
Our Founders
Kayla & James are the heart of Living Presence. Together, they weave their offerings as a bridge between inner stillness and everyday life.
James Thomson — Counselor, Spiritual Director, Structural Integration Therapist
James brings over two decades in private practice, beginning with neuromuscular and structural integration therapy focused on unwinding patterns of restriction in the body. He came to see that the patterns held in the tissues are not only physical—they echo through every part of life: in how we relate to ourselves, our children, our partners, our work… even in how we wash the dishes.
As his contemplative practice deepened—rooted in the Christian mystical tradition and enriched by wisdom across spiritual lineages—so did his therapeutic work. What began as bodywork grew into a fully integrative path of healing that now includes spiritual direction, counseling, somatic movement therapy, and group facilitation.
Drawing from wisdom traditions and interfaith dialogue, James speaks to the universal truths that live beneath language and lineage. His unique ability to reinterpret familiar religious concepts allows people to encounter them in fresh and liberating ways—grounded in direct experience rather than dogma.
Whether in a group setting or 1:1 therapy work, James walks with people as they enter the process of transformation. His presence offers a safe and trustworthy space where clients can rest, open, and begin to release the patterns that keep them stuck in suffering—allowing life itself to carry the work of healing forward.
Kayla - Clinical 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 vitalist and animist traditions, 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.

Connect with Us
Location
6672 Shetland Circle
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
Phone
James (801) 808-9591
Kayla (714) 345-5360