Today we’d like to introduce you to Francesca Budesheim.
Hi Francesca, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Sure! I moved to Austin in 2014 to complete my Master’s in Clinical Social Work at the University of Texas, and in my spare time, I was teaching yoga. I started my career as a clinical social worker, specializing in grief counseling and trauma support. I spent years holding space for people in their most tender moments, and it taught me so much about what healing actually looks like- not just in theory, but in real life.
Blending my clinical work with my yoga training, I eventually began crafting and leading trauma-informed yoga trainings and therapeutic movement practices. I saw how yoga gave a language to my clients’ bodies when words weren’t enough. Both personally and professionally, yoga became a huge part of how I came to understand healing, from the inside out.
Over time, I felt limited by traditional therapy models. At the time, somatic work wasn’t as valued in the therapeutic community as it is now (or at least in the community I was in). I wanted to support people more holistically, integrating movement, breath, nervous system work, and intuitive tools with clinical insight. That’s what led me to shift into therapeutic coaching.
Now, I run Low-Key Spiritual. It’s a space where I offer coaching, community groups, retreats, and our signature Low-Key Journal: a six-month guided journal for self-trust, emotional healing, and creating a life that actually feels like yours.
I’ve walked through anxiety, burnout, people-pleasing, big grief, and big growth. And I’m still in the work. I don’t show up as someone who’s got it all figured out, because I don’t, but as someone who believes healing can be both sacred and grounded, science-based and deeply human.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not a smooth road, but knowing myself, I wouldn’t trust it if it had been.
There have been a lot of pivots, burnouts, and moments of wondering if I was doing any of it “right” or if Low-Key Spiritual was just a really expensive hobby. Years ago, I was holding space for clients in deep grief while navigating my own. It was both meaningful and incredibly draining. I had to learn, most of the time the hard way, how to hold boundaries, how to let rest be productive, and how to stop tying my worth to how much I could give others.
One thing I especially struggled with was shifting out of traditional therapy and into coaching. There was some internalized shame around “leaving the field,” even though I knew the work I wanted to do didn’t fully fit inside the clinical box. It took time to trust my own path and to create something that blended all of my experiences: clinical, intuitive, somatic, and spiritual.
And then there’s entrepreneurship in general. Building something from scratch is wild. There were (and still are) seasons of self-doubt, tech fails, financial stress, and a lot of trial and error. But every misstep has taught me something. Every time I wanted to quit, something meaningful came through right after. So I’ve learned to trust the process, even when it’s messy. (Especially when it’s messy.)
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a therapeutic coach and the founder of Low-Key Spiritual: a mental wellness brand that blends the clinical and the intuitive. My work is all about helping people come home to themselves. Whether it be through 1:1 coaching, retreats, group programs, or our online healing community, I specialize in working with people who feel stuck in survival mode, who’ve outgrown the old ways of coping (people-pleasing, overachieving, disappearing into burnout) but aren’t sure how to step into something new.
What I’m probably best known for is helping people feel safe to be their full selves. My clients often say I’m the first person who really saw them, without judgment, without a “fix-it” energy, just real, grounded support. I bring over a decade of experience in grief work, somatic therapy, trauma-informed yoga, and clinical social work, but I don’t believe healing has to feel clinical. It can feel cozy. It can feel human. It can even feel fun sometimes.
What I’m most proud of is creating spaces that feel real: no performance, no posturing, just people learning how to be in their bodies, in their lives, and in their power.
What sets me apart is the way I blend evidence-based practices with a softer, more intuitive touch. I’m not afraid to talk about nervous system regulation and also pull an oracle card. I’ll talk about inner child healing and also help you make a plan to hold better boundaries at work. It’s practical and sacred, just like life.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was hyper-aware of everyone around me: how they felt, what they needed, how I could make things easier or more comfortable for them. I was riddled with the need to please, like if I could just be helpful or thoughtful enough, it would make me more loved. I was definitely an overachiever: straight-A student, varsity sports, student council, highly responsible, always pushing myself. However, I never let myself enjoy the things I accomplished. Not really. There was always some voice saying, “What’s next?”
I felt things deeply, even if I didn’t always show it. I think I came into the world as a little therapist in training. I was always curious about people, deeply empathetic, and always trying to make sense of emotions (mine and everyone else’s). But underneath all of that was this constant pressure to be good, to be put together, to never be too much or need too much. I was independent, but in a way a child shouldn’t have to be.
That said, I still had a fire in me. I had a strong sense of justice, wasn’t afraid to speak up, and definitely had a bit of a mouth when something didn’t sit right. Even when I was trying to be the “good one,” that inner strength and spice were always there. It’s taken me a long time to unlearn the pressure to be perfect without losing the power I’ve had all along.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lowkeyspiritual.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lowkeyspiritual/
- Other: https://www.lowkeyspiritual.com/links
Image Credits
Riley Blanks
