SWIHA Blog

The Yoga of Manifestation: Amrit Desai’s Visit to SWIHA

Posted by KC Miller on 1/6/22 4:00 PM

There is a story told of a guru who was approached by many people wanting to know the secrets of manifestation. He closed his eyes, and so did those saying they were seeking wisdom. The yogi took a deep breath, as did those waiting. After what seemed to be a long time, the wise man opened his eyes and said, “If you want pears, plant pear seeds!” With that, he descended the mountain, leaving some to understand, while many only mumbled in their confusion.

The first Friday in September of 2019, over 300 people gathered to listen to Yogi Amrit Desai, one of the few remaining living yoga masters who originally brought over the authentic teachings of yoga in the early 1960’s. Nine years before his arrival, the seeds were planted!

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Topics: Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, spirituality, SWIHA, Amrit Desai, Yoga Teacher Training, yoga nidra, Gifts and Graces, Yoga Sutras, yoga, Arizona, YTT, Spiritual, community, Yogi, Yoga studio, yoga teacher, Manifestation, Amrit Institute, New Years Resolution, Amrit, Yoga Practice, Divine Timing

A Shower of G.R.A.T.I.T.U.D.E

Posted by KC Miller on 11/25/21 4:00 PM

G-IVE GRATITUDE A TRY

Gratitude has always been familiar to me; basically, I’ve been a pretty happy-go-lucky person my whole life. By nature, I’m an optimist! As a longtime student of A Course in Miracles, I consciously choose to be “miracle ready” which means choosing to be in a state of gratitude and readiness as a daily practice. An “attitude of gratitude” was fully reinforced during my travels to India.

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Topics: Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, Kamini Desai, Gratitude, SWIHA, Mindfulness, KC Miller, Yoga Teacher Training, yoga nidra, Spirit, Holistic wellness, yoga, Arizona, India, Holistic Education, Amrit Institute, Thanksgiving, Gratitude Journal, Amrit Yoga, Grateful, Blessings, Blessons, Wisdom

SWIHA Student Blog: Finding The Pause

Posted by Johnie Kolzen on 11/23/21 4:00 PM

When I was a little girl, my parents got divorced. I was 6, my brother 9, my little sister just 5. We went to stay with my dad’s parents so he could continue on his job on the railroad. My grandfather was retired and had been in the navy. My grandmother was a rough and tough sort of woman that had been married five times, rodeo trick rider, sharecropper, all-around tough cookie. I share this with you because I had no pause, my family had no pause. The next steps my family took could have been changed or at the least given a pause, we as a family could see the purpose in our actions. When I was 9, I ran away from home. They called my mom (which I had been told was dead) and she flew to see me face to face to tell me, her daughter, she could not take me back to live with her. She got on a plane the next morning.

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Topics: self love, Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, spirituality, SWIHA, Mindfulness, Self-care, Guided meditation, Essential Oils, Meditation, Mind, yoga, Breath, Spiritual, mind-body wellness practitioner, Boundaries, Sacred Space, Holistic Education, Mindful Practices, Calmness, Pause, meditate, breathing

Finding the Balance in Life and Your Thanksgiving Meal

Posted by Jade Marvin on 11/18/21 4:00 PM

Balance is not something you find, it’s something you create.” - Jana Kingsford

Sweet. Salty. Dark. Light. Hot. Cold. Yin. Yang. There is a balance to everything. The ‘Wheel of Balance’, also commonly known as the ‘Life Balance Wheel’ or ‘Life Wheel’ is used to assess and understand how areas in your life are currently balanced and to help achieve a better work-life balance. This tool and perspective is a great way for us to look inward and assess what may need some adjusting in order to produce harmony in our lives. Sharon Rose, the program director of the Intuitive Guidance program, asserts, “It is incredibly effective in showing people where they can plant seeds and grow their garden in their own lives.” 

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Topics: Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, Holistic Nutrition, SWIHA, Recipe, Holistic Healing, Yoga Teacher Training, balance, yoga, Arizona, Holistic Living, yoga teacher, Wheel of Balance, Thanksgiving, Holistic Modalities, Dessert Recipe, Grateful, Wheel of Life, Appetizer Recipe, Open House

Postures of Consciousness — A Gateway into Meditation in Motion

Posted by KC Miller on 9/30/21 4:00 PM

For over 20 years Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) has been offering a 200-hour yoga alliance approved yoga teacher training under the banner of Unity Yoga”. Students are encouraged to find their own authentic expression of yoga, with an emphasis on cueing safe, anatomically correct asana-based studio classes. Weve successfully graduated hundreds of students over the years that have found their own voices and adapted what theyve learned into compelling and creative studio classes that they offer all across the country.

As we have sought to enrich our Advanced Yoga Teacher offerings we have begun to focus on the deeper aspects of yoga including meditation in the form of Yoga Nidra —a guided yogic sleep system refined by Kamini Desai, PhD.

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Topics: Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, Mind Body Wellness, SWIHA, Certified Yoga Teacher, 200 Hour Yoga Training, Guided meditation, Advanced Yoga Training, Meditation, KC Miller, Yoga Teacher Training, yoga nidra, Breathing Techniques, yoga, YTT, spirit of yoga, Namaste, chakras, Wellness Industry, Amrit Institute, Yoga Philosophy, Postures of Consciousness, Amrit Yoga, Amrit, Meditation in Motion

How to Choose a Yoga Teacher Training Program: Authentic, Reputable & Life-Changing

Posted by Taylor Jablonowski on 4/9/21 10:12 AM


1. When choosing a Yoga Teacher Training program, it’s important you choose a program recognized by reputable licensing or a credential is involved is so that when you present yourself for employment your training will be recognized.

Yoga Alliance (YA) is the largest independent organized credentials body available in the world. Their standards for a Yoga Teacher Training facility include:

• Has a definite, pre-defined curriculum with competencies and sub-competencies that meet Yoga Alliance’s standards;
• Offers a training program that is taught by experienced yoga teachers who are qualified to train others to become yoga teachers; and
• Offers a consistent approach that supports authenticity of lineage, style, or methodology, rather than a survey of different approaches.

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Topics: Certified Yoga Teacher, Yoga for Recovery, Yoga 200 Hour Training, yoga, I AM Yoga

Deepen Your Practice: Yoga Body Psychology is Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science

Posted by Mel Rhoden on 3/30/21 4:00 PM

What a year we had last year! I am convinced I may not have made it had it not been for yoga. I started 2020 in Yoga Nidra training and fell in love with the sleep based meditation practice. As someone that has always struggled with shutting my brain down and trying to get all of the thoughts racing through my head to stop, the practice of Yoga Nidra was able to take my meditation practice to the next level.

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Topics: Yoga Teacher Training, yoga nidra, yoga, Amrit Institute, Yoga Body Psychology

Mel Rhoden Fulfills Her Soul’s Purpose By Helping Others Find Theirs

Posted by Taylor Jablonowski on 1/20/21 4:00 PM

“Just before finding out about SWIHA, I was in a soul sucking job in Corporate America. I dreaded going to work,” recalls Mel Rhoden, describing a path that we often hear of those who choose to serve others in a new way, “Every day that I was there, the cubicle walls seemed to be getting taller and darker. That office was quickly becoming lifeless, and I needed to get out.”

Mel had already left Corporate America once to travel the world as a missionary and journalist. She had sworn never to go back, however, after living overseas and having to raise financial support for so long, she needed to create some stability.

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Topics: Life Coaching, Gifts and Graces, yoga, national life coaching month, Numerology

Yoga Body Psychology Merges Science and Asana to Release and Heal

Posted by Taylor Jablonowski on 3/19/20 4:00 PM

Our bodies are filled with electrical and chemical impulses that keep our brain and body in constant communication. Most of the time, we actively decipher the information and can quickly interpret it; a common example of this is when we accidentally touch a hot surface, our body moves away without conscious thought to do so.

However, in traumatic situations, our body can’t tell the difference between physical danger and emotional distress. It logs the memory deep within our tissues, which triggers the body to release the same chemical and electrical impulses anytime a sound, smell, sight or sensation comes along that reminds our subconscious of the trauma. The primal part of the brain believes its body to be in physical danger, which is why trauma survivors have physical symptoms for weeks, months and, many times, years.

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Topics: Holistic Healing, Yoga Teacher Training, yoga, Yoga Body Psychology, SWIHA Classes

From Engineer to Mindful Lifestyle Coach: Harsha Bipin Shares Her Joy

Posted by Taylor Jablonowski on 1/14/20 1:38 PM

At Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, we actively encourage our students to work through their fears and hesitations around entrepreneurship. Harsha Bipin, a Mind-Body Wellness Practitioner graduate, is a brilliant example of what can happen when you take a leap of faith in yourself!

My previous life was of a software engineer,” Harsha explains, “it had a lot to do with me and the needs of my immediate family.”

“I joined SWIHA while I was on a maternity break, hoping to just do the Holistic Nutrition program to learn more about eating right. I had faced a huge positive shift in my life by changing my eating habits, and I knew there was more to learn.”

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Topics: Great Graduates, Holistic Nutrition, Mindfulness, yoga nidra, yoga

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