SWIHA Blog

William Mauzerall’s transformational journey from military service to massage therapist is an inspirational testimony of accepting and leaning into life’s opportunities. William, an honored military veteran, completed three years of services to our country and found himself at a crossroads after completing his military career. Having been fortunate to have the GI Bill assist with funding his educational dreams, William asked for guidance from his brother on the educational direction in which he should travel. William, a strategic thinker with an openness to consider many educational endeavors pursued the Massage Therapy program at SWIHA (Southwest Institute of Healing Art) for a few reasons: He would earn an associate’s degree from an accredited institution, he could enjoy the climate of the Southwest and it was a program that gave him man options to choose from in developing his gifts. William describes a peace and serenity in making his decision to pursue massage therapy through SWIHA -- he knew in his soul it was the right direction for him. In looking back on this decision, William now can see his footsteps to SWIHA transformed his life far deeper than a massage program.

As William began his program, he quickly found the coursework academically challenging. He embraced the notion that if the program did not challenge him, it would not change him. Through coaching and mentoring from his teachers, he learned the key difference between being a good massage therapist and great massage therapist is the ability to view the body as a whole instead of the sum of its parts. Through the life cycle of his program, beginning with the anatomy class, William learned the basics by breaking down the body to its simplest elements: molecules, cells, tissues and systems. As awareness and exploration continued through his coursework, William learned it is impossible to touch a body without understanding the impact on the whole body as every level.

As awareness and exploration continued through his coursework, William learned it is impossible to touch a body without understanding the impact on the whole body as every level.

Kristen Burkhardt-Hanson had always been a troubled soul; she spent most of her life addicted to substances, alcohol, and making poor life decisions. She worked equally as long in the spa and salon industry and was over-worked, under-paid, and stressed out. She was longing for a different kind of life that gave her a sense of meaning and purpose.

Leif Hanson always felt alone and disconnected from the world. On the outside he appeared to be happy and easy-going, however, on the inside he was miserable and lacked confidence. At times he found it difficult to make friends and maintain a social life. He liked his job as a software engineer but he longed to have purpose and live life in an exciting and meaningful way; he just didn’t know what that looked like yet.

After both of their divorces, Leif and Kristen met online. After dating for a few years Leif moved Kristen to Arizona with her two daughters for a chance at a new life. They both became sober in 2010, and while they had the best intentions to have a fabulous marriage, they quickly discovered their behavior and attitudes from their previous marriages and experiences were beginning to seep in.

By KC Miller, SWIHA Success Center Blogger

It has been said to own a business you must have a lot of backbone.

According to the Small Business Administration, three out of five businesses fail in the first three years. Michael Gerber, author of The E Myth – Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About, says their failure is not because the owners are under-skilled or under-trained in the performance of their professions; the failure rates are due to ‘hardening of the attitudes’ and losing sight of their mission.

The word ‘Osteoporosis’ usually refers to a disease where the bone strength has been compromised, resulting in chronic pain and a decreased ability to carry out normal activities. Metaphorically speaking, ‘Business Osteoporosis’ is where the strength of a business has been compromised due to premature degeneration of its mission, which causes chronic painful detours and hardship to the business owner.

Bottom-line:

A successful entrepreneur has a strong mission that serves as the backbone to everything they do, yet has an attitude flexible enough to adapt to the changes that come their way.

Motivational speaker and best-selling author Brian Tracy states that you generally accomplish your written goals, dreams, plans, and vision. Writing them down lends power and commitment to their accomplishment. This is especially true when writing a mission statement.

Tamira Burns says she got “The Call” around age seven, in the form of a profound angel encounter that many might label as “crazy”, or the imaginings of a creative, gifted child.

“My heart felt like it would explode from the love I felt! The angel opened my path before me and advised me to follow my father, as he was a true child of God,” Tamira says of her angel encounter.

Tamira’s father was what she describes as a “secular humanist and a naturalist, who loved the earth and cared for all the creatures upon it with a profound love.” Her father felt that “god” was an ego construct of humanity to control the masses, and that churches were no more than a place to be reprogrammed, which confused Tamira as a child, as she did not understand the very personal relationship her father had with what he called “spirit” until she was much older.

Her mother was an excommunicated Catholic, abandoned by the church and stuck in a “spiritual orphanhood.” As a child, Tamira’s family did not attend church, and did not have a bible in the house. Her home was filled with books on nature and culture, anthropological journals and magazines such as the Smithsonian, Omni, and National Geographic.

By KC Miller - SWIHA Success Center Blogger

Going into business for yourself isn’t something to be taken lightly. However, if you wait for all the lights to turn green, you might never leave the driveway of your mind! There is an old saying, “It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.” The same is true about business. While it may be true many small business fail, many make it! Here are some tips to help you GO for it!

1. GO get a business card.

Decide what you are willing to offer as a service, claim it as yours, and put it on a card. You can get inexpensive business cards by going to websites like www.VistaPrint.com or www.123print.com . Often your first set of up to 250 cards will be free. Order them! Your card will likely change many times over the first couple of years; it is part of the process. Create . . . and adjust.

Hypnotherapy, often referred to as guided imagery, is a powerful instrument for healing. It works within the subconscious mind of an individual, helping to resolve issues such as chronic anxiety, weight gain, fear and insomnia. It can also help change negative or addictive behaviors.

Bob Chamberlain, a graduate of the 100 hour Certificate of Excellence in Hypnotherapy at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), has an undeniable passion for hypnotherapy and guided imagery. Once Bob completed his 100 hours of training at SWIHA, he immediately took his skills and experience to Banner Estrella Medical Center in Phoenix, along with SWIHA’s Hypnotherapy Program Director Linda Bennett.

In January of 2015, Banner Estrella launched a pilot program called the Guided Imagery Project. This is a volunteer based program in which Bob immediately began volunteering, along with a dozen other graduates from SWIHA’s hypnotherapy program.

Most traditional, or allopathic, doctors and medical centers have not previously used holistic or integrative therapies like hypnotherapy with patients. However, recently the use of more holistic therapies such as hypnotherapy, massage therapy and even yoga have proven beneficial for helping patients.

Let’s face it, transitioning from a full-time employee into a full-fledged Entrepreneur is going to require a little bit more than proof of concept and connections. While those are necessary, the mental shifting you’ll require to dive into your business is going to be the key to your success.

Have you ever noticed how people enter a swimming pool? They get in there one of two ways; they either DIVE or DIP. This is a perfect metaphor for how people enter decisions, and for this particular subject, make the dive into being an Entrepreneur.

Toe Dippers like to take their time and gently dip their toe in the water, checking the temperature, and then slowly walking into the pool. And once their body agrees with the temperature, sometimes they’ll dive in. They’re a little more hesitant and take more calculated risks.

By Ivie McCoy -Guest Blogger

People are drinking smoothies now more than ever before. What should be in a smoothie to make it a complete, healthy alternative? Many people run into issues with things like texture, taste, and variety. Part of the misconception with taste is that we are so used to things being sweet that it is difficult to eat a green smoothie that tastes like “dirt” or is “earthy”. What if a green smoothie didn’t have to taste bad? What if a healthy smoothie that is also delicious could be made every day? By following these five easy steps, compiled mostly from the teachings of SWIHA holistic nutrition instructor Janet Lee, it is easy to create amazing green smoothies!

By Richard Seaman

I often wonder where would I be if I had not listened to God’s voice. Where would I be if I had not stepped onto the path to walk a Spiritually Reliable life?

I remember a time when I had one of those break down moments in the shower. I felt as if I was losing my mind, losing parts and pieces of myself. I cried out so loud to God, “I know I am amazing, talented and fabulous. I know I am not here to sling pasta in an Italian restaurant for the rest of my life. I am ripe and ready for the picking—God use me as your Divine instrument, in the peace and healing of others. God, I cannot go on anymore like this. I beg you, PLEASE send someone to produce me!”

It was a desperate attempt to get Gods attention, which, in my case is never anything short of melodramatic. I had gone complacent and was walking around in my life going through the motions, having temporary, fleeting in-sights—dreaming and seeing who I could become. Standing naked in the shower, water dripping down my body seemed metaphorical as I was having an emotional crisis, screaming, crying and complaining of how things were not working in my life. Then I heard the Voice—the voice neither male nor female, a voice so clear, direct, and precise like a laser, surround me from all directions and yell into me—Produce Yourself!

The recent awareness around ingredients in foods and products has practically caused a worldwide phenomenon. Conscious consumers everywhere are beginning to pay attention to what they are putting in and on their bodies. However, Lisa Kaiser has been reading product labels and looking at food ingredients long before it was making headlines. This attention to labels and ingredients was what inspired Lisa to create her skincare business, The Good Stuff, over 15 years ago with her daughter.
Lisa came to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) years after launching her business with the intent to expand on her expertise. She enrolled in the online Associates of Mind-Body Transformational Psychology program, and was intrigued by the Urban Farming courses, due to her interest in reading labels and using ingredients that nature provided.

“The fact that Urban Farming was incorporated, along with the holistic nutrition classes, brought what I believe full circle,” Lisa explained.