Human Design + IFS = ?
Soulful Conversation with Kayla MacArthur
Our special guest this week is Kayla MacArthur. She’s a Trauma-Informed Transformational Life Coach & Human Design Guide. She’s all about soul-work, freedom, and the semi-retired life. Currently, Kayla lives and works abroad as a “slow-mad” in Mexico.
I called Kayla to explore how Human Design (HD) relates to Internal Family Systems (IFS).
Where’s the overlap between IFS and HD?
Both somatic, prioritizing what’s happening in the body, listening to the signs and signals we feel from within. HD centers are closely linked to chakras and I love to focus on chakras as a way to connect with parts — seeing which chakra they are affecting or affected by.
Different parts of our psyche line up with different parts of our human design chart and all of this lines up with different parts of our body.
Both systems invite a deeper trust in inner wisdom, with HD offering a mechanical framework and IFS addressing the emotional and psychological barriers to alignment.
HD archetypes can give insight into the stories and roles of specific IFS parts. For example, an undefined Heart center might align with parts that struggle with self-worth or proving their value.
IFS supports emotional integration of HD insights, ensuring you don’t just "know" your design but feel empowered to live it with compassion for all parts of yourself.
During the first half of our call, Kayla looked at my HD chart.
She nailed it.
Just by looking at my chart, Kayla could figure out that I spent the first 30 years of my life in chaotic experimentation mode.
“Try Everything” — that song by Shakira was my theme song. Literally, I sang it on stage the first time I performed at a proper music venue. haha
I wanted to try everything — I moved around different countries, switched religions, started multiple businesses in different creative industries, filled my free time with all sorts of art projects, got married more than once, lost track of how many people I dated, changed friend groups, fashion sense and even my name every time I moved. I wanted to see what worked for me. When I found something new I dove it headfirst and swam hard until something else caught my eye. My life has been vibrant, enthusiastic, ever-changing…a buffet of life experience that kept me hungry for me and fulfilled in the wildness.
Now I’m 35 and I’ve moved into a new phase of life that is exploring stability and more inward reflection, studying all the experiences I’ve had an learning lessons from it all. I’m stitching them all together, looking at my life now through the lens of IFS, making sense of it all, smiling.
Then it was my turn to look at Kayla through the lens of IFS.
Does anything in your business feel stuck? A part of Kayla wishes she had more clients. It likes being full to capacity but lately she’s only been 50-70% booked. This part of her that wants more clients believes it’s her purpose to be serving and wants to see her at work. For this part, it’s important that she fulfills her purpose.
Another part is rationalizing and thinking to find the solution. How do we get more clients? Why is this happening? What should we do?
Another part is feeling some shame around not being fully booked. What does this say about us?
Which part feels the most tension? Let’s bring it some relief.
It was the rationalizing part that was trying to figure out everything.
We dove into Kayla’s mind to find where it was hiding.
This part was residing in her third eye and manifested as a coiled wire, glowing light. It told us that it had been working hard to figure out everything in her universe.
She’d felt its presence her entire life but this was the first time she intentionally slowed down to BE WITH this part. At first, the part held tension, turned away, resisted connection.
She visualized the part outside of her body and showered it in appreciation. What had previously felt like “thinking” suddenly turned into something (someone) Kayla could relate to and build a relationship with.
After feeling appreciated, it softened, glowed brighter, and felt warmer towards her. A little friendship blossomed.
KAYLA MACARTHUR
Kayla MacArthur is a Trauma-Informed Transformational Life Coach & Human Design Guide. For the past nine years, she has supported service-based business owners to create sustainable success doing work they love. She’s all about soul-work, freedom, and the semi-retired life. Prior to becoming a coach, Kayla received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Regis College, where she graduated first in her class. She then worked for four years as a Residential Counselor, coaching young adults with mental illness. Currently, Kayla lives and works abroad in Mexico, splitting the year between Sayulita and San Miguel de Allende, with her partner, Ryan, and their cat, Creature.
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Thank you beautiful soul for spending time with me and putting our heads together to see what we have in common and what we can learn from each other. I feel so grateful that our life paths have crossed. I can’t wait to see what we create in the new year! Enjoy reading your book with that cute little glowing wire part!
love & rainbows
chamonix penelope
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