About Kendra

My Journey: Discovering the Wisdom Within

A lifetime of experience, resilience, and curiosity about the extraordinary intelligence of the human body.

My journey into integrative bodywork, somatic awareness, and nervous system education began long before I entered the healthcare profession. It began with my own body and a lifetime of experiences that would profoundly shape my understanding of what it means to heal, adapt, and thrive.

From childhood into adulthood, my life was marked by significant physical injuries, multiple traumatic brain injuries, spinal fractures, and experiences of emotional trauma. Some of these events left lasting neurological and physical challenges, altering the course of my life in ways I could never have anticipated.

Yet throughout these experiences, something within me remained deeply curious about the body's remarkable ability to survive, compensate, reorganize, and find its way toward balance.

I have often reflected on the extraordinary nature of my own recovery. After everything my body has experienced, I consider it nothing short of miraculous.

My body was never simply a collection of injuries or diagnoses. It was an intelligent, interconnected living system, continually adapting to the experiences of my life.

That understanding became the foundation of both my personal journey and my professional work.

Where Personal Experience Met Professional Understanding

My professional career began in occupational therapy, where I spent more than two decades working with individuals navigating neurological injuries, physical rehabilitation, chronic conditions, and complex healthcare challenges.

I earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and an Associate's degree in Occupational Therapy, working across acute care, home health, and outpatient rehabilitation, with particular experience in brain injury recovery and upper-extremity rehabilitation.

While conventional healthcare provided an invaluable foundation in anatomy, physiology, neuroscience, and rehabilitation, my personal experiences inspired me to look more deeply into the relationships between the physical body, nervous system, emotions, movement, and conscious awareness.

I began exploring approaches that considered the body not as separate parts requiring correction, but as an interconnected system capable of responding and adapting in remarkable ways.

My studies eventually led me to Tensegrity Medicine™, Bowenwork®, somatic practices, nervous system education, sound and vibrational modalities, and consciousness-based approaches.

Each offered another perspective through which to understand the complexity of the human experience.

What emerged was not a single technique or philosophy, but a more integrated understanding of the body and the many influences that shape our well-being.

 

The Work I Share Today

Today, through Merkaba Center for Healing, I bring together my professional education, decades of clinical experience, specialized training, and the wisdom gained through my own lived experiences.

My sessions are individualized and collaborative. Rather than following a predetermined protocol, I draw upon different approaches according to each person's unique history, needs, and responses.

Education is central to my work. I believe that when people begin to understand their nervous system, recognize their body's patterns, and develop greater awareness of their internal experiences, they can become more active participants in their own well-being.

I do not see my role as fixing or healing another person. Instead, I offer guidance, education, and supportive experiences that encourage curiosity, self-discovery, and a deeper relationship with the body.

My own journey continues to remind me that our history does not have to define the limits of our future.

I believe we are inherently whole, even when our experiences have left us feeling otherwise.

And perhaps the greatest lesson my body has taught me is this:

The wisdom we seek is often already within us. Sometimes we simply need the opportunity, support, and awareness to begin listening.

Professional Background & Education

My professional foundation spans more than 30 years in healthcare, rehabilitation, education, and community advocacy.

I hold a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and an Associate's degree in Occupational Therapy. From 1996 to 2017, I worked in clinical occupational therapy across acute care, home health, and outpatient rehabilitation, with particular experience in neurological rehabilitation, brain injury, and upper-extremity conditions.

From 2013 to 2020, I served as an instructor in the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program at Linn-Benton Community College in Oregon, sharing both clinical knowledge and practical experience with future healthcare professionals.

My commitment to brain injury education and advocacy also led me to establish the Pacific Northwest Head Injury Support Group in 2012 and serve on the Board of the Brain Injury Alliance of Oregon from 2013 to 2021, including leadership roles. I have also presented and facilitated educational programs at regional brain injury conferences.

These experiences continue to inform my work today, particularly my emphasis on nervous system education, collaborative care, and helping individuals better understand their own bodies.

Specialized Training & Integrative Studies

My continuing education reflects a lifelong curiosity about the relationships between the physical body, nervous system, movement, consciousness, and the human capacity for adaptation and change.

Structural, Fascial & Somatic Approaches

  • Tensegrity Medicine™ Practitioner — Northwest School of Structural Therapy (2016–2020)

  • Tensegrity Medicine™ Instructor Training (2020–2023)

  • Bowenwork® Practitioner Training (2016–2018)

  • Mind-Body Bowen Training (2019)

  • Somatic Awareness and Nervous System Regulation

Consciousness & Complementary Modalities

  • Quantum Consciousness Facilitation — Institute for Quantum Consciousness (2023)

  • Sound and Vibrational Modalities

  • Reiki Master Training

  • Medicine for the Earth Studies (2017–2022)

  • Ancestral Medicine Studies with Dr. Daniel Foor (2018–2021)

  • Ordained Minister (2020)

These diverse areas of study have deepened my understanding of the human experience and continue to inform my individualized, integrative approach.

Rather than viewing any one modality as a complete answer, I draw upon these perspectives as appropriate, always respecting each individual's experiences, needs, and personal wisdom.