SWIHA Blog

If you’re on social media, you’ve surely seen the devastating images of the fires currently ravaging the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. This delicate and ancient ecosystem is burning at its highest rate since 2013, threatening millions of species of plants and animals, indigenous tribes, and the climate of our entire planet.

If you are outraged and heartbroken, you are not alone. Southwest Institute of Healing Arts is a community of healers, and together we can consciously contribute to the well-being of our planet.

We all have days where we’re in an inexplicable funk and can’t seem to shake it; nothing out of the ordinary is happening externally yet we feel unmotivated, sad, foggy or simply just blah. In recent years, scientific research into the connection between our brains and our bellies has suggested that these moods may not be as random as they seem.

In 2015, the National Center for Biotechnology Information concluded that: “Insights into the gut-brain crosstalk have revealed a complex communication system that not only ensures the proper maintenance of gastrointestinal homeostasis, but is likely to have multiple effects on affect, motivation, and higher cognitive functions.

Using crystals to promote healing is a six-thousand-year-old practice, dating back to the time of the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia. The crystal healing philosophy we know today is formed on concepts borrowed from the Chinese concept of life-energy (chi or qi) and the Hindu/Buddhist concept of chakras, or vortices of life-energy that connect physical and spiritual element within our bodies.

Crystals are solid, with atoms arranged in what is called crystal systems. Seven types of crystal systems exist, producing different physical geometry. However, they all share the characteristic of atoms arranged in tightly ordered, repeating patterns. Crystalline lattices split cleanly and smoothly, which is how gemstones are faceted to catch light in fine jewelry.

Sabrina Willie describes her life before Southwest Institute of Healing Arts as a rollercoaster: “I was tired of the ups and downs,” she says, “I knew I had to do something.”

That gut instinct led her to leave her job of ten years and begin to define her own path. Two weeks after her new journey began, Sabrina found out she was expecting a child! It cemented her calling to create a life she loved: “I knew it wasn't coincidental. I decided this was a great chance to change and be a better role model,” she tells us.

There are many people who hear the words “alternative medicine” or “holistic wellness” and meet it with immediate skepticism. However, as recently as one hundred years ago, what we now classify at “alternative medicines” were the only medicines available.

The scientific advances during the European enlightenment brought us antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, serotonin inhibitors and other drugs, which caused decreased popularity in so-called “natural” treatments. While the advances in medicine are truly revolutionary and the solution to many previously hopeless health problems, it also brought about the belief that science would eventually cure all mental and physical disease. As a result, “natural” treatments were deemed ineffective and old fashioned in the minds of many people.

At Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, we see the power and potential in every soul, and Jessica Bardzinski is a shining example of pure determination!

“Before SWIHA, I was a stay at home mom. I had two children in two years,” Jessica shares, “I felt like I was lost in the trenches of life. I felt there was something more but didn't know where to turn.”

Jessica initially came to SWIHA to study nutrition, after her daughter had health problems that  doctors couldn’t seem to explain. “I had been reading everything I could get my hands on about the American food supply and SAD (Standard American Diet),” she says, “I wanted to learn more and get a degree to share with other mamas all this valuable information I had been learning.”

At first glance, marketing emails seem simple and maybe even a little outdated (Gasp!). However, the majority of consumers actually prefer to communicate with brands and businesses via email, especially in the “discovery” phase of their journey. It’s never been more crucial to develop a strategy for your campaigns or you may hear crickets--or worse--unwillingly end up in your prospective clients' & clients’ spam folder!

Before we break down a few examples of an effective marketing email, there are a few basic rules to follow:

Jonathan Sorrell found himself meandering through mundane days in the traditional job force after his time serving our country in the military. Until one day, when he looked around and realized that he was not touching or affecting lives to his full capacity.

“I went online looking for programs,” he tells us, “I had heard about SWIHA and decided to check it out.”

The decision was an easy one for him to make. Jonathan says: “When I touched the handle and walked through the main door, a feeling of calmness came over me, and said ’you’re home!’”

Diversifying food choices is essential for keeping our gut’s microbiome healthy. When our digestion is performing optimally, our bodies can absorb the maximum amount of nutrients from the foods we consume, thereby improving the performance of all of the systems that keep us healthy!

There is also mounting evidence showing that what we eat affects physical health and mental health. A great way to keep our mind, body and spirit happy is by consuming a rainbow...in the form of a salad, of course!

This dish is able to be completely tailored to your personal preference. Read the guide below for suggestions on creating your own Rainbow Superfood Salad!

In 2013, Carol Gardner was in hospice care from a lifelong battle with lupus and a twenty year battle with a rare form of Multiple Sclerosis. It was a fight she was determined to win, and says: “I researched nutrition on my own and created a meal plan that reversed the damage caused by both illnesses.”

Two years later, she decided to enroll in SWIHA’s Holistic Nutrition Wellness Practitioner diploma program to learn more about nutrition for herself. Carol tells us: “Dee McCaffrey's course convinced me that I could help others with this newfound knowledge.” Carol says that the greatest lessons she learned in her program were how to write articles, how to speak with clients, and the vast amount of nutrition information she gained.