Reclaiming My Power

I feel it in my bones. Stress, grief, trauma, and worry have all settled deep inside me, pressing and screaming to be released. Holding my breath, bracing for the next blow, I have carried this tension like a permanent weight, always on edge, always alert. My body speaks in rashes, bloated stomachs, aching joints, restless nights. This is how my body tells me something is off.

For years, I let life’s chaos disrupt my nervous system. I replayed moments over and over, letting them take up space inside me until my body could no longer hold it. I was trapped in cycles of giving my power away, until I was sick, inflamed, depleted, completely out of spoons.

Now, I am learning to listen. I notice the tension, the flare of stress, the signals my body sends. Awareness becomes my tool. With awareness comes choice. I can say no. I can shake off what does not serve me. I can reclaim my energy, my time, my peace. I can tell the world that my well-being is mine.

Just this week, I allowed too many things to crowd my mind. I gave power to people and situations that do not care about my well-being. And now, here I am in a flare, covered in a rash, struggling to sleep. My body reminds me that I cannot hand over my power anymore. No one will prioritize me the way I must.

From this knowing, I choose myself. I move through the tension, letting it pass through my body instead of lodging there. I shake, I cry, I breathe. I release. Each day I reclaim my power, my wellness, and my presence. My body is not a prison for pain. It is a vessel for life, for resilience, for tenderness.

I will honor my well-being fiercely. I will listen to what my body needs. I will say no when I must and yes to myself always. Each moment of reclaiming is a small revolution. I am not defined by what I carry. I am defined by how I rise through it, how I tend to myself, and how I let my spirit move freely through the world.