Vancouver Wellness Studio Turns 5!
Hello! If we haven’t met, I’m Kendall Hagensen and I am the owner of Vancouver Wellness Studio. We are turning 5 this September, and our team asked if I would share the story of how VWS came to be and where we are going with our community, so here I am!
First of all, I want to thank our team and this amazing community for trusting and growing with us over the past 5 years. Owning a business takes a very similar trajectory as child development, so if you’ve ever been around a 5-year old, you know that they can sometimes make their own sandwiches which is a day you wait for as a parent. So we’re getting there as a business and we plan to be around for a long long time serving this community.
So, the story of getting to this point begins most directly at age 17, when I was a senior in high school. At that point, my mom had been living with MS or Multiple Sclerosis for a few years, and for my senior graduation project, I wanted to do something to support her and others living with MS. So, for my project, I organized a dance production at our school and had a variety of acts. Fun fact, I just happened to be family friends with the blazer dancers coach so they came and danced in the show, we had a great time and raised money for the local MS Society. And then there’s a paper that went along with the project, and I chose to research the healing properties of dance. That’s when I discovered the field of dance/movement therapy. And from then on, I had it set in my mind that I wanted to be a D/MT and help people with chronic illnesses.
Fast forward to college when I started having my own symptoms and was finally diagnosed with MS in my Jr. year. At that point, I was really hit in the face with the dysfunction of our medical system in the US and I learned very quickly that our system is built for emergencies, but not at all for preventative care or care of chronic conditions. So at that point, I started to seek alternative medicine and build my own little care team around myself, which was awesome and I got great care but the providers still weren’t in the same location and still didn’t talk to each other to coordinate my care. So, I started envisioning a place where people could come and receive truly collaborative care from a multidisciplinary team, and where they could get that much-needed different experience in healthcare.
I started envisioning a place where people could come and receive truly collaborative care from a multidisciplinary team, and where they could get that much-needed different experience in healthcare.
Once I got a bit of a handle on my early MS stuff, I went to graduate school for my master’s in somatic counseling psychology and dance/movement therapy. I wrote every paper I could on integrative and holistic wellness and medical illness, I interned at a wellness center and just really put my focus there. I wrote the first business plan for VWS in 2011. I was just pregnant with my older daughter when I graduated, and then when she was 1 I decided it was time to bring the vision to life and give it a go. So, I started looking for spaces and team members in January 2016 and we opened in September 2016.
As far as growing into what we are today...what I love most about the last 5 years is that it’s been very intentional but also unfolded organically. We now have a large and ever-growing team, and every member has their own story of why they are so passionate about collaborative, whole-person healthcare. Our specific services have shifted and changed slightly over the years, but our foundational purpose of providing this community with a different, cohesive, much-needed different experience in healthcare has and will always be the same.
Present-day, our services include mental health counseling (including for couples and families), EMDR trauma therapy, LENS neurofeedback, Naturopathic Medicine, Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, Functional Nutrition Counseling, Massage Therapy, Fitness Training, Private Yoga and Sound Healing, and Corporate Wellness programs.
As far as working with us as a client or patient, there are a couple of ways to get started. If you know the service or provider you’d like to work with, you can schedule online or call to make an appointment. If you are having a variety of symptoms or a chronic illness and don’t know where to begin with care, you can find our holistic care plan option in the footer of our website. It is a comprehensive intake form that our team will review and then make our care plan recommendations based on your symptoms, history, and health goals.
We also have many patients who start with one provider and transition into working with others on our team in order to get to the root of what’s going on faster, and truly get well and stay well long term.
For corporate wellness, we have created a program for businesses that includes training their employees to understand trauma and how to create a more trauma-informed workplace, as well as access to our services so they can start addressing and healing from the experiences of the past year and a half.
We continue to place a high priority on taking care of ourselves so we can continue to care for our clients and patients
Speaking of the last year and a half. Has it been inexplicably difficult on a variety of levels? Yes. Have we felt the weight of the world, the grief, and loss, and drove home crying at times? Absolutely. But, our team has approached each obstacle together and with intention. We continue to place a high priority on taking care of ourselves so we can continue to care for our clients and patients, and the bottom line is that no matter how hard it gets, we’ve come this far, and we plan to stick around.
Our vision for the next 5 years is to continue to grow our services in ways that best support our clients, to continue to take collaboration to a deeper level, and above all else to continue to prioritize high-quality, whole-person care. And, when the time comes to safely gather in larger groups again, you’ll see more retreats, groups classes, and larger community events from us.
So here we are - 5 years in, and that should be celebrated! In reflecting on my experience, I think I would reassure my 17 year old self that, 1) It’s best not to know how much work is going to go into this, just keep going, 2) be careful what you put out into the universe, it might come true, and 3) I’m so excited for your life ahead, your dreams will come true and you will meet and work with the most amazing people - just trust the process and practice gratitude always.
I want to thank every version of our team from over the years for being part of the creation and growth of VWS, and I want to thank you again for trusting us with your care.
On behalf of our entire team, we wish you whole-person health and integrated wellness that you can feel throughout your entire being.
In gratitude,
Kendall