How One Practitioner Transforms Nervous System Healing – Exclusive Interview With Kristi McLeod
Kristi is a nervous system coach and Subconscious practitioner specializing in helping entrepreneurs, practitioners, and executives build true capacity from the inside out. She’s the founder of SomaSkye Wellness and creator of The Foundation, a monthly membership rooted in nervous system regulation, Subconscious Imprinting (SIT), and SSP (Safe and Sound Protocol). Known for her grounded, deeply embodied presence, Kristi teaches the kind of safety that can be felt, not just understood. Her work is for the ones ready to stop performing regulation and actually build capacity.
Kristi McLeod, SubSoma Practitioner and Speaker
Kristi, take us back to the turning point. What led you to this work?
Actually, I had what felt like a month-long panic attack. I was deep in the trenches. Nothing I had tried, therapy, meds, journaling, mindset work, was actually working long term. I was having daily panic attacks and ER visits because I thought I was having heart attacks. They kept telling me I was fine, but I knew I wasn’t.
It wasn’t until I found nervous system work that things started to make sense. Learning about the vagus nerve, regulation, and the body’s responses gave me answers that nobody else had been able to give me. That’s when everything shifted, and that’s why I do what I do now.
Was there a moment you knew this was your path, not just to heal yourself, but to guide others?
It was as soon as I started noticing real shifts in myself. I could feel the difference in how I was holding space for others, calmer, clearer, more grounded. That’s when I knew: this is the foundation. We can do all the mindset work, all the affirmations, all the things, but if we’re not safe in our bodies, nothing sticks. That’s when I realized: this is what I’m here to do.
What’s your mission or driving force behind all of this?
It’s safety in the body. That’s it. Many of us were never taught about our nervous systems. We weren’t taught how to feel or process emotions, so we suppress. We numb. And that turns into anxiety, depression, gut issues, insomnia, brain fog, you name it. But when we build capacity in the nervous system, we can be with those sensations instead of being hijacked by them. That’s the game-changer.
What do you wish more people knew about nervous system dysregulation?
That it doesn’t always look like shutdown or panic. For high-functioning people, it can show up as working 14 hours a day, never being able to sit still, constantly achieving but feeling hollow underneath. It can look like being wildly “productive,” but in a frantic, chaotic energy. It can look like excessive working out in the name of “health.” It can look like people-pleasing and perfectionism.
Eventually, the body will say no. And when it does, if you don’t understand what’s happening, it can feel terrifying.
So what does safety in the body actually feel like?
Presence. Clarity. You can actually hear the person in front of you. You’re not bracing, not waiting for something to go wrong. There’s space in your body. You can feel your feet on the ground. You can be in connection with others without it feeling like a threat. You’re not white-knuckling your way through the day; you have ease and flow in your body.
What’s something you used to believe about healing or success that you’ve completely let go of?
That I had to look outside myself for the answers. I used to reach out to every business coach, every healer, every strategy, trying to fix or force things into place. But success and healing both require self-trust. You have to know when to seek support, but also when to stop outsourcing your power. That’s been huge for me.
Let’s smash a few industry myths. What are the biggest misconceptions about nervous system work?
Oh, I have a few. One: there are no quick fixes. Nervous system “hacks” are often more dysregulating than helpful. Two: regulation doesn’t mean you’re calm all the time. That’s not the goal. We need sympathetic activation, too. We need to feel things. Capacity means you can hold the wave without drowning in it, not that you never feel discomfort.
Three: being trauma-informed isn’t enough. You can be informed that someone has trauma, but if you don’t know how to actually support them in it, that’s where harm can happen. Four: that you have to be fully healed to help others. That’s nonsense. You just need to be doing your work and serving from your growth, not from your wound.
Why do you focus your work specifically on entrepreneurs, executives, and practitioners?
Because leadership sets the tone for the space. Whether you’re leading a team of two or two hundred, your nervous system becomes the baseline for everyone else’s. If you’re spinning in survival, panic, urgency, fear, your team will feel that. Co-regulation matters. You don’t have to be perfect, but you do have to do the work.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs or executives who want to lead sustainably?
Stop chasing hustle. Stop pushing through. The nervous system doesn’t care how many hours you work or how “badly” you want it. If you don’t have the capacity to hold it all, the no’s, the growth, the pivots, you’ll burn out. Building a foundation of capacity is the key to sustainable success. Without that, it’s just survival in a nice outfit.
Last question, what’s the most “you” part of how you show up in this work?
I keep it real. I’ve had my own experience of a lot of the stuff most of my clients are navigating, sleep issues, gut issues, anxiety, addiction, depression. I don’t sugarcoat it. I’ll call you up, not out. I bring a grounded, no-bullshit presence, and I can hold anything. I’ll meet you where you are, and I’ll show you what’s possible too.
The truth is, most people are walking around disconnected from their bodies, surviving instead of living and thriving. Kristi is here to change that. Through grounded nervous system work, raw honesty, and an unshakable presence, she’s guiding leaders, healers, and humans back to the place we were never taught to trust: ourselves.
Because when you build capacity in your system, you don’t just feel better, you lead better, love deeper, and show up with a kind of power the world can feel.
Check out the SomaSkye Wellness resources here.
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