Karla Kamstra

 

BY BARB BERGGOETZ

The Bridge Spiritual Center, located in the inner corridor of Fountain Square Mall, is a sanctuary for those seeking calmness and balance in their lives, says owner Karla Kamstra. The center, which opened in June, offers therapies like Reiki, reflexology, and crystal healing, as well as interfaith classes, workshops, and community gatherings.

Kamstra, 55, who also founded Pets Alive, a nonprofit organization that offers spay and neuter services, says her experience in developing that community-oriented organization, coupled with her long-time fascination with religion and strong Baptist upbringing, inspired her to become a spiritual leader. She is now in her fifth year of religious studies, enrolled in the One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in New York City. She expects to be ordained as an interfaith minister in June. Kamstra says she recognizes beauty and wisdom in all world religions that seek to connect to the “divine source.”

“Now I have tools to help other people find spirituality within themselves,” says Kamstra, who owns the business with her husband, John Kamstra, executive vice president and CFO of Cook Group, Inc. “The center fills the gap between those who aren’t served by organized religion and those who have given up on spirituality altogether,” she says. “I can also help people navigate into past religions, if their religious heritage still speaks to them.”

Classes such as “Seeking the God Thread,” workshops, weekly community gatherings, and book club meetings are held in one room of the center. There, anyone can use a complimentary “inhalation station” to sample essential oils. In the adjoining restorative therapy center, adults and children over the age of 6 can experience a variety of 30–90 minute therapy sessions in rooms with dim lights, soft music, and oil diffusers.

Services, described by Restorative Therapy Center Director Stacey Conlin, include acutonics, a sound healing therapy delivering vibrations into the body; crystal healing, a stress-relieving procedure placing small crystals over the body’s energy centers; and tapping, gentle, repetitive touches on pressure points. All therapies, says Conlin, help create a balance in one’s mind, body, and spirit so the physical body can better heal.

For more information, visit thebridgebloomington.com.

Here is a photo gallery of The Bridge Spiritual Center (photos by Stephen Sproull):