Chad Lundquist/Nevada Appeal Karen "Kalena" Thiessen owner of Kalena Associates at her home in Minden on Monday. Thiessen, is certified as a practitioner of Bowan Healing and a registered soul coach.
Five years ago, Kalena Thiessen was looking for a better solution.
She was in pain from chronic fatigue and from her thyroid and no matter what she did modern medicine wasn't helping.
So, she turned to what some would call alternative medicines, and it changed her life.
"We have looked at doctors as having to save us and don't want to do anything to help ourselves. People thought for many years that the solution was simply to take pills that would fix it, but that idea is changing," Thiessen said. "People are reaching a crisis point with their health and beginning to say it's not enough to just take pills."
She started taking yoga and pilates, looked into reflexology and Bowan Therapy and saw improvement. Her results inspired her to help others.
The owner of her own public relations and marketing firm based in Minden, Thiessen began incorporating complimentary health care businesses as clients to help offer the services she believes can benefit more people.
"This kind of healing has been going on for centuries, we have just moved away from using it," Thiessen said.
Since then, she has become certified as a practitioner of Bowan Healing and a registered soul coach.
The soul coach program's aim "is to align one's inner spiritual life with their outer life. It is a system that helps to clear away mental, emotional and physical clutter" according to the program's Web site.
The program is based around the idea of four elements and their respective energies: Air or mental energy, water or emotional energy, fire or creative and spiritual energy and earth or physical energy.
"It's a 28-day program designed to bring the four elements into balance and improve your life," Thiessen said. "It helps you remove the clutter, because what does clutter do for us? It's one of the biggest zappers in our lives."
Four times a year, Thiessen guides six to 10 people through the program. She also holds seminars on starting alternative businesses in addition to managing her existing clients.
These days those clients include Yoga studios, chiropractors, reflexologists, Reiki practitioners and acupuncturists as well as architects, event planners, engineers and builders.
"It's about half and half now. I enjoy my health clients and I like my corporate clients, so I wouldn't give up either because I enjoy the balance," Thiessen said.
• Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.