Great Graduates from SWIHA, SWINA & SOY

Since graduating from Southwest Institute of Natural Aesthetics’ Advanced Skincare and Cosmetic Laser Program in 2014, Ann has begun a new adventure in her life with her own home day spa, Mindful Skin Spa, which is located in Chandler, Arizona. Ann practices what her friends call “holistic aesthetics”, meaning she uses all-natural, organic, and fragrance-free products, and educates her clients about the health aspects behind their skin.

“My mission is about educating my clients about skin health, revolving around the saying, ‘You are what you eat’. Whatever you put into your body gets dumped onto your skin. I use natural products because they all eventually make their way back to your liver, and using natural products reduces the chances of doing any damage.”

Much of this holistic approach comes from Ann’s medical background. Ann brings about fifteen years of medical experience to the table after graduating from nursing school in Williamsport, Pennsylvania in the eighties. Also certified in Oncology Aesthetics, Ann is able to provide affordable, relaxing, and rejuvenating services to Oncology clients suffering from changes to the skin due to cancer including dryness,

Mark Flory thought he had it all -- family, job, house, and lots of friends. Then at age 44, things started to change. “I guess you can say I had a mid-life crisis of identity. At the time of my decision to go to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), I had just sold a business that I thought was going to be my retirement plan.” Mark was feeling like a failure and that he let his family down.

To top it off, Mark applied and interviewed with a company for a position that seemed like it was written specifically for him. After several interviews and feeling really good about getting the new job, he met with the owner and president. Remembering the shock and disbelief, Mark shared that he bombed the interview and didn’t get the job.

Mark now realizes that he was having a spiritual awakening. “My intuitive abilities had been activated and I was starting to awaken to the possibilities of helping people with these new found gifts. During this process, however, many things came up for me that challenged everything that I was. It is never easy to one day say to your friends, ‘Oh by the way, I see dead people and can read your energy.’ Most of them thought I was crazy and really didn’t want to associate with me anymore. Because of this, I isolated myself and I started to question who I was and what I was really put on this earth to do. There is nothing like being 44 years old and not knowing who you are anymore.”

Growing up as an only child with a single mother, Quintin McCain has seen his fair share of struggle. He candidly shares how he chose to hang out with gangsters in his adolescent years. As a result, Quentin found himself involved in activities ranging from selling drugs to carrying weapons.

Although Quentin attended four different high schools, he succeeded in completing his high school diploma. At the age of eighteen, he fell asleep at the wheel of this vehicle and crashed into a light pole, leaving him with a broken femur, fractured ribs, a punctured lung, and a new lease on life. It was this unexpected incident that helped him to realize he was put on this earth for a reason—to change the world for the better.

The next event that forever impacted Quentin’s life was the birth of his beautiful daughter, Alyssa. Upon her birth, Quentin vowed to be a positive role model for his daughter and be someone she could be proud of. The journey to his destined path would not be easy; there were many challenges such as anxiety, the absence of a true purpose, and the lack of a mentor or role-model in his life.

Growing up in a small town located just outside of North Little Rock, Arkansas, Susan White joined the Air Force at age of 17 and spent the next 12 ½ years traveling the world, connecting with different cultures, exploring new places, and becoming aware that there is more to life that meets the eye – and that, in the end, it’s all about ‘energy’.

After the birth of her daughter, Susan began to experience a deep calling for something different—almost as if there was an ‘energy’ leading her to search for more. She followed that ‘energy’ or ‘calling’ and decided to start a new journey outside of military life. Almost as if to counter balance the male-dominated-structured life she had lived for over a decade, Susan’s new path led her to do intuitive readings and eventually, using tarot cards.

Along her path, as Susan felt a deep desire to expand her knowledge and skills when she stumbled upon the SWIHA website. The phrase SWIHA often uses to describe itself – ‘the school with great energy’ – called to Susan right away. “I was captivated by the great energy I felt by just reading the website, and the more I read, the more drawn and excited I was,” shared Susan excitedly.

If you were to pinpoint Nancy Santana’s philosophy on life you could use her Pinterest description: “I am an empowerment lifestyle spirit junkie -- loving anything mind-body wellness! I love holistic… intuitive…spiritual! I am the founder of the #chooseLOVE movement and The Lotus Wellness Center. Follow me!”

Nancy Santana was going through some major transitions and shifts in her life when a friend first told her about SWIHA. “I had transformed my body . . . yet something was missing and that was the mind-body-spirit connection,” shared Nancy, who recently completed the Mind-Body Transformational Psychology program at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. Her passion for this program developed from deep within her soul. She recalled how she lit up when first saw the list of Spiritual Studies courses that were part of her program:

Before she found SWIHA, Sarah Peters a young woman, working a stressful job in a medical office – She was sick, overweight, and lost. “I was just starting to expand my health knowledge and learning how to self-heal. As I was searching for photography schools online, I 'accidentally' stumbled upon SWIHA,” shared Sarah. After 'stumbling' onto SWIHA’s website, Sarah enrolled into the Mind/Body Transformational Psychology program, specializing in hypnotherapy, Reiki, Life Coaching and yoga. Sarah became fascinated with almost every subject in her program: “I love the psychology of the mind; I love having deep conversations with people and I have always been sensitive to energies – other people’s energy as well as mine! It was so amazing to find a program that connected everything together for me – mind, body, energy and coaching!”

Sarah is currently transitioning into a Sound/Energy Healer and Yoga Teacher position at Knead Me Wellness in North Phoenix – a move she’s very excited about. She’ll begin taking clients there in March 2016, where she’ll share her wide array of gifts, including Reiki, Hypnotherapy, Coaching, Sound Healing and private yoga instruction.

I am a dentist and have been practicing here in the East Valley for the last four years. I love my profession but it is hard on my body, specifically my shoulders and neck. Each year I seem to notice more and more discomfort as I practice and occasionally even when I am away from work. It eventually got to a point where I could actually feel a burning and tingling sensation around my shoulder blades. I would notice this one to two times a day, sometimes while working, but sometimes just driving down the freeway. Knowing I want to practice dentistry for a very long time I have sought out many different professional opinions on how to best manage this issue and to hopefully find some relief. The only real relief I have found has been with massage. I have become a regular to several of the spas in the area receiving 2-3 massages per month, which has been helpful to a point.

It was in the wee hours of the evening that Spirit spoke to Sarah Senst. “I was unable to sleep one night feeling depressed and anxious about my future. A late night TV commercial for the Life Coaching program at SWIHA was shown! The commercial, the program and the school immediately spoke to me!”

What fueled Sarah’s passion and consuming interest in the Life Coaching program, stemmed from her position as the ultimate life coach – parenting! “I've always enjoyed engaging with people and learning their 'stories.’ This strength has allowed me to connect with many different people from many different backgrounds. People really do care that you care – they don’t care as much about what you know. I think people can feel that I care when they are around me. My passion became more focused after my own personal experience of raising three children in a one-adult home; I realized others could also benefit from support, non-judgement and acceptance in their own parenting experiences. I came to understand that society can be very critical of parents and it is not an area we are highly trained in or prepared for, yet it is perhaps one of the most important jobs in existence. I wanted to create a place where people could talk about the fears, resentments, anxieties, hopes, dreams, frustrations and blessings that accompany raising healthy children. Hence my coaching business, No Perfect Parents, was born in 2005.”

Like many SWIHA students, Kristin Apodaca’s path to SWIHA was full of trials and tribulations. Nearly seven years ago, Kristin and her family moved to Arizona for her husband’s new job, leaving her family and old life behind in Boca Raton, Florida. On the outside, she had it all: a loving husband, four beautiful and healthy children, a large home and many friend -- and yet, as Kristin revealed, she felt like she had no idea who she was as a person. Seven years of being a stay-at-home-mom took their toll on her.She spent that time feeling very resentful towards her husband for having to work such long hours, taking him away from their family and herself. All of these factors led her to a breaking point. “I had lost my identity,” confessed Kristin. After briefly using anti-depressants to help cope with her anxiety and depression, she knew there had to be a more holistic route available.

“I knew I had to find an alternative to the medicine; I needed to deal with and explore the feeling of emptiness I felt so that I could be the best version of myself and be the best mom I could be for my children,” said Kristin. After beginning to look into self-help retreats, a friend of hers mentioned the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. She quickly logged onto SWIHA’s website -- www.swiha.edu -- and knew that this was exactly what she needed.

StevieAnne Petitt is well on her purposeful path to be an internationally-known and well-received Conscious Comedian and Inspirational Speaker. Stevie’s comedic approach to conscious living prompts her audience to “Lighten up Enlightenment”, finding the humor in this human experience!

Stevie’s journey has been nothing shy of miraculous. She lived in foster and group homes after childhood abuse that resulted in her becoming a ward of the state. Stevie remembers being divinely-guided by one or two mentors at each significant turning point in her journey. “Looking back now, I find that every event was divinely orchestrated to bring me to who I evolved into today. I have the vague memory of several mentors, counselors and therapists whose brief comments of praise and inspiration fueled me for months and motivated me to dream big.”