ashley encourages new students to make the most of every opportunity.

“*My advice to future students would be to take advantage of all your resources while you have them*,” she says. “*Network and communicate with others—that is where a lot of the learning comes from*.”

 

### **Just the Beginning**

Today, Ashley is navigating the transition into a new career while continuing to grow her wellness business. Though the financial change from leaving banking has required adjustment, she remains deeply committed to building a life aligned with her purpose.

“*I am working part-time admin jobs while growing my business and focusing on becoming the healthiest version of myself*,” she shares.

For Ashley, this moment is not the end of a journey—it’s the beginning.

“*This is just the beginning of my journey, and I am more than grateful to have created a foundation here at SWIHA*,” she says. “*I have found a purpose in life, and it has healed me in so many ways*.”

 

[View full post](https://www.blog.swiha.edu/from-banking-to-botanical-healing-ashley-clements-journey-to-purpose-at-swiha)

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