Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Krista Rooney. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Krista, thanks for joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

There was a moment that completely changed the direction of my work, and it didn’t happen in a boardroom or through a business decision. It happened deep in the Peruvian jungle.

At that point in my life, I thought I had things together. I was showing up, holding everything, doing what I thought I was supposed to do. From the outside, it looked fine. But underneath that, my body was telling a different story. There was anxiety, disconnection, and this quiet sense that something wasn’t fully aligned, even if I couldn’t explain why.

I traveled to the Amazon and spent time with the Matses jaguar people, and during one of my experiences there, I had a vision that I still can’t explain in purely logical terms. I watched a phoenix rise out of the ground in front of me. Not from the sky, not from ashes in the way we usually imagine it, but from the earth itself.

And what came with that wasn’t just the image, it was a knowing. A very clear understanding of a process. What I now call the seven steps of healing and transformation. It showed me that real change doesn’t happen from the outside in. It happens when something within you is ready to break, burn, release, and rebuild in a completely different way.

That moment shifted everything for me.

It helped me understand that what I had been experiencing in my own life wasn’t random. The overgiving, the lack of boundaries, the pushing through what my body was trying to communicate. It all had a structure underneath it. And more importantly, it showed me that there was a path through it.

Since then, that experience has become the foundation of my work. I’ve spent years integrating it, living it, and guiding others through it in a grounded, practical way.

The biggest lesson from that moment is this: just because something looks fine on the outside doesn’t mean it’s actually working. And real transformation doesn’t come from doing more or trying harder. It comes from understanding what’s happening underneath and being willing to move through the full process of change.

That moment in the jungle didn’t just inspire my work. It gave me the framework I now use to help others create real, lasting transformation in their own lives.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I’m Krista Rooney, founder of The Phoenix Path Collective. I’m a spiritual mentor, energy healer, and transformation guide for people who look like they have their life together on the outside, but feel overwhelmed, disconnected, or unfulfilled underneath it all.

What makes my work unique is that it sits at the intersection of science and spirituality. I have a background in biology and biochemistry, so I understand the body, the nervous system, and the physiological side of what people experience. But I also work deeply in energy, ceremony, and shamanic healing. Over time, I realized that real transformation doesn’t happen from just one angle. It happens when you understand what’s going on mentally, emotionally, physically, and energetically and bring all of that into alignment.

I didn’t start this work because I was searching for it. I actually thought I had things handled. I was high-functioning, showing up, doing what needed to be done, and holding a lot for the people around me. But over time, my body and my internal state started telling a different story. There was anxiety, burnout, and this quiet sense that something wasn’t fully aligned, even if everything looked fine from the outside. That disconnect is something so many people live with, especially those who are used to being the strong one.

A defining moment for me happened in the Peruvian jungle while working with the Matses jaguar people. During that time, I experienced a vision of a phoenix rising from the earth, and with it came a very clear understanding of a process of transformation. That experience became the foundation for what I now call the Phoenix Path, a framework I’ve spent years integrating into my own life and the work I do with others.

Since then, I’ve supported over a thousand people through deep, integrative transformation. I’ve spoken on stage at the Top 100 Women in Power event in Hollywood, I have upcoming features in multiple publications and podcasts, I’ve been cast on the entrepreneurial show The Blox, and I have a book coming out that shares this work on a much larger scale. But what matters most to me is not where I’ve been featured. It’s the real, lived change I see in the people I work with.

The people who come to me are often highly sensitive, high-performing leaders, executives, and mothers who carry a lot, give a lot, and are used to being the one who holds everything together. On paper, their life looks good. But internally, they feel overwhelmed, drained, or like something is missing. They’ve often tried therapy, personal development, or different healing modalities, but still find themselves in the same patterns.

What I help them do is understand why.

Not in a surface-level way, but at the root. We look at the beliefs, the conditioning, the nervous system responses, the energy, and the behaviors that are all working together to create how they feel and live. And then we shift it in a way that actually lasts.

This isn’t about “fixing” yourself. It’s about understanding what’s been driving your experience and becoming someone who can live differently.

There are a few ways to work with me, depending on where someone is in their journey.

I offer one-on-one healing and coaching sessions, both in person and online, where we go deep into what’s specifically happening for you and start shifting it in real time.

I also lead immersive programs, including my signature experience, Stop Pretending You’re Fine: The Phoenix Fire Immersion, a 14 module transformational program designed to help you identify and shift the patterns, beliefs, and energy that have been keeping you stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected.

For those who want ongoing support and access, I created The Phoenix Path Collective app, which includes guided meditations, interactive tools, a digital oracle deck, courses, and a community space designed to support real, consistent growth and connection.

And for those who are called to deeper, ceremonial work, I facilitate experiences for personal, corporate, and community events that bring together ritual, energy work, and grounded transformation in a way that is both powerful and accessible.

What sets my work apart is that I don’t stay on the surface. I don’t just give people tools or mindset shifts. I help them understand what’s actually going on underneath, and how to change it in a way that integrates into their real life. Because insight without integration doesn’t create lasting change.

What I’m most proud of is the depth of transformation I’ve witnessed. Watching people go from feeling overwhelmed, overextended, and disconnected… to feeling clear, grounded, self-trusting, and actually supported in their own lives. That’s the work.

The main thing I want people to know is this: if something feels off in your life, even if everything looks fine on the outside, it’s not random. There’s a reason for it. And it’s not something you have to keep pushing through or managing forever.

There is more available to you than this.

And when you understand what’s actually going on underneath and have the right support, you don’t just cope better…you live differently.

You can find me, explore my work, and step into any of these offerings through The Phoenix Path Collective website and app, where everything I’ve built is designed to help you reconnect to yourself, shift what’s been holding you back, and step into what’s truly possible for your life.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was my need to control the outcome.

For a long time, I thought being prepared meant knowing what was coming next, having a plan, and staying one step ahead. I didn’t realize that what I was actually doing was limiting my experience to only what I could see or predict.

That really shifted for me during my time in the Peruvian jungle.

Every morning, I had gotten into the habit of checking the itinerary first thing. I wanted to know what the day would look like, what we were doing, where we were going. It made me feel grounded and in control. But one morning, something very clear came through: don’t check it. Just go.

So I listened.

I walked out of my maloka, and immediately I saw two children holding baby monkeys. They looked at me and asked in Spanish, “Do you like baby animals?” I laughed and said, “Sí, of course.” They took me to their maloka and brought out a two-month-old baby sloth. I held it, and I just started crying. It was one of those moments you can’t plan for, something that just meets you exactly where you are.

Then I went back for breakfast, and there were two baby owlets there. I had another really touching moment holding one of them, just completely present, completely open.

During breakfast, the guides mentioned that we might see pink river dolphins later that day if we were lucky. I had never even heard of them before, but I immediately felt this excitement and curiosity. Later, as we were traveling by canoe, I started making my own version of dolphin calls, half joking, half hopeful. And then out of nowhere, a mother, father, and baby pink dolphin appeared right in front of us. Not only did they surface in front of my canoe, they stayed and followed us down the river for a while.

It was one of those moments where everything just clicks.

What hit me later was this: if I had checked the itinerary that morning, I would have stayed in my maloka waiting for breakfast. I would have missed the monkeys, the sloth, the owls, and even the way that whole day unfolded.

And even deeper than that… if you had asked me before that trip to design my perfect day, I might have said monkeys or a sloth. But I wouldn’t have said pink river dolphins, because I didn’t even know they existed.

That’s the point.

We can only plan from what we know. But there are so many possibilities we haven’t even considered yet.

That experience taught me that when we loosen our grip on control and let go of needing to know exactly how things will happen, we create space for something bigger to come in. Whether you call it God, the universe, or something else, there’s an intelligence that can see more options than we can.

And when we trust that, things don’t just work out… they can feel almost magical, because they go beyond what we thought was even possible.

That lesson has stayed with me, not just in my life, but in my work. So many people are trying to control their way into feeling better, into finding clarity, into creating change. But sometimes the shift comes when you stop gripping so tightly, and you allow something else to unfold.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think what’s helped me build my reputation is being genuinely real.

I don’t position myself as someone who has it all figured out or lives above the human experience. I’m an authority in what I do, but I’m also deeply relatable. I share openly about the struggles, the setbacks, and the moments that weren’t polished or easy, along with the growth and the wins that came from them. I’ve found that people don’t connect to perfection, they connect to truth.

A big part of that is that I actually live the work I teach. I’m not asking people to do anything I haven’t walked through myself. Whether it’s setting boundaries, navigating burnout, or facing uncomfortable patterns, I’ve been in those spaces, and I continue to do my own work as I grow. That level of integrity matters.

I’ve also never tried to fit into a traditional mold. I’ve leaned into being different, following paths that aren’t always conventional, and continuing to expand through education, travel, and hands-on experience across different cultures and healing modalities. That’s allowed me to bring a perspective that feels both grounded and expansive.

At the same time, I don’t bypass reality or rely on toxic positivity. I don’t tell people to just think differently or “stay positive” when something deeper is going on. I’m willing to go into the uncomfortable, the messy, and the real parts of transformation, and I think people feel that.

And finally, I’ve taken risks. I’ve said yes to opportunities that felt big, sometimes before I felt fully ready. I’ve put myself in rooms, on stages, and in conversations that pushed me to grow. That willingness to go all in, while still staying grounded and authentic, has been a big part of building both my work and the trust people have in it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thephoenixpathcollective.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thephoenixpathcollective
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thephoenixpathcollective
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krista-rooney-589b42394
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePhoenixPathCollective
• Other: APP: https://thephoenixpathcollective.lovable.app/

Image Credits

Nate Ross Photography
Anna Lillian Photography