Good Vibes Aren't Enough: How Wellness Leaders Fall Into Spiritual Bypassing
Oct 06, 2026You care about your team. You understand they're going through a lot. So when something slips, you tell yourself it'll be fine, send some good energy, and give them space. Weeks turn into months, and the work still isn't getting done. If that sounds familiar, you're not alone, and this episode is for you.
In this episode of the Wellness Center Creators podcast, Kendall Hagensen and Anna Rudel explore why wellness workplaces are uniquely vulnerable to spiritual bypassing: leaning on good vibes, positive energy, or spirituality to avoid dealing with a difficult situation. Kendall shares the core definition she has always understood from her Buddhist graduate school background: using spirituality or positive vibes to not confront the situation at hand, or even to bypass feeling your own feelings. That's different, she explains, from faith or accepting that what will be, will be.
The conversation gets personal fast. Anna is clear that this isn't a lesson she learned once and is now immune to. It's ongoing. She shares the story of a practice she put in place 20 years ago: providers send every new patient a handmade welcome card from a local artist, along with updating notes, coding, and treatment plans. When the cards stopped being written, she told herself it would be fine and let it go. Then she realized patients were missing part of a warm welcome, the ball had been dropped, and someone else (her front desk) had to pick it up. She brought the practice back, and the feedback has been incredible.
Kendall explores the other side of the table, too. She describes early years with providers who held a license in one modality but dabbled in several, and who sometimes responded to a policy or request by saying they needed three months to process it energetically. As Anna asks, can you imagine that flying in a corporate environment? Kendall explains how she balances real accommodations with a clear reality: either you agree to the policy or you don't, and if you need an accommodation, let's talk about what it is.
Kendall also gets honest about her own tendencies. Even today, she catches herself wanting to offload the tasks someone doesn't enjoy so they can love everything they do, every day, and then reminds herself that she doesn't love every single part of her own work either. Anna adds that the goal is to say what needs saying and move on, without repercussions rippling through the office, so that small corrections become part of the culture. Accommodations are made when they're truly needed, but the work still needs to be done, inappropriate behavior is not excused, and standards are enforced and reinforced.
Along the way, the hosts unpack:
- Why a healthy workplace doesn't mean people are never uncomfortable
- Why wellness work feels easy to the patient but takes intention behind the scenes
- How trauma-informed leadership means having compassion for why someone did something without making the behavior okay
- How to make small corrections without a massive impact on the whole office
- Why Anna calls it “lazy thinking” when belief systems replace reflection on what we bring to the workplace
- How clearer deadlines, expectations, and boundaries help, and why Kendall is no longer afraid for someone not to be a fit on the team
Anna even learns a new term along the way, and Kendall invites listeners to let them know what they think. If you've ever mistaken avoidance for kindness, this conversation offers practical language and a steadier, more honest way to lead, one that keeps both your compassion and your standards intact.
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About Anna Rudel
Anna Rudel, L. Ac is the owner and founder of Lokahi Acupuncture Clinic in San Jose California, founded in 2003. Anna is a master organizer and clinician, and as a Coach she specializes in working with Clinic Owners in the state of California, and Acupuncturists and Acupuncture Clinic Owners, or groups wanting to add Acupuncture worldwide, as well as teams that need support with employee retention and satisfaction. Born in the UK, Anna has traveled extensively in Asia and now has a thriving multi-practitioner clinic in the US!
Anna's Website and Links
- Website: https://lokahiacupuncture.com/
- Learn Group Coaching: https://www.wellnesscentercreators.com/group-coaching
- For info about Individual Coaching: https://www.wellnesscentercreators.com/individual-coaching
About Kendall Hagensen
Kendall is a Somatic Mental Health Therapist, Multidisciplinary Clinic Owner and Business Coach. She specializes in, and is passionate about, working with healthcare professionals to create the businesses of their dreams. Big goals always have a psychological component beneath the surface, so Kendall uses her background in Somatic Psychotherapy and EMDR Therapy mixed with Business Coaching tools to help clients develop a healthy relationship with their business and their strength as a leader.
As someone who lives with a chronic illness herself, Kendall feels that health happens best within community, which is why she takes a holistic, integrative, and collaborative wellness approach to her personal and professional life.
Kendall’s Web/Social Links