SWIHA Blog

When life asks you to rebuild, it also gives you the chance to rediscover who you truly are. For Sarah Hanlon, a recent graduate of the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner (IHAP) program, her journey has been one of courage, renewal, and transformation.

Before enrolling at SWIHA, Sarah was a dedicated massage therapist and mother living in Massachusetts. She was also in the process of healing from a painful chapter in her life — a toxic relationship she had left behind. “I wanted to help others in ways that I wanted to be helped as I was getting out of a toxic relationship,” she shares. “I wanted to be that hand that helps guide people through the tunnel to the other side of the hurt that allows them to build their lives for themselves.”

When life delivers unexpected challenges, some people lose their way — and others, like Nika Shelton, find their purpose.

Before enrolling in the Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner (IHAP) program at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), Nika’s life was filled with uncertainty. A traumatic car accident left her in a wheelchair for months, forcing her to fight both physically and mentally to recover.

When the Universe calls, sometimes it takes a while before we’re ready to answer. For SWIHA graduate Bethany Radakovich, that call came again and again—until she finally said yes.

“I began my journey last February, after many promptings from the Universe to investigate and enroll,” Bethany shared. “It’s been a very wonderful experience that I dearly wish I had been able and aware to start much, much earlier. It has felt like this is where I was meant to be all along.”

Bethany recently graduated from SWIHA’s Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner Program, a path that gave her new professional direction and brought deep personal healing after a time of loss and uncertainty.

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." — J. Krishnamurti

What does it mean to be the light? “You light up my life!” “Let your light shine!” “You are the light and the salt.” The light illuminates the way and divides the day from the night. It allows us to find our way out of darkness.

So how does one continue to push on and be the light when the world around you gets dark? How do you harness that light and keep showing up when it can be so turbulent to be seen?

I used to think spiritual awakening meant everything was perfectly aligned—like life suddenly made sense. You were happy. At peace. Trouble-free.

I imagined it as this peaceful, blissed-out lifestyle—quiet, centered, maybe even easy. It felt far away, like something meant for people who had it all figured out. The deeply devoted. The naturally calm. The ones who seemed to belong in sacred spaces.

I didn’t think that could be me, yet I craved it. I wanted that kind of peace. I just didn’t know how to get there—or if I even belonged on that path.

After 21 years of active duty in the United States Air Force, Gennie Ruffin retired in 2012 and began a new chapter of her life. “I was living the retired grandparent life,” she shares warmly. Yet even as she embraced the calm rhythm of retirement, a quiet calling stirred within her — one she had felt since childhood.

“I have always been attracted to the metaphysical, spiritual aspects of life,” Gennie reflects. “I’ve always wanted to help heal people without being a doctor.”

Before finding Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), Elliott Warner (they/them) was in a place of deep uncertainty. “In my life before SWIHA, I was facing many challenges,” Elliott recalls. “I was struggling to make sense of my life, and being a professional of any kind seemed impossible.”

It was during a hospital stay—when Elliott was searching online for affordable hypnosis training—that their life took a powerful turn. “Even a single class was around $500,” they share. “This was significantly out of my budget. So, I logged on to the SWIHA website I had encountered years before to look into Yoga training… I found that financial aid was available for my program of study, and it was more than I could have dreamed.”

When Paige Haddad found Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), she was at a crossroads — a place between survival and awakening. “When I found SWIHA, I was recovering from a near-death experience, a painful divorce, and stepping into sobriety,” she shares. “I was still healing, totally lost, and trying to make sense of everything.”

At the time, Paige was working exhausting hours as a chef — 2 AM to 2 PM shifts — holding down side gigs and fighting to stay afloat. Yet deep down, she knew she wasn’t living her true calling. “I could feel it in my gut that I wasn’t supposed to be doing that anymore,” she says. “I knew I had something more in me, I just didn’t know what it looked like yet.”

Before finding her path at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), Melinda York was living what many would consider a successful life—constantly giving, constantly showing up for others—yet something was missing. “Before SWIHA, my life felt like I was constantly pouring into others yet still feeling unfulfilled and disconnected from my deeper purpose,” she recalls.

Melinda’s journey to SWIHA began through her own process of healing and self-discovery. Searching for tools to better understand herself and the world around her, she was drawn to the Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner (IHAP) Diploma program, where she discovered the transformative power of holistic education and self-awareness.

Burnout is a state of chronic—sometimes invisible—physical and emotional depletion. Almost 68% of students in health-related programs report experiencing moderate burnout at some point in their studies (Journal of Medical Education, 2023).

As someone who wore the hats of both instructor and student simultaneously, I can relate. I once found myself saying “yes” to every peer, project, and opportunity—mentoring new students, leading study groups, volunteering for workshops. At first, my cup was overflowing with purpose, yet slowly, motivation evaporated. My sleep vanished. My patience wore thin. Only after a gentle (and honest) conversation with a mentor did I recognize that I, too, needed the same self-care I encouraged in others.