I pulled my own self up by the roots.

In some ways I pulled my own self up by the roots too. And I didn’t turn (or run) away from what I saw in those roots. In the nervous system patterns that kept me alive but also kept me stuck in beliefs, behaviors and ways of taking action (or inaction) that were no longer necessary or helpful.

Through somatic (body based) nervous system modalities, I have expanded my ability to view my story, my life, my desires and my work in the world with new levels of curiosity.

I have worked with the contractions in my body … unveiling and gently tending to what my body revealed underneath the layers.

Supporting my body as it has shifted, healed, expanded, integrated, recalibrated. Gently. Gently. Gently.

I have leaned into the shadow, certainly, but also the light.

Actively (re)conditioning my body to hold expansion without becoming overwhelmed and/or collapsing.

Reawakening my sensory experience. Parts of me that had been dissociated, disconnected and numb (or locked down) for so long I didn’t even realize a different way of being was possible.

I say (re)conditioning and (re)awakening because I believe we arrive on this plane with the innate capacity to hold possibility, hope, and interconnectedness. Our sensory capacity inside a body is extraordinary.

We are born whole. And then life conditions us to contract again and again as we seek safety and the promise of belonging.

Under the pressure (and because the nervous system is designed to keep us alive) we splinter and mold ourselves into new shapes … holograms … projecting only what is deemed “acceptable” into the world. Not realizing that a splintered soul ultimately costs us our physical and mental health.

We lose our sense of self. We forget how powerful we are. How much choice we actually do have. How to use our voice. We forget that we get to write the story from here.

I am remembering. I am stepping out of my Wounded Warrior Era. Don’t get me wrong. I am still a warrior. And I won’t be bypassing my wounds (or anyone else’s for that matter).

I am (re)claiming my place as a visionary, disruptor, change maker and cycle breaker. I am stepping more boldly into my true capacity. Into my wholeness.