Sweat Lodges and their Newly Acquired ‘Bad Name’
It’s been months since the tragic deaths in a Sedona sweat lodge last October but recently, the event was brought back into the limelight as the leader of the Spiritual Warrior retreat, James Arthur Ray, was arrested on charges of manslaughter earlier this month. I cannot even begin to imagine the devastating loss that must still be felt by the families of the three people who lost their lives. My heart goes out to them. When I first heard the news in October, it immediately raised some fears for my own family, as my parents have been attending sweat lodges for years. In fact, I have experienced a sweat lodge myself and the stories that have been coming out in the months since the tragedy truly make me cringe. It seems one awful event has given this...
Read MoreSharing Success Stories
Success stories serve an amazing purpose. When people share their personal experiences of striving for and then achieving their goals, it not only encourages others to follow their own dreams, but proves that it can actually be done. As SWIHA’s video producer, I recently had the honor of interviewing four graduates of Southwest Institute of Healing Arts who shared their own success stories. They can be seen and heard in a video on SWIHA’s YouTube channel—swihatv. The four inspiring testimonials were all given with open hearts and a clear vision of supporting others to follow their own destined paths. Here’s a snippet: Shelly is a Yoga Instructor who graduated from SWIHA’s YTT program in 2006. She teaches yoga in a variety of...
Read MoreWhole Foods and You
Until recently I lived under the rather embarrassing assumption that Whole Foods was simply the name of a fabulous grocery store. While I generally try to incorporate healthy and natural foods into by diet (as a former vegan and current vegetarian it’s fairly easy) I didn’t realize I was missing out on a large part of eating healthy. At Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, Chef Rachel Matesz instructs a variety of whole foods cooking classes that begin at the basic introductory level for those with limited or no real cooking experience (I most definitely fit into this category) or those who are just looking to expand their culinary knowledge as part of the holistic nutrition program. While the class used to be taught in a...
Read MoreAn education that prepares you for success…not a lifetime of paying off loans
If you recently graduated from a state college or a private university, chances are student loan debt is forefront in your mind. I know from experience. Having graduated nearly 3 years ago, the debt I accumulated while taking my time to get through college is something I struggle with and with today’s economy…it can be a bit discouraging out there. I can’t help but think maybe I could have earned a degree and still ended up at the great place I am now in my life…but without such a large chunk of debt looming over my head every day. I won’t lie, I think it’s somewhat discouraging to see so many articles online, like this one from the Wall Street Journal, advising that perhaps a degree isn’t worth the inflated cost these days, because when I was the...
Read MoreWellness Vs. Sickness: Who wants an industry designed to keep us sick?
A recent health scare with my mother left me searching for different alternative healthcare treatments to consider if the doctors suspicion of cancer came true. While words cannot even begin to describe how thankful I am that it turned out to be a false alarm, I learned a bit about alternative medicine…and a lot more about our current hospital system too…and while you hear different amazing stories about the marvels of modern medicine on a daily basis, in my opinion, the industry as a whole is living up to the label of ‘the sickness industry,’ more and more each day, practicing medicine with patients they see as emotionless and faceless dollar signs day in and day out. When one of them happens to be your mother, you begin to see things a bit...
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