Taking the Armor Off

Inspired by my book, Prioritize Your Self-Care: Reclaiming Your Path to an Extraordinary Life

I used to think strength meant protection. Armor. Always being ready to fight.

For years, I practiced martial arts. I built muscle. I walked the streets with an eighty-five-pound Doberman. I had a black belt.
On paper, I looked powerful.

But the real fight wasn’t outside me. It was inside.
No amount of physical strength could protect me from the fear of being seen — really seen — for who I was, underneath the perfection and the performance.

Even as I taught classes and earned respect at the dojo, I carried heartbreak, betrayal, and doubt in my posture.
My shoulders rolled forward, subconsciously guarding the heart I didn’t yet feel safe to reveal.

Eventually, I knew it was time to leave.
Not just the dojo, where I was admired — but the marriage that no longer held me.

“Though I didn’t yet know what I was flying toward, I knew I must get all impediments out of the way if my heart was finally going to take off and soar.”

Leaving wasn’t easy.
It felt like a death.
Not just of a relationship — but of a role I had clung to for safety.

But the space I created allowed something new to grow:
A deeper truth. A freer body. A wider heart.

That’s what it means to be a warrior of the heart.
Not to harden — but to open.
To walk into the unknown. To let your body lead your healing.

📘 Want more?
Read Chapter 7: Becoming a Warrior of the Heart in my book, Prioritize Your Self-Care.

💬 Ready to explore what being a heart-led warrior looks like in your life?
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🌀 Or grab the book here:
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