SWIHA Blog

Like so many other students that end up at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, Steven Jaggers also found his way here through a need to find a holistic solution to an afflictive situation. Although he was originally born in Orange County, California, he spent the majority of his childhood in Arizona with parents who struggled with heavy drug addiction. After graduating high school, he entered corporate America, joining a microchip company. “I knew then that I wanted to help people because for me, it was more fulfilling than just turning a profit.” Almost like a consequence, he got laid off and his mother desperately needed help, so he moved in to take care of her. She was having difficulty with prescription drug abuse, and he knew there had to be another option to help treat her: “We needed a different way to deal with her underlying illness, rather than the ‘Western medicine approach’, which is to just mask symptoms. I began to search for holistic ways to treat her and the pills’ side effects which created even more problems. I knew there had to be another path. I really felt like we had been tormented by Western medicine." However, Steven had his own difficulties when he was diagnosed with scoliosis, and at one point, his doctor told him that we was going to need spinal surgery. He felt strong resistance to this treatment, as he did not feel surgery was the best option for him. Well, he was right. Today, his spine is healthy, and with the treatment of massage and soft tissue manipulation, most of which he experienced through his program at SWIHA, he was able to get out of pain and avoid surgery.

Read More

Alexis Holland grew up in sunny, humid Florida and has spent years bouncing around the country with her husky, Kiya, gaining integral life experience and wisdom. Sometimes she barters musical entertainment for a place to sleep, like the time she stayed in a Vedic Temple in Sedona, AZ in exchange for playing Kirtan (a Sanskrit word for a musical form a narration). They love  to set up camp, especially in the mountains, with as little as a tapestry, her blanket, food, and instruments. In the midst of her nomadic lifestyle, her love of music from various cultures began to grow, as well. She found herself attending lots of drum and music festivals, from a Sufi ceremony called a Zikr (sacred ceremony of divine rememberance), to Rainbow Gatherings, a drum and dance festival called Paralounge (northern FL), and a handpan retreat called Hangout USA (Asheville, NC). Along the way she learned to play an array of instruments, trombone being the first in grade school. Since then her collection has grown; she plays the handpan, crystal singing bowls, tuning forks, guitar, cajon, drums, and digeridoo. She reflected, “Music was all around me, in many different forms… wherever I went, there it was…and there I was, fully immersed.”

Read More

Stephen Hubbell says he was drawn to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) due to his curiosity in exploring the healing arts, and he was on a spiritual adventure! He elaborated by saying, “My adventure’s purpose was to find a way to bring my spiritual relationship more fluently into the physical world in an applicable way to help and heal people, as well as myself. I was most interested in the Polarity Therapy program at SWIHA when I first found out what Polarity Therapy was.” He went on to graduate from the 750-hour Massage Therapy program, in which he was certified in Massage Therapy, as well as in Polarity Therapy. “SWIHA has been a huge part of my transformation.”

As far as massage goes, Stephen continues to stay focused on studying and applying for his massage license in the state of California. He plans on combining massage, polarity, and astrology together to form the perfect business trine. In the meantime, he really enjoys giving his friends short massage sessions to help them feel better. He is currently doing astrology readings for both individual and couples sessions.  “I enjoy working with clients on a longer term basis. For example, it’s awesome to work with someone for three months at a time so that I can really help people free up their minds and their lives for more enjoyment, love, pleasure, etc.”  To supplement his energy work, he is currently working at Camp Cedar Glen, which has awesome programs like archery and rock climbing, and there he helps maintain the grounds and campsites and enjoys being immersed in nature!

Read More

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.

Read More

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.”

Read More

The monthly event, Gifts and Graces, is initially what brought Tara Walker-Munroe to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). That evening led her to enroll in the 800-hour Yoga Teacher Training program at Spirit of Yoga (SOY), SWIHA’s extended yoga school and studio. Now that she has graduated, Tara reflected that the first 200 hours of her Yoga Teacher Training were actually her favorite part of the entire program.

“There is such a sense of community that is built. So much love and compassion shared all while learning how to help others find themselves, find stillness, and cultivate peace. It's a beautiful experience. Even if someone is not interested in teaching, the 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training program is great for self discovery, self growth, self knowledge.”

During her yoga training, Tara found that her favorite teachers were Laura McKinzie, Duane Armitage, Aradhana Kaur, and India Bee. She shared that they all taught with compassion and grace. During her training, she learned the tools needed to succeed and were instilled with the confidence needed to face self-doubt. “I also have to say my fellow classmates inspired me. When you embark on such a journey, the opportunity for learning is all around you.” Tara wanted to add that she also loved her Polarity teachers- Gilad, Tracy, and Dina. In all honesty, she knows there are people she is leaving out so she shared that it's safe to say that she loved all her teachers at SWIHA/SOY.    

Read More

How do you put into words that which cannot be transcribed? Many things in life become lost in our attempts to capture them, to employ our language in place of direct experience. There is no substitute for experience, which is why I highly recommend you consider having your own first-hand experience, as I have had, with the Medicine Wheel class taught by Heather Principe. As the great Sufi mystic poet Kabir once said, “If you have not lived through something, it is not true.”

I entered the Medicine Wheel class with anticipation but no expectations. My girlfriend took this course a year ago, and it was her overflowing love for both the teachings and the teacher that influenced my decision to enroll in the class.

Before we entered the classroom at SWIHA, a fellow student was awaiting us at the door, feather in one hand, and sage held in an abalone shell, in her other hand. We were smudged one by one, and proceeded to enter the classroom, beckoned by the ancient rhythm of Heather’s Native American drum playing.

Read More