I know what it’s like to live in a body that has carried too much- surviving abuse, medical gaslighting, and the weight of systems never built with my wellbeing and intersectional identity in mind. Hypervigilance, pushing through pain, and fighting to survive became a baseline. Trauma, both personal and systemic, rooted in my body and reshaped my nervous system and trust in the world. And, living with medical conditions that directly affect the nervous system only deepened the impact.

My body needed care, but the support available often came with high price tags or approaches that ignored social realities and minimized lived experience. I learned quickly that real healing requires more than symptom management- it requires being supported in the full context of one’s life. So I set out to reclaim authority over my care and identity. Because my story isn’t just hardship, it’s also about the intimacy of imperfectly learning my way back to myself by listening to my body with radical honesty, grounding in collective care, breaking cycles of intergenerational harm, and drawing on the wisdom of those who came before me and fought for more than survival.

My healing showed up in subtle moments: a deeper breath, softening shoulders, trust slowly returning. I learned to treat my body patiently, gently, and with awe. I came to understand how the nervous system holds memory and how tension can be a love letter from a younger self who kept me alive. I reclaimed healing even after navigating so many spaces that promised care but reinforced harm- minimizing, bypassing, and erasing what I (and other’s) carried.

I unlearned messages that told me my body was wrong, my identity too much, my intuition unreliable. I reclaimed what oppression and harm tried to dim- my voice, my presence, my belonging. It was a journey of exploring the landscape of just how resilient and wise our bodies can be, and learning to feel my experience rather than endure it.

This experience shaped how I show up for others. It left me committed to creating a space where bodies of all identities are believed, responses aren’t pathologized, and where histories are recognized as part of one’s wisdom. A space where people don’t have to detach from their truth. Because liberatory wellness isn’t a program to complete- it’s reclamation of embodiment, dignity, agency, and connection in a world that often fragments us.

I hold space for both survival and becoming, grief and joyful possibility. Supporting people in attuning to their bodies, in naming the social truths, and cultivating self-compassion. Everyone deserves a space where their fullness is welcomed and healing is inherent- not earned. Where we move from surviving to living- slowly, authentically, and together.