SWIHA Blog

“Before SWIHA, I just worked all the time, and I was never sure what my actual purpose was. I did not have a lot of self-compassion, and I did not really love myself. Through my program, I have learned to grow and love myself and I want to help others around me. I’m very excited and compassionate to help others.”

The common phrase “you must help yourself before you help others” rang true for SWIHA Great Graduate Crystal Stemple. Life before SWIHA was confusing and robotic, which left Crystal feeling unsure about her future. Once Crystal learned to love herself more, people on the outside started to notice it too! Come along as we dive into Crystal’s journey of self-love, compassion, confidence, and passion for helping others!

There is a famous proverb that goes like this, “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” What does that mean? How do we help others to help themselves? Do we tell people how to do that? Do we teach them or show them? Maybe we just do it for them and save everyone the hassle of learning or can we just give them a Field & Stream subscription?

When thinking about vulnerability and intuition, I felt a spark as I was applying the two topics to my life. I am more vulnerable with myself than I ever was because I choose to listen to my intuition where I find myself more mindful and consciously aware of my thoughts, my temporary feelings, and the emotions that come with those feelings from thoughts.

Therefore I cannot speak on behalf of intuition without vulnerability, because following your instinct, and believing in your inner advisor is being vulnerable to yourself first. It's what you need before you can even be vulnerable with anyone else whether it be your friends, your partner, coworkers, or your children. Being vulnerable is being open to trusting in what you believe in so that you can show up for yourself when those moments come when you need to make choices without judgment, doubt or feeling scared of rejection or even fearing the worst for your outcomes.

As an Entrepreneur in the Holistic Health & Wellness space, and having a passion for helping others, it is a common path that most healers will try to expand their tool belts in every way they can. This way, they can offer more modalities, helping their clients, as well as expanding their business. This was the very case for SWIHA Great Graduate, Shawna Roberts, a recent graduate of the 755-hr Holistic Health and Wellness Coach Diploma Program. Shawna was an already established Licensed Massage Therapist and Yoga Instructor running her own business. She was looking for the next natural progression in building and expanding her business. With a passion for health and wellness, specifically holistic nutrition and the impact it has on overall health - based on Shawna’s personal health challenges; the Wellness Coaching program seemed like the perfect fit!

“I started the Holistic Health & Wellness Coaching program at SWIHA after being sick of the repetitive feeling that I was missing something. I was a doula pre-COVID and felt like there was so much more I could be offering clients and their families, yet didn't know how to do that. I saw SWIHA come up on my internet screen more times than I would like to admit. I was a complete people pleaser at the time, so I continued to say no. I finally said, ‘YES, it's now. This is what I need’ and it's been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences. I am so glad I said yes. I love the closeness I feel with my classmates as well as the instructors and I also love that this program has challenged me to really focus on what I am passionate about.”

Through the years more and more individuals are being diagnosed with ADHD. ADHD stands for, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. If you find it difficult to concentrate, relax, or have issues with impulsivity, there is a chance you may have undiagnosed ADHD. I am here to bring awareness and share with you the tools I use to manage my ADHD without the use of medication. The most important thing I have learned on my journey is to embrace my ADHD and view it as a superpower. Once I accepted that I have ADHD, I was able to use it to my advantage.

“My life was lacking drive, passion, and purpose before SWIHA. I was ready for a change and to do something that filled my life. My aunt had taken classes at SWIHA years earlier so I looked into it and fell in love! I am passionate about this modality because I believe that there are better ways to heal our mind, body, and soul than only what traditional medicine provides.”

What is meditation exactly? Simply put, it is a technique that uses breathing exercises, mindfulness, and focusing on the mental status. Meditation can help to calm the mind and body, center us to better handle tasks at hand, and can help alleviate anxiety, depression, and possibly even pain. The common misconception is how difficult meditation is. Anyone can reap the benefits of meditation with a little consistency.

“I was inspired to become a Holistic Health and Wellness coach because I’m passionate about helping people gain the knowledge, skills, tools, and confidence to become active participants in their health care so that they can live their most fulfilling life with a chronic illness.”

SWIHA (soon to be) Great Graduate, Katina Kondos, spent the last twenty years of her life in the health and wellness industry, operating several Massage Envy franchises in Illinois, until she sold them in 2018 and moved to Arizona for a fresh start. Katina shares, “Much of my career has been dedicated to helping people navigate through pain management and improving their quality of life.” With a new journey beginning in Arizona for Katina, it just made sense that she found herself attracted to SWIHA. Katina enrolled in the Holistic Health and Wellness Coaching program to further her education in this field she is so passionate about, meanwhile, expanding her tool belt of offerings to help serve others live their best, and healthiest life. 

At the age of 40, is when I noticed I was feeling tired, not just lack of sleep tired, it felt like fatigue, just plain exhaustion. As the year went on, I noticed I was missing sleep during the night, waking up between 2-3 am constantly, and this led to just not feeling me. I was moody. My stomach hurt with everything I ate and was nauseous when I woke up. My body ached, my skin was red and I was getting adult acne. My body was calling for my attention. I felt like each month - year added a new symptom. It was robbing me of life. My mind keep spinning why was this happening to me, and can I feel better again?