SWIHA Blog

Worrying about money can be a tremendous stressor in one’s life. Scientific studies have shown that extreme stress can adversely affect our mental health and can decrease the function of our immune system. Because mind and body function together, worrying about money may cause physical and emotional symptoms. You might feel helpless or depressed. Possibly you experience headaches, digestive problems, or frequent infections. You may feel anxious, irritable, and have difficulty sleeping. 

The IMDHA, or International Medical & Dental Hypnosis Association, has a local chapter at SWIHA (Southwest Institute of Healing Arts), where they meet monthly and discuss different hypnosis techniques and ways to expand their profession as hypnotherapists. One evening in 2015, the group was viewing a video, “Free the Mind”. It was discussing meditation, mindfulness, and PTSD. As they watched, we got into a great discussion on how hypnosis could be so beneficial for those struggling with PTSD, and they knew they wanted to do something more for the community. The question of the night became, “How do we get the word out?”  Hypnotherapy Program Director, Linda Bennett reflected, “In traditional SWIHA fashion, we asked, ‘Imagine if….???’” And thus, the idea for an event took shape. Members of the chapter worked together to bring about the event last November, and this year they are gearing up to do the same.

SWIHA has one of the most divserse college communities; one classroom may hold veteran soldiers, nurses, policemen, school teachers, scientists, fitness coaches, or freshly grduated teenagers. The wonderful thing about thaving this kind of eclectic student body, is the diversity of stories of how everyone ended up at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts.

Stress is a natural reaction as a response for our bodies to protect us from threats. The sympathetic and parasympathetic system work together to create the fight-or-flight reaction. Hormones are released to make your heart beat faster, blood vessels constrict, and digestion slows so your body can react quickly. When you’re in danger, your mind and body take over to do what it has to protect itself. Once you’re out of danger, your body goes back to its normal state. The longer stress lasts, the worse it can become for your mind and your body, and then it is considered chronic. Chronic stress can create disease and many other issues that can stop you from living the full life you deserve.  

Kara Schaal had been feeling led to go back to school and she knew she wanted to do something holistic. She just wasn’t sure exactly what path to take. A friend recommended checking out the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). After researching different programs and talking to one of the guidance counselors, Kara felt that SWIHA was the best fit for her to begin her journey!

Egos. We all have them. In fact, egos have become a subject that more and more new-thought leaders and spiritual teachers are focusing in on – inviting us to separate from, transcend above, and live without. A personal fan of introspective, spiritual work myself, I can appreciate the works of Eckhart Tolle, Debbie Ford, and many others who have helped me observe the ego in me that swings like a pendulum between inferiority and superiority. The ego, as suggested in many works, is perceived as our “identity” – I’ve found it much easier to observe and even adjust when I label it as an “activity”! Though there are numerous ways to define and understand ego, why not add humor to such humbling practices?

Noushin Mazlaghani admits that it was life’s challenges that brought her to study at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). “More than 8 years ago, when I had my first massage, I was at the lowest point in my life.” She was divorcing after 27 years, grieving for her dad's death, recovering from two major surgeries, and dealing with an empty nest. “I experienced total relaxation and freedom from all my anxieties during my massage, and I had complete peace. This experience totally shifted my life, and I committed myself to bring this peace to others.”

This transformational experience led Noushin to go on and graduate from both the Massage Therapy Professional Massage Practitioner 750-hour program and the Polarity Associate Polarity Practitioner 200-hour program. “After graduating in 2010, as a licensed Cranial Massage Therapist and Polarity Practitioner, I opened my own center to be at service to others.” This center is called the De Language Healing Arts and it is located in Scottsdale, AZ. It is here that she serves her clients with the unique combination of the modalities of Cranial Therapy and Polarity. There are no other Polarity clinics around other than the one on the SWIHA campus. The mission of her center is for clients to experience serenity. “My practice is all about YOU experiencing total health and freedom in your own body. We look at your body in a deeper context as just a structure, we explore the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical aspect of your being together, for a tranquility and vibrant experience of yourSELF in all areas of your life that are most important to YOU.”

“Dreams that come to fruition take passion, dedication, and good old fashioned hard work.” -- Laura McKinzie

Even though 2016 is coming to an end, SWIHA’s next Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) program is just beginning! At Spirit of Yoga (SOY), we are about to welcome a brand new class of students who will embark on a transformational and heart-centered journey to self-discovery, through the study of yoga philosophy, movement through the asanas (yoga poses), and the quest for peace in stillness through mastering the science of breath.

SOY is the educational facility of SWIHA -- Southwest Institute of Healing Arts -- where our mission is to teach our students the importance of an authentic expression of yoga which honors a diversity of practices and belief systems, while being a unifying tool for creating wellness, mind-body balance, and spiritual connection.  SOY – Spirit of Yoga -- was voted to be among the Top Ten Yoga Studios in the Valley in 2016. We consider that quite an honor realizing there are well over a hundred yoga studios throughout the Valley of the Sun.

UNITY YOGA has no 'one guru' – rather encourages you to find own individual expression of yoga and the teacher within you!

From an early age, Kimberlie Faybik was blessed with the ability to communicate with Spirit in a myriad of forms. She could communicate with an individual’s higher self, their guides, connect with deceased loved ones, and tap into experiences of their past lives. Her journey to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts wasn’t easy, as she battled through Merkel cell carcinoma over seven years ago.

“Multiple surgeries and dozens of radiation treatments later, I was fortunate enough to beat it,” said Kimberlie. “Afterwards, I decided to take a more natural and holistic approach to my health.  I became a Reiki Master, which opened the doors to meet more like-minded people, one of which told me about SWIHA.”

After working in the healthcare field for over twenty years, coupled with her own personal experience as a cancer survivor, Kimberlie knew deep down that there was a better healing environment than the “cold and impersonal” healthcare system that currently exists as the status quo. Regarding the current healthcare system, Kimberlie shared how she felt like “just another patient or just another employee.”

Guest Blogger:
Melanie Albert, SWIHA Holistic Nutrition Teacher

“As a kid I always had a carrot in my little white gloves. Years later, while studying in college, my go-to snacks were basic sliced orange and carrot sticks. Today, decades later, I am even more excited about carrots and other root vegetables because I’ve learned that they can be unexpectedly delicious with a few simple culinary techniques.” --Melanie Albert

Roasted roots are beautiful, flavorful, and sweet, as well as a rich, colorful complement to any meal. The roasting culinary technique is a dry-heat cooking method that intensifies and concentrates the flavor of vegetables. When roasted properly, the natural sugars in the vegetables brown or caramelize to create a deep, rich flavor. When visiting your farmers’ market, buy a few roots even if you don’t recognize them, and roast them with this simple, quick recipe! Enjoy roasted roots as a side dish, to create soup, with hummus, or in a raw, kale salad or veggie wrap.