From Resistance to Flow: How IFS Helped Ali Awaken Her Wild Self and Step Into Soul-Led Entrepreneurship
The Message in the Noise: When Guidance Arrives Quietly
She didn’t find me in a season of certainty — she found me in the messy middle.
After months of trying to piece herself back together from the end of a twenty-year marriage and the unraveling of an old life, she was searching for something she couldn’t quite name. One afternoon, as she cleaned out her inbox, an episode of The Goddess School Podcast with Lisa Marie Rankin appeared in her junk folder — the one where I had spoken about Internal Family Systems (IFS) and discovering your concept of Self.
It wasn’t divine guidance written in gold letters across the sky. It was quieter than that — a whisper hidden between spam emails. But something in her body stirred, a gentle nudge that said, “This is for you.”
That moment became the threshold of her next chapter. She followed the nudge and booked an IFS Coaching Experience with me— a single session that often becomes the doorway to so much more.
Sometimes, our breakthroughs arrive quietly — through the smallest yes.
Watch on Youtube; How Ali Transformed Her Resistance to Flow with IFS Coaching
The Woman Who Had Done It All: When Internal Resistance Masks as Success
By the time Ali reached out, she’d already walked through fire.
She had left a twenty-year marriage and the stability of a corporate career — both chapters that required immense courage to close. From the outside, it looked like liberation. Inside, she was still asking: Who am I now?
She poured that question into healing — meditation, journaling, strength training, nutrition. Her self-care was meticulous; her bookshelf filled with titles on empowerment and awakening.
She was, in many ways, the woman everyone admired — the one who’d done the work.
And yet… something still felt off.
She could feel the call to guide other women toward authenticity and soul alignment, but when it came to bringing that vision to life, she found herself spinning — procrastinating, perfecting, retreating.
Beneath all her effort was internal resistance — the invisible handbrake that says stay safe, stay small. She’d taken the brave first step to find herself again, but she hadn’t yet found her way home.
That’s where our work began — not with strategy, but with compassion. Because what was holding her back wasn’t a lack of clarity; it was a system of parts all trying to protect her from change.
Inside the IFS Coaching Experience: Meeting Resistance to Change with Compassion
When Ali arrived for her first IFS coaching session, she was both eager and exhausted.
Part of her wanted to finally figure it out — to map her business, define her message, and move forward. But underneath that drive was another part: afraid, overwhelmed, whispering, “I don’t know how.”
As we explored, it became clear she didn’t just have one voice inside her — she had many.
The caretaker who felt lost without someone to care for.
The visionary dreamer bursting with ideas.
The realist trying to keep her grounded.
The inner child afraid of getting it wrong.
And the manager pacing with urgency: “We need to make money.”
Each one had a story, a longing, a reason for being.
And each was talking over the other, desperate to be heard.
We slowed everything waaaaaay down.
Rather than tuning one out in favor of another, we gave each part space to speak and be witnessed. What had felt like chaos began to organize into clarity. Ali exhaled. For the first time in years, it all made sense.
She could see that what she’d called confusion was really resistance to change — a group of well-intentioned parts protecting her from the unknown. That awareness alone created breathing room, and within that space, clarity began to form.
The Coaching Process: From Forcing to Flow State
Once she saw her inner world clearly, we could start to build trust within it — especially with the procrastinating part. On the surface, it looked like resistance; underneath, it was protection. It whispered, “If we just wait until we’re ready, we won’t get hurt.”
So we didn’t push. We got curious. And when that part felt seen, it softened — making room for her creative energy to emerge.
We paired that inner work with small, aligned action — what I call Self-led strategy. Ali began sharing parts of her story online, experimenting with social media, and planning her first Women’s Empowerment Group. Her progress wasn’t forced; it was rhythmic, led by Self rather than fear.
This is how we enter flow state — not through striving, but through safety. When your inner system trusts you, your outer world begins to move with ease.
A Wild Detour: Freedom as the Gateway to Flow
Then life, in its perfect timing, handed her a new adventure.
Not long after we began, Ali and her partner decided to take an extended road trip — miles of open highway, new places, new energy.
She worried she’d lose focus. “How will I build my business while traveling?” she asked.
But my intuition suggested the opposite: This is where you should create from.
From freedom. From play. From joy.
Not as something you get after success — but as the very soil your work grows from.
On the road, surrounded by possibility, Ali met other creators doing what she dreamed of — which stirred up comparison. The impostor part whispered, “You’re behind. You don’t belong.”
But in true “fail-fast” fashion, she didn’t hide. She faced those moments with courage, proving her parts wrong one brave action at a time. Each time she posted, shared, or spoke up, her confidence expanded.
By the time she returned home, she wasn’t just more confident — she was anchored. She’d learned that freedom isn’t something you earn; it’s a frequency you can create from, anywhere.
The Breakthrough: Clarity Through Self-Energy
At some point, Ali stopped trying to figure it all out. She released the need for perfect timing or flawless plans.
One day in session, I said to her —
“Your truest vision won’t come from forcing a plan or figuring it out in your head. It will emerge when you create space for your Self-energy — the calm, wise, centered part of you that already knows.”
That truth took root.
She began creating from stillness rather than striving, letting her intuition lead. Over time, her business began to form naturally — she refined her message, launched her first women’s group, posted regularly, and signed her first client.
The biggest shift was internal: the parts that once clashed began to cooperate. She didn’t have to act confident anymore — she simply was.
Her partner noticed it too. “I trust you,” he said. “Because you trust you.”
That’s when she understood: clarity isn’t something we find — it’s something we allow. When we stop fighting our parts and start listening to them, life begins to flow through us.
The Transformation: Living in Soul-Led Flow
After only six months of dedicated work, Ali’s outer world reflected her inner one.
She’d led her Women’s Empowerment Group, signed her first client, and built a consistent presence online — sharing her story with authenticity and ease. Her words carried power because they came from presence.
When she returned home to visit family, she noticed the old triggers didn’t pull her off center. She stayed grounded, calm, clear.
And at home, her partnership evolved too — they began co-creating in business, blending their strengths to serve others.
Ali described this new season as flow state — that place where resistance fades and life meets you halfway.
“I used to wait for the perfect thing I’d be successful at,” she said. “Now I’m comfortable in my multidimensional self. I see all my parts — the strength and the playfulness — and I’m okay with them all.”
Her freedom was no longer conditional.
It was internal.
Self-led.
Sustainable
“This is the most powerful work I’ve ever done,” Ali shared. “I’ve done a lot of healing work on myself, but it wasn’t until I could really sit with all these parts and integrate them — and let them all have a voice — that real change happened. I had changed a lot of things on the outside, but there were still things going on inside that I was having a hard time with. And now I’m living the most Self I’ve ever felt. I’m so grounded in who I am, what I believe, and what I stand for, and what I want to do with my life. I’m so grateful for the time we worked together.”
You can follow Ali’s journey and her inspiring work @consciouslivingwithali
My Reflections as Her Coach: Inner Work Creates Collective Change
Watching women like Ali lean into their intuition and gifts moves me every single time.
It’s not just about business — it’s about remembrance.
When a woman begins to trust her inner guidance, she doesn’t just change her own life — she ripples transformation into the world.
This is why I blend Internal Family Systems with intuitive business mentorship. Because the blocks we face in business are rarely business blocks — they’re personal patterns wearing professional disguises.
IFS allows us to meet those patterns with compassion so they can soften, letting Self — the calm, wise, creative essence — lead the way. And when Self leads, business becomes an extension of the soul.
There’s no one right way to build a business. Each of us is here to create in a way that reflects our unique energy, rhythm, and truth.
Ali’s story is proof: when we do the inner work, we create space for something greater — in our lives, our leadership, and our collective healing.
Your Invitation: Begin Your IFS Journey
If Ali’s story stirred something in you — that quiet knowing that more is waiting to unfold — consider this your invitation.
You don’t need another plan. You need space — the kind that lets your Self lead and your next step rise naturally from within.
That’s what the IFS Coaching Experience offers: a 90-minute session to meet the parts that drive your patterns and begin shifting them with compassion and clarity.
Prefer a softer start? Begin with my free Self-Trust Starter Kit — a video, journal prompts, and simple practices to reconnect with your inner wisdom.
✨ Book your IFS Coaching Experience
🌿 Download the FREE Self-Trust Starter Kit
Read Next
If Ali’s journey resonated with you, you might also love:
From Overthinking to Self-Trust: An IFS Coaching Success Story in Authentic Leadership
The 4 Stages of Self-Trust: A Roadmap to Lasting Change
Procrastination Isn’t Laziness: What It Really Means (and How IFS Helps You Move Forward)
About Andrea Tessier
Andrea Tessier is a Master Life Coach and Level 2 IFS Practitioner who helps women entrepreneurs and leaders reconnect with their inner wisdom so they can live and lead from their True Self.
Blending Internal Family Systems (IFS) with intuitive business mentorship, she guides clients to release resistance, build self-trust, and create soul-led lives and businesses.