SWIHA Blog

Niki Meadows was at a point in her life that she knew she no longer wanted to climb the corporate ladder. She wanted to step into work that fulfilled her so she could use her talents and gifts. “I felt drawn to life coaching even though I didn't know exactly what it was. I did some online research and the more I discovered the more my heart raced. After being disappointed with the program at another facility, I decided to pursue another option. I knew SWIHA was a match for me after a phone conversation with an admissions advisor. I enrolled for the upcoming session and have been coaching ever since I completed the course this past summer.” 

Stephanie Parejamaas decided to have a shift in her career field from Marriage and Family Therapy to Life Coaching. She wanted to create a different space to work with her clients in, based on their goals in creating the life they want. “I wanted to focus on their future looking at what they can do today, in order to truly achieve their goals. When I found the Mind-Body Wellness Practitioner Program at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) I knew it was what I was looking for.” It spoke to her on all levels and she was thrilled to feel the shift in her career. Now she has been providing Life Coaching services through her Live Happy Wellness practice since 2015.

The life coaching tool that Stephanie values most is a powerful follow-up question. “I think a great question can really open up the thought process for a client and allow them to dive into themselves and discover what they may have been overlooking before. This can lead to change or embracing their self-discovery.” 

The story behind Tammy Coin getting to the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) is a long one. When she enrolled at SWIHA, she wasn't really sure of her direction. She arrived with a Masters in Human Relations Counseling and since her own life journey was connected to holistic practices, she opted to enroll in the Mind-Body Wellness Practitioner diploma program, rather than a degree program.  At the time of my enrollment in September 2014, she had several life issues taking place, and she was about to leave town for the birth of her first grandchild. Since she did not have a specific direction in mind, she opted for the Holistic Nutrition program and the Polarity program.  A few months in, she went through her required 20-hour Life Coaching weekend.  ”I KNEW it was for me, yet I wasn't sure how I was going to work in Life Coaching because my schedule was already full.  Shortly after that, I completed my required 20 hours in Hypnotherapy.  As much as I was enjoying Polarity, I KNEW that Life Coaching & Hypnotherapy complimented my Masters degree and was absolutely the right choice for me.” By this time, she had completed Polarity 1, Polarity Reflexology, & Cranial Unwinding.  She is so grateful for that knowledge, yet she knew where she was being led.  By the time she graduated, she had completed 120 hours of Life Coaching, Hypnotherapy 101 (on-campus) and Hypnotherapy 201 and Hypnotherapy 301 online. “ I guess in the technical sense, I have been coaching for about one year.  In the literal sense, I have been coaching my entire life. ”  

Sharon Rose originally came to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) for Yoga Teacher Training (YTT), thinking she would only train 200 hours. She quickly realized that it was not enough and joined the 800-hour YTT program, chose Yoga Nidra & Holistic Nutrition as her specialties. While working at a yoga studio during her schooling, she became good friends with one of the instructors. Once, when Sharon was helping her friend work on her resume and Instagram account, her friend turned and looked at her and said, ""You know, you should be a life coach", to which I quickly responded with, ‘What on earth is a life coach?’"

From there, the Universe didn’t hold back. All of the sudden Sharon was in two Mastermind groups on Facebook and being contacted by coaches. It didn’t take long for her to look into SWIHA a bit more and find out that life coaching was an option for her. “I paused my Yoga Nidra training and picked up my coaching certification. I haven’t looked back since. I have been coaching since June 2016 but am excited to say that I have officially just launched my signature programs and brand in November.” 

At a young age, Sue Shapiro recognized that her words could either cause harm or help someone feel better, and she believes this knowing came from the near death experience she had at the age of four. This inner knowing was a frightening space for her to be in because most people could not accept that a little one could be so perceptive, so she eventually shut down and was so painfully quiet and shy, that her grandmother thought there was something wrong with her.  

Tom Leegstra was stuck in life, and he had no idea where to go next. Then he read a book and took a course where a friend of his recommended the Transformational Life Coaching program at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). After debating for a few months, he decided to take the plunge and do it, with the aim of helping others to change the direction of their lives, and never did her stop and think that may he was the one who needed coaching the most! He has now been coaching for a little over a year now, and this includes coaching himself every day!

The tools that changed Tom’s life for the better were the ones that used guided imagery around dreams, which require us going within to finding our goals and aspirations. “This has created a completely new path in life for me to go next. Along with the ‘Values Prioritizer’, this also has changed my life for the best, and it was the catalyst in my understanding what I needed to work on most.” He loves to use the ‘More or Less’ tool with his clients, as it’s one of his favorites and it's quick and easy to use. When people get to see, side by side, what they need to do less of, impacts what they want more of. He also loves working on forgiveness with clients since it does so many positive things and opens many doors.

Karin Gunderson was a harpist with Hospice for eleven years, and people continually shared things with her that they had never shared with anyone else. In Karin's own words (see picture):

I wanted to be able to empower people to live their best life with the time they had left.

Karin has been a life coach for three years, and she feels she attracts those who feel "stuck" in their lives— whether by grief, limiting beliefs, or trauma — when they have a deep desire to move forward in their lives, these types of experiences can be properly managed.  “I specialize in helping people remove stuck emotions and grow spiritually.” Karin’s passion for this work is continually fueled by her client’s satisfaction and excitement, as they witness their own growth.

Tami Sharp excels at seeing past people’s stories and emotions, right to the crux of what is going on beneath the surface. For most of her life, she was very good at hitting people’s nerves in order to get them into the healing work. She had a very impactful and ‘no- nonsense’ way of getting into the core of the matter. However, she lacked the skill set to be able to get to these same results through a more gentle, less abrasive way.  “My old way of helping people move forward in their story usually involved some sort of angry falling out where we would go a certain amount of time without speaking.  I had grown used to this process and knew I had done my part when I got a strong backlash response and they needed the time to process. All of the people I encountered in these instances did come back around into my life with a new found awareness and understanding of themselves and confirmed that what I had said was correct. They just weren’t in a place to understand or receive it at that time. If my delivery had been less cut throat, then I am sure their response would have been much more accepting.” 

Throughout her late teens and all through her twenties, Leslie Davidson struggled with self-esteem and self-awareness issues. Like a lot of young women, she didn’t have her father in her life when she needed him the most. “That sort of sent me into a place of dishonoring myself with men,” said Leslie. To understand herself better, she studied sociology in college, yet this career path didn’t fulfill her. “I was also looking for spiritual fulfillment and the ability to authentically be myself while providing service to others.”

One fortuitous day, she was talking to a co-worker about life coaching. Her co-worker quickly left the room, and came back in with a course catalog from SWIHA. “I kid you not, as soon as I opened the catalog and saw information all about life coaching… I couldn’t believe it!  All that I could say was ‘thank you God’!”  She enrolled herself in the Holistic Wellness Practitioner program, and recently graduated in June of this year. “I have been coaching since that time and really look forward to my holistic business growing,” exclaimed Leslie.

The sudden death of Janet Ellis’ only sister in 1998 brought her to her knees and was the catalyst that ultimately brought her to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). “When I am emerging from a crisis, my usual response is to embark on some learning journey. In December 2006, I was completing what I thought would be my last semester at ASU.  I had earned a bachelor’s degree in Family and Human Development and a minor in Psychology and Gender Studies. I then decided that I wanted to apply to their Marriage & Family Therapy program,” said Janet.