SWIHA Blog

“Everything that happens in life has a lesson. Sometimes you have to look harder to find it, but it is there,” affirms Jenny Sirwet.

Jenny is a graduate of the 800-Hour Yoga Teacher Training program, has studied Polarity, Life Coaching and Aromatherapy, and serves future SWIHA community members in the Admissions department with her warm and welcoming presence. Though Jenny is now what we lovingly call a ‘SWIHA-Lifer’, she admits that she didn’t quite jump in to her journey feet-first: “I was allergic to the word ‘trauma’ when I first started as a student at SWIHA,” discloses Jenny, “That word was a trigger for me. It was a reminder of the ‘victim mentality’, which I try to avoid.”

Five years ago, Jenny suffered a serious back injury which launched her into a journey of healing and a mindset of growth. After a year and a half of  physical therapy, she had lumbar spine surgery in August of 2016 followed by six more months of remedial exercises.

What would happen if the success manual or business guide you chose for 2019 was in titled A Course In Miracles?

It just so happens, there is such a book! It was written, or ‘scribed’, by a woman named Helen Schucman, a self-described skeptic who was resistant to the thought that she would do something as important as delivering Divine ‘insights’.

Can you relate? Have you ever received profound messages during meditation, while journaling, or even during a session with a client? Did you question where this divine intelligence was coming from?

Ahh...there’s a chill in the air, cider in our mugs and eager anticipation of the holiday season in our hearts!

Autumn is abundant; it’s when we reap the benefits of our hard summer’s work and give thanks for our blessings. Though, before you go overboard with the Halloween candy and turkey dinners, consider visiting your local farmer’s market and reaching for some of the delicious and nutritious foods in season this fall!

What to Shop For

The fall season brings a harvest of healthful and super tasty produce. From the entire cruciferous family (like cauliflower and cabbage) to root veggies (carrots, onions, sweet potatoes) to the iconic squash crew (such as pumpkins, zucchini, and butternut squash), there’s plenty of inspiration to be found.

“Who do you know who is fully expressed in their boldness and bravery?” If this was a survey question asked of those on the college campus of Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, Richard Seaman’s name would, without a shadow of a doubt, be on the top of the list. Richard is bold and brave! As a longtime coach and the lead Life Coach Instructor for the college, Richard is committed to teaching others to be brave using a coaching model he has created using the acronym B.R.A.V.E.

Apprehensive! Nervous! Excited! Empowered! This was the range of emotions I experienced as I did my first LIVE Facebook coaching session as a part of SWIHA’s 31 Days of 31 Minutes of Life Coaching. My topic was 5 Ways to Connect with Spirit, and my “ah-ha” was that the ways we connect with Spirit are the exact same ways we prepare to do a LIVE Facebook gig… and the same steps it takes to fully show up in life in a very “alive” way! In retrospect, going LIVE was just a metaphor! Let me explain…

To go L.I.V.E. you must first LEAN IN!

The title of Life Coach is about learning to “lean in” to your life in a very real and vulnerable way. To be a good coach, you must have a real life– one which goes through the full spectrum of emotions. There will be times when you are apprehensive, nervous, excited, and even empowered! As a coach, the more human, vulnerable, and real that you are willing to be, the more you can be of service to others. 

In 2013, Niki Meadows gave herself a metamorphic birthday gift that would ultimately change the course of her entire life. In order to ensure that 2014 would be the year she would stop wishing for change and start working for a more fulfilling reality, she quit her corporate job and enrolled in SWIHA’s life coaching program.

A natural-born life coach to those in her life, Niki chose to complete our 100-hour Life Coaching program to help her sharpen her skills so she could extend her gifts to others in a more professional capacity. Now the proud owner of Niki Meadows LLC, Niki identifies as a Women’s Worthiness and Authenticity Coach, working with women to heal the relationship they have with themselves. “I love to connect with people! I’m now able to serve people and it’s incredibly fulfilling to do something that has meaning and purpose. I’m also able to use the gifts and talents I was born with instead of trying to find creative ways to incorporate them into an environment that didn’t have room for them.”

Sharon Rose made the trek out to Arizona following an opportunity in her previous career of hospitality and to experience a much-needed change in scenery. Attending a school like Southwest Institute of Healing Arts was far from her mind. At the time, she had no idea that her recreational and self-preservationist interests in yoga would become such huge components of her life path, and ultimately, the fulfillment of her life purpose.

After four months here in the desert, a sinking feeling began to creep into her soul that something significant was missing. Looking back, she shares, “I became uninspired and mentally checked out. I started practicing yoga at Spirit of Yoga around this time. I realized then that I wanted to pursue yoga full time and decided to look into SWIHA.”

Many of you know me as the Copywriter and Editor at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, and part of my job is coordinating/writing our blogs which post on Mondays and Fridays. It is my responsibility to find graduates who are using their SWIHA education and holistic gifts out in the world in incredible ways. January was National Life Coaching Month, and we honored a life coach a day by showcasing them in a blog. Within a few weeks of each other, both KC Miller (SWIHA founder) and Richard Seaman (head of the Life Coaching department) mentioned an Elaine Glass. I followed my usual protocol of a “hello-and-congratulations” email stating that she was a #GreatGraduate who we’d love to feature on the SWIHA Blog page, if she’d be willing to fill out the attached questionnaire. She graciously accepted my proposal to work with me and requested to meet in person for an informal interview to go over the questions. At the time I didn’t think anything about it, yet as I reflect back, I remember us both saying we were glad we met in person. I enjoy putting a face with a name, and it allows me to write with a more dynamic and connected tone when I can see the energy and raw emotion of a person as they talk about their process to SWIHA, their educational journey, and the love for their work. I’ll never forget the day I met Elaine Glass.

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.

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.