Our Founders
Kayla & James are the heart of Living Presence. Together, they weave their offerings as a bridge between inner stillness and everyday life.
Kayla - Energetic Herbalist, Medicine Maker, Counselor
Kayla is a clinically trained herbalist, plant spirit medicine practitioner, and counselor with a deep reverence for the relationship between people and plants. Her formulations are born from seasons of listening—to the land, to the body, and to the quiet promptings within.
Rooted in Western vitalist herbalism, Daoist energetics, and animist tradition, Kayla sees herbalism as a way of remembering—how to come home to the Earth and to ourselves. Her work lives at the threshold where plant medicine becomes an act of prayer, and healing is a practice of returning to presence.
Through Living Presence Apothecary, she offers handcrafted, small-batch formulas in collaboration with the wild—prioritizing seasonal, bioregional medicines whenever possible. Her work invites others to slow down, tend their inner landscape, and rekindle their living relationship with the more-than-human world.
James – Structural Integration Therapist, Counselor, Spiritual Director
James brings over two decades of experience in private practice, beginning with neuromuscular and structural integration therapy focused on unraveling patterns of restriction in the body.
“The patterns held in the tissues are reflected in all aspects of our life—in how we relate to ourselves, our children, our partners, our work… even how we wash the dishes.”
As his own contemplative practices deepened—rooted in the Christian mystical tradition—so did his therapeutic work, evolving into a deeply integrative path of healing that includes spiritual counseling, somatic movement, and group facilitation.
Drawing from the worlds’ wisdom traditions and interfaith dialogue, James speaks to the universal truths that live beneath language and lineage. His unique ability to bring new life to familiar religious concepts allows clients to encounter spiritual truths in fresh, liberating ways—rooted in their own experience rather than dogma.
Through retreats, group meditations, somatic experiences, and spiritual mentoring, James offers a grounded yet expansive approach to healing—one that invites people to slow down, listen deeply, and come to rest.
