👋🏾 Hey, I'm Rashida…overthinker, feeler, yoga & mindfulness teacher, and recovering strong friend. I'm here because I know what it's like to carry the world on your shoulders and secretly crave permission to put it down. Each week, I share reflections, personal stories, and gentle practices to help you redefine what strength means, reclaim your rest, and finally let yourself be held.

🌬 A gentle note before you listen:You may hear a few background sounds in this week’s audio. Despite my best efforts, I wasn’t able to edit them all out. I ask that you offer me a bit of grace as you listen in. The message is still here, steady and soft beneath the static. And maybe…just maybe…it’s a reminder that even in imperfect moments, you’re still allowed to receive.

Dear Strong Friend,

You are the one who always finds a way… who powers through the pain, who makes it work…no matter the weight.

When did you first learn that needing help meant being a burden?

That rest had to be justified?

That softness had to be earned?

That you couldn’t ask until you were crumbling?

In this week’s newsletter, we arrive at the softest, scariest part of this journey.

The place where strength loosens its grip.

Where your arms can fall to your sides.

Where your worth doesn’t need a single explanation.

This is the part of the H.E.L.D. Method I call LEAN.

And I want to whisper this clearly:

Support is not a sign of weakness.

Support is how you keep going without disappearing.

Support is your birthright…not your backup plan.

The Strong One Who’s Secretly So Tired

I see you.

I see the way you over-explain your exhaustion.

I see how many times you say “I’m fine” when your body is anything but.

I see how much you carry, silently, skillfully.

And I know you're tired of making your humanity palatable.

You don’t need to hand someone a PowerPoint presentation to earn a moment of care.

You don’t need to preface your "no" with five reasons.

You don’t have to prove your pain for it to be real.

What if your needs were valid…just because they’re yours?

Let This Be the Moment You Lay Something Down

Not because you’re falling apart (though you might be).

Not because you’re failing (you’re not).

But because you shouldn’t have to do it all.

You get to lean. You get to be supported.

Without guilt.

Without disclaimers.

Without the performance of strength.

So here’s a practice for you:

A quiet ritual to remind your body that receiving is safe.

🧘🏾‍♀️ A Mini Practice: Receiving Without Guilt

If it feels safe, let your eyes soften or close.

Bring your arms across your chest, like you're holding yourself.

Or rest one hand on your heart and the other on your belly.

Breathe in gently through your nose.

Hold.

And exhale with a sigh through your mouth.

Again—

Inhale.

Hold.

Exhale with a soft sigh.

Let your shoulders drop.

Let your breath unclench the stories you’ve been holding too long.

Now whisper (in your heart or out loud):“I am allowed to receive…without earning, without explaining, and without guilt.”

Feel those words in your bones.

Say them again, slowly.

Let them sink in like warm sun through your skin.

And when you're ready, open your eyes.

A Gentle Prompt for Your Week

Ask yourself, softly:

Where in my life am I still reluctant to ask for or receive support?

It might show up in the way you over-apologize before asking for time off.

In the way you hesitate before texting a friend: “I need help.”

In the way you say “yes” when you want to say “I can’t.”

Don’t judge it.

Just notice.

And maybe, just once this week, try this instead:

“Thank you for offering. I receive that.”

“I need support right now.”

Let those words be a beginning.

You don’t have to explain why you’re tired.

Your body already knows.

Your people already see it.

And this space?

It was created so you could finally exhale.

What’s Next

Next week, we’ll close this series with the final phase of the H.E.L.D. Method:DEFINE…where you begin rewriting your strength story, from survival to sovereignty.

Until then, strong friend…

Lay something down.

Let someone in.

And know this:

You don’t have to carry it all.

You don’t even have to carry most of it.

You get to be held.

Just because you are you.

xo,Rashidaaka your support & virtual cheerleader when you need it

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