Great Graduates from SWIHA, SWINA & SOY

Maria Kalamas opens up to how purposeful her path has been and how her attendance at SWIHA was intended all along. “January of 2010, I was working in a doctor’s office employed as an office manager. The doctor was an MD, yet practicing alternative medicine, specializing in bio-identical hormones. He was helping people heal through proper supplementation, healthy nutrition, bio-identical hormone replacement, Chelation - which is a very effective way to treat heavy-metal poisoning - coaching and outsourcing them to various healing arts therapies, from massage to spiritual coaching and other various holistic practices that he had tried and believed were effective. I soaked in all the information he was giving me because I wanted to help heal people physically, mentally and emotionally,” shared Maria.

Maria was extremely grateful for the training that was so well aligned with her passion; yet she had a deep desire for more tools. This led her to the Life Coaching program at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. She received a complimentary pass to attend a weekend-long Life Coaching class, which was so divinely-orchestrated; Maria doesn’t even recall the specifics behind the gift, just that is was a life-changing weekend!

Like many SWIHA students’ stories before, the school just happened to find Tami Sharp. She had just moved to Arizona from Maui, Hawaii with her baby girl, so that she could be closer to her mom. Tami recalled the synchronicities that led her to joining SWIHA. “I had no intention on starting school but after a series of universal events, I tripped across SWIHA and within one week’s time found myself enrolled full time going for a degree in Mind-Body Transformational Psychology with Certifications in Life Coaching, Clinical Hypnotherapy and Reiki.”

Before moving to AZ, Tami had spent 10 years on Maui doing a wide range of jobs and businesses. As a professionally trained model and actress, she also had the honor of teaching modeling and acting to teenagers and young adults. It was through these teachings that she really found passion in helping others see their inner beauty, to find their own style and confidence, to believe in themselves and reach for their goals. “I was inspired everyday by these youths. I have helped with a lot of workshops, conferences and public speaking events and am passionate about inspiring others to live their most authentic and fulfilling lives.“

Going into SWIHA, Tami was aware of her intuitive abilities, yet SWIHA really helped her to develop and grow them.

Talibah Young Veverly always knew she was meant to be a healer. When she was a child, her deep connection to the wide-open starry skies of Missouri nights made her feel like she was a part of something much greater. The vast forests around her home also echoed this sentiment. As an adult, she’s had countless synchronicities that have reminded her that she was indeed meant to be a healer.

There was the time in 2002 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento when a lady began shouting to her across the room, “You’re a healer!” She hurriedly came over to Talibah, put her hands on her shoulders, looked her in the eyes, and said “I’m a minister’s wife and I can see Jesus in your face. You’re meant to do healing work.” Then she just walked away, leaving Talibah in shock!

Then one time she had an astrological reading, where she was told “You need to write a book. When are you going to write it? You’re a master healer, and that’s the only way people are going to know who you are.” Lastly, Talibah mentioned the time she was at the Agape International center, waiting to meet Lisa Nichols, the author of the best-selling book The Secret. Out of nowhere, someone came up to her and said, “One day this will be a line that we’ll all be standing in to sign your book.”

Courtney Long’s journey to SWIHA was, well, long. Her journey began back in 2002, while she was working as a social worker in Michigan. She was helping adults with Alzheimer’s, dementia, serious mental illnesses, developmental disabilities and traumatic injuries. While she loved to help people, the job was mentally and spiritually exhausting, and never quite felt like her true calling. While in Michigan Courtney starting hearing of this new thing called Life Coaching, yet the timing wasn’t ever quite right to do anything about it.

Learning the importance of listening to our guts or inner knowing, not just with our minds, was a crucial lesson for me.”
~ Courtney Long

By Jenna Zizzo

After a shocking and heart-wrenching break up, Tory Dube knew she needed to find methods for self-soothing. She felt that the only way to heal her wounded heart was to try meditation. However, instead of reading a meditation book or downloading the latest meditation app on her smart phone, Tory decided to embark on a nine day meditation retreat in the Bahamas.

While on her retreat, she heard a doctor by the name of Joe Dispenza share about the science behind quantam physics and positive psychology. Once she heard about positive psychology, Tory was immediately enamored and knew it was something she wanted to pursue.

The moment she returned to her home in New York City she rushed to the computer and searched for psychology programs. She found Southwest Institute of Healing Arts’ (SWIHA) Online Associates of Mind Body Transformational Psychology program, and within a month’s time she was enrolled.

In 2011, Laura Wilkinson had hit her version of rock bottom, and was desperately in need of some kind of life shift. Having looked into the Life Coaching program offered at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) previously, Laura explains, “After the rug was pulled out from under my feet I knew it was time to do something transformational,” she said. “I had a clean slate and I needed to build a solid foundation. Life Coaching was the perfect place for me to rebuild from.”

Laura enrolled in SWIHA’s online Mind-Body Transformational Psychology program

, where she not only studied Life Coaching, she also took courses in Hypnotherapy, Holistic Nutrition, Aromatherapy, and business courses including Writing for Publication.

Once she completed her program (with a 4.0 grade point average!), Laura was ready for the next phase in her life. Inspired by her program, and armed with the knowledge that there were many others in the world just like her, who went through experiences similar to hers, she decided to start a business. Laura’s mission was to help healers who were stuck in their minds, holding themselves back from reaching their full potential.

Laura launched The Wilkinson Effect, an integrative practice that applies Life Coaching, Transformational Hypnotherapy and Holistic Nutrition into customized client sessions.

For years, Ruth Davis says, she coasted through her life, working in a day job in the field of computer training, taking vacations to the beach, and creating artwork to sell. However, in 2007, Ruth was forced to slow down. She underwent emergency open heart surgery to remove a benign tumor in her left atrium, and from that day on, her life has never been the same, nor did she want it to be!

Recovery from the surgery was a process, as with any major surgery. The biggest worry Ruth had was, would she ever be creative again? “I had to find new ways to tap into my creative self,” she writes in her blog.

“I really wanted to do more of my ‘real work,’ even though I didn’t know what that was.”

“We all have the inborn ability to heal, to maintain, and to grow.”

This is the premise of Suzie Emiliozzi’s business, Living Joy LLC.

Suzie launched Living Joy shortly after graduating from the online Associates of Mind-Body Transformational Psychology Degree program at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). Since then, she has helped hundreds of clients change, heal, and discover themselves.

Let’s start at the beginning…

Years ago, Suzie was diagnosed with a terrible case of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Even with medical care, her condition was debilitating. Everyday tasks such as brushing her teeth, walking, or getting in and out of the bathtub were nearly impossible. Eventually Suzie was introduced to a form of energy healing called BodyTalk™. This holistic healing modality addresses the whole person: emotional, physical and environmental. Due to additional emotional and situational issues Suzie was experiencing at the time, BodyTalk™ was successful in her path to healing; she experienced immediate and profound changes within her body.

After 18 years of working in the mortgage industry, Casey Grant was stressed, and sick of feeling stressed. She disliked her job because that’s what it felt like – a job. She didn’t enjoy what she was doing, and wanted to find a way to create a good income doing work she loved. Casey’s lifelong passion for health and nutrition sounded like a way out of the mortgage industry...the question was, how?

Casey began to research schools for nutrition education, and Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) immediately resonated with her. Although she lives in Chandler, Arizona, a town close where the main campus of SWIHA is located, Casey decided to enroll in the SWIHA’s online Holistic Wellness Practitioner program

because it was convenient for her busy lifestyle, and allowed her to still be available for her family.

The entrepreneurial attitude and atmosphere of SWIHA is what appealed most to Casey. “SWIHA’s mission is to inspire and support people in opening their own businesses, if that is truly their dream. The college is committed to the success of their graduates,” Casey explains. “All my instructors encouraged me to go after my dreams and goals, and they guided and inspired me from an entrepreneurial point of view.”

Like many massage therapists and massage enthusiasts, Ronna Everhart found massage after decades of discomfort and chronic pain. At 12 years old, she chipped her tailbone in an accident. “I broke my bum!” she exclaims with a laugh. Although she is full of laughter and smiles now, most of her life consisted of pain and discomfort. Between the ages of 19 to 24, Ronna gave birth to three children, which really did a number on her low back. She became dependent on over the counter medicine, such as Ibuprofen daily, to alleviate her pain, yet it wasn’t enough. Chiropractors, and even the occasional glass or two of wine, to relax the muscles proved futile as well.

By the age of 30, Ronna had tried almost everything to help her pain: TENS units, decompression, pain clinics, physical therapy, pain creams, shots…the list goes on!

After 32 years of dealing with the after effects of her tail bone injury, which caused chronic arthritis due to the persistent low back pain, Ronna’s life started to become negatively affected in all areas: mind, body and soul. Her finances were suffering from the out of pocket chiropractic costs, in addition to other health related expenses. She reached a point where she was “fed up with doctors, once and for all!”

Fortunately for Ronna, a shift was coming. Change was lurking around the corner. “I made a huge mind shift, and decided I was going to heal myself with action and perseverance!” she affirmed.