Kelli Russell shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Kelli, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
It’s so challenging to explain what I do in a way that others understand. I have amazing, life-changing sessions with clients, and they try to describe it to others they want to refer, but people don’t know what it means. I recently had this conversation with someone who’s gone from anxious/people pleasing/vaping to confident/self-aligned/content/no desire to vape. She wants to share what I do with friends. I told her to say I do neuro-somatic reprogramming/subconscious change facilitation. She said, “Kelli, no one knows what that means.” Haha! What a great reminder!
So what do I actually do?
In simple terms, I help people calm their nervous system and update the stress patterns that are running their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Instead of spending years talking about why something started, we work with the body and brain to help those patterns finally let go.
During a session, we use short breathwork, gentle acupressure points, simple brain-balancing techniques, and guided focus to help the body feel safe enough to release old emotional stress. Once that stress clears, we intentionally program in the positive outcomes someone wants to experience, like calm, confidence, self-trust, or feeling at ease in their own skin.
When the nervous system settles and the subconscious is on board, change happens naturally. People stop reacting the same way. Old coping habits fall away. They feel more aligned, more present, and more like themselves, often without forcing it.
That’s why someone can go from anxious, people-pleasing, and vaping to confident, self-aligned, and content. Not because they tried harder, but because their system no longer needed those patterns to cope.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Kelli Russell, M.A. Counseling, ECP, PSYCH-K® Subconscious Change Facilitator based in Encinitas, California. I help people move through anxiety, stress, and emotional patterns that keep them stuck, especially when talking about it hasn’t fully worked.
I’ve been studying the mind, body, and nervous system for over three decades. I started studying psychology at 17, earned my bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling, and then spent years training in neuro-somatic reprogramming and psychological kinesiology. What fascinated me was discovering how much of our stress, habits, and emotional responses live in the body, not just the mind.
My work brings these worlds together. We calm the nervous system, release stored emotional stress, and help the brain form new patterns that actually stick. Sessions blend short breathwork, gentle acupressure points, brain-balancing techniques, and guided processes to help people let go of what’s been weighing them down and intentionally wire in the outcomes they want to experience, like calm, confidence, and self-trust.
What makes this work special is that change doesn’t come from endlessly analyzing the past. When the body feels safe and the subconscious is on board, old coping patterns release. People feel lighter, more present, and more aligned with who they really are.
Right now, I’m focused on one-on-one sessions, writing, speaking, and teaching, so more people can learn how to work with their nervous system instead of fighting it. I just released my 2nd book, THE HUMAN GUIDEBOOK: How to Navigate Thoughts, Emotions, and Relationships So You Can Enjoy Being Alive. I’m thinking of starting a weekly Group Transformation experience.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
When I was in 5th grade, I was outside on the playground. A group of about 10 kids, both boys and girls, were making fun of an autistic girl, Suzanne. They were pretending to throw sand at her. She was cowering in fear each time a different kid pretended to throw it. She was hunched over, hands protecting her face over by the monkey bars. I stood next to her, with all the height I could muster, and said, “LEAVE HER ALONE! Get away from her! Stop doing that, you guys!!!’ They all listened and dispersed.
Afterwards, none of those kids wanted to hang out with me, and that’s too bad because some of them were the “cool” kids. But I’m so proud of my little girl self and would absolutely make the same choice if I were given the opportunity to go back in time.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
For a long time, I struggled with resentment toward my dad. Growing up, he worked the typical 9-to-5 job. He’d come home, throw the ball for our dog, and while we did have meals together, he’d always eat quickly and then head straight to his bedroom. He was a total sports fanatic, watching one game on TV, listening to another on the radio, while reading the sports page.
Then, when I was in my 20’s, something major happened. He nearly died from a hole in his aorta, and his life was saved by a patch made of Teflon. After that, everything changed. He started eating healthier, took up running, and eventually became a track coach. He held that role until just a year before he passed away.
As a coach, he became an incredible life guide for his athletes. He would tell me how much it meant to him to help these kids through their challenges. They absolutely loved him. They wrote letters, took photos, made albums for him to sign, and even held dinners in his honor.
One day, when I was 36 years old, I mustered up the courage to say, “It’s really hard for me to hear these stories because I needed that dad. Where were you when I needed you the most in high school, when I was going through tough times?”
He went silent for what felt like forever. After about 30 seconds, he finally said, “I wasn’t there yet.”
And in that moment, I felt this wave of relief and instant forgiveness. I got it. He just wasn’t there yet. He hadn’t grown into the person who could be that supportive figure for me back then.
Sometimes, people can’t be who we need them to be because they’re still growing themselves. They’re not at that level of development or consciousness. If there’s someone in your life you haven’t forgiven, maybe they weren’t there yet either. As long as they have breath in their body, there is an opportunity to grow or change. Maybe it’s not too late yet.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
1. “Insight creates change”
Insight helps, but insight alone rarely changes anything. People can understand their patterns perfectly and still stay stuck for decades. Change happens when we create changes in the subconcsious and the nervous system.
2. “Talking it through enough times will resolve it”
Repeatedly talking about trauma, anxiety, or patterns does not change them. We need to get to the root event/belief to release the underlying stress around it, and program in the new, positive, empowering belief that is recognized as truth within the body. We need to literally update our operating system.
3. “Time heals all wounds”
Time does not heal. Regulation heals. Integration heals. Some wounds soften with time. Others calcify. What matters is whether the nervous system ever gets the signal that the threat is over.
4. “It’s important to diagnose”
In the work that I do, diagnosis is often detrimental. These labels actually program their mind-body that they are depressed, anxious, etc, which keeps them trapped in a box and unavailable for growth. I’m helping their mind-body believe that they are calm, confident, empowered, aligned, and content. We release the old labels and stop telling the old story so that they can experience what they would rather have and be instead.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I knew very early, by age 12, what I wanted to do. I saw so many grown ups unhappy in their jobs and relationships. I thought, “Why would people create a life they hated?” I decided right then I’d devote my life to understanding it and would help people create a life they love.
I help many people in my practice who followed what they were told to do. They ended up in careers they hated, burnt out, and got married to people they didn’t truly love. I help them figure out what truly matters to them, release the weight of guilt/shame, and move forward with confidence and inner-alignment.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rapidtransformationsessions.com
- Instagram: @innermostsherpa
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellirussell.rapidtransformationsessions
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@innermostsherpa
- Other: Podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/show/7HgZp0tuF6bN4ujfTYjmKj?si=245889c399a24531
