A soft audio sanctuary for strong women tired of holding it all together. Hosted by Rashida Thompson, Dear Strong Friend offers voice-led reflections, grounding practices, and soul-deep permission to rest, release, and be held. <br/><br/><a href="https://dearstrongfriend.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">dearstrongfriend.substack.com</a>
Dear Strong Friend
Claim This Podcastby Rashida Thompson
4 episodes
Updated Daily
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11
Podcast Authority
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Quality23
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Podcast Overview
A soft audio sanctuary for strong women tired of holding it all together. Hosted by Rashida Thompson, Dear Strong Friend offers voice-led reflections, grounding practices, and soul-deep permission to rest, release, and be held. <br/><br/><a href="https://dearstrongfriend.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">dearstrongfriend.substack.com</a>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
3/29/2025
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Recent Episodes
April 14, 2025
🌿 The H.E.L.D. Sessions, Part 3: Learning to Receive Without Explaining
<p>👋🏾 <strong>Hey, I'm Rashida…overthinker, feeler, yoga & mindfulness teacher, and recovering strong friend.</strong> 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.</p><p>🌬 <strong>A gentle note before you listen:</strong>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.</p><p>Dear Strong Friend,</p><p>You are the one who always finds a way… who powers through the pain, who makes it work…no matter the weight.</p><p><strong>When did you first learn that needing help meant being a burden?</strong></p><p>That rest had to be justified?</p><p>That softness had to be earned?</p><p>That you couldn’t ask until you were crumbling?</p><p>In this week’s newsletter, we arrive at the softest, scariest part of this journey.</p><p>The place where strength loosens its grip.</p><p>Where your arms can fall to your sides.</p><p>Where your worth doesn’t need a single explanation.</p><p>This is the part of the H.E.L.D. Method I call <strong>LEAN</strong>.</p><p>And I want to whisper this clearly:</p><p>Support is not a sign of weakness.</p><p>Support is how you keep going without disappearing.</p><p>Support is your birthright…not your backup plan.</p><p>The Strong One Who’s Secretly So Tired</p><p>I see you.</p><p>I see the way you over-explain your exhaustion.</p><p>I see how many times you say “I’m fine” when your body is anything but.</p><p>I see how much you carry, silently, skillfully.</p><p>And I know you're tired of making your humanity palatable.</p><p>You don’t need to hand someone a PowerPoint presentation to earn a moment of care.</p><p>You don’t need to preface your "no" with five reasons.</p><p>You don’t have to prove your pain for it to be real.</p><p><strong>What if your needs were valid…just because they’re yours?</strong></p><p>Let This Be the Moment You Lay Something Down</p><p>Not because you’re falling apart (though you might be).</p><p>Not because you’re failing (you’re not).</p><p>But because you shouldn’t have to do it all.</p><p>You get to lean. You get to be supported.</p><p>Without guilt.</p><p>Without disclaimers.</p><p>Without the performance of strength.</p><p>So here’s a practice for you:</p><p>A quiet ritual to remind your body that receiving is safe.</p><p>🧘🏾♀️ A Mini Practice: Receiving Without Guilt</p><p>If it feels safe, let your eyes soften or close.</p><p>Bring your arms across your chest, like you're holding yourself.</p><p>Or rest one hand on your heart and the other on your belly.</p><p>Breathe in gently through your nose.</p><p>Hold.</p><p>And exhale with a sigh through your mouth.</p><p>Again—</p><p>Inhale.</p><p>Hold.</p><p>Exhale with a soft sigh.</p><p>Let your shoulders drop.</p><p>Let your breath unclench the stories you’ve been holding too long.</p><p>Now whisper (in your heart or out loud):<strong>“I am allowed to receive…without earning, without explaining, and without guilt.”</strong></p><p>Feel those words in your bones.</p><p>Say them again, slowly.</p><p>Let them sink in like warm sun through your skin.</p><p>And when you're ready, open your eyes.</p><p>A Gentle Prompt for Your Week</p><p>Ask yourself, softly:</p><p><strong>Where in my life am I still reluctant to ask for or receive support?</strong></p><p>It might show up in the way you over-apologize before asking for time off.</p><p>In the way you hesitate before texting a friend: “I need help.”</p><p>In the way you say “yes” when you want to say “I can’t.”</p><p>Don’t judge it.</p><p>Just notice.</p><p>And maybe, just once this week, try this instead:</p><p><strong>“Thank you for offering. I receive that.”</strong></p><p><strong>“I need support right now.”</strong></p><p>Let those words be a beginning.</p><p>You don’t have to explain why you’re tired.</p><p>Your body already knows.</p><p>Your people already see it.</p><p>And this space?</p><p>It was created so you could finally exhale.</p><p>What’s Next</p><p>Next week, we’ll close this series with the final phase of the H.E.L.D. Method:<strong>DEFINE</strong>…where you begin rewriting your strength story, from survival to sovereignty.</p><p>Until then, strong friend…</p><p>Lay something down.</p><p><strong>Let someone in.</strong></p><p>And know this:</p><p>You don’t have to carry it all.</p><p>You don’t even have to carry most of it.</p><p>You get to be held.</p><p>Just because you are you.</p><p>xo,Rashidaaka your support & virtual cheerleader when you need it</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Dear Strong Friend at <a href="https://dearstrongfriend.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">dearstrongfriend.substack.com/subscribe</a>
April 7, 2025
🌿 The H.E.L.D. Sessions, Part 2: The Weight You’ve Been Carrying in Silence
<p>👋🏾 <strong>Hey, I'm Rashida…overthinker, feeler, yoga & mindfulness teacher, and recovering strong friend.</strong> 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.</p><p>Dear Strong Friend,</p><p>This one is for the one who's been quiet for too long.</p><p>You don’t look like you’re carrying much.</p><p>But I know you are.</p><p>Because I’ve been there, too.</p><p>You move through the world with grace.</p><p>You hold space for others without flinching.</p><p>You wear the mask of composure like a second skin.</p><p>And still…your silence is full.</p><p>Full of swallowed truths.</p><p>Full of sighs tucked into your chest.</p><p>Full of the "I'm fine" that covers a storm no one sees.</p><p>I created the <strong>H.E.L.D. Method</strong> to help us move through this very thing: the sacred process of laying down the performance of strength and finally letting ourselves feel.</p><p>We began last week with <strong>Honor</strong>, naming the weight.</p><p>This week, we step into <strong>Express</strong>: the courageous act of giving voice to what we’ve held inside.</p><p>Not because you owe anyone an explanation.</p><p>But because unspoken truth becomes tension.</p><p>Because you owe yourself a release.</p><p>And your body remembers what your mouth never got to say.</p><p>What You’ve Been Holding Isn’t Just Emotional…It’s Physical</p><p>The tension in your jaw when someone asks if you’re okay.</p><p>The pressure in your chest when you bite your tongue to keep the peace.</p><p>The snapping at something small, then wondering, Where did that come from?</p><p>The shutdown. The silence. The ache in your shoulders that won’t go away.</p><p>You may not have the words.</p><p>You may not even feel ready to speak them.</p><p>But your body already knows.</p><p>And it’s been waiting for you to listen.</p><p>A Mini Practice: Let’s Try Something Together</p><p>If it feels okay, pause what you’re doing.</p><p>Find a quiet spot.</p><p>Let this be your moment.</p><p>* Soften your shoulders.</p><p>* Let your gaze drop or your eyes close.</p><p>* Place one hand on your heart, the other on your belly.</p><p>Breathe in…slowly.</p><p>Hold.</p><p>Now exhale with sound. Maybe a sigh.</p><p>Again.</p><p>And as you exhale, imagine this:</p><p>You’re releasing one truth.</p><p>One sentence.</p><p>One piece of yourself that’s been living quietly inside.</p><p>It could be a no you didn’t say.</p><p>A need you minimized.</p><p>A boundary you betrayed.</p><p>Let it rise like a phoenix.</p><p>Let it move through the breath.</p><p>Let your body feel what your words couldn’t carry alone.</p><p>Whisper this if it feels safe:</p><p><strong>“I’m allowed to say what I’ve been holding.”</strong></p><p>Even if it’s shaky.</p><p>Even if it’s quiet.</p><p>Even if no one else hears it but you.</p><p>You’ve taken the first step.</p><p>And that matters.</p><p><strong>Friend, you are not broken. You are full.</strong></p><p>Of truth.</p><p>Of grief.</p><p>Of rage.</p><p>Of longing.</p><p>And none of it makes you weak.</p><p>It makes you real.</p><p>You don’t have to carry it alone.</p><p>You never did.</p><p>This week, may you give voice to what’s been silent.</p><p>Not to fix it.</p><p>Not to perform it.</p><p>Just to let it breathe.</p><p>Because your body has been holding so much.</p><p>And today?</p><p>You gave her the mic.</p><p>Your Integration Prompt:</p><p><strong>What truth have I been holding in?</strong></p><p>Write it. Record it. Whisper it.</p><p>Let it be messy. Let it be yours.</p><p>And comment below if you feel called. I’d love to know.</p><p><strong>Next week on the podcast, </strong>we’ll explore the next phase in the H.E.L.D. Method…<strong>Lean.</strong></p><p>It’s all about learning to ask and receive support without guilt.</p><p>Because you deserve care that doesn’t require performance.</p><p>Until then…</p><p><strong>Honor what you feel.</strong></p><p><strong>Express what needs to be said.</strong></p><p><strong>And remember…you don’t have to hold it in, to be held.</strong></p><p>xo,</p><p>Rashida</p><p>aka your strong friend who has spent many years holding in what she needs to let out (until now)</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Dear Strong Friend at <a href="https://dearstrongfriend.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">dearstrongfriend.substack.com/subscribe</a>
March 30, 2025
🌿 The H.E.L.D. Sessions, Part 1: What Your Exhaustion Is Trying to Tell You
<p>👋🏾 <strong>Hey, I'm Rashida…overthinker, feeler, yoga & mindfulness teacher, and recovering strong friend.</strong> 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.</p><p>Dear Strong Friend,</p><p>This week’s post is a little different, but still just for you. You can <strong>skim the summary below</strong> or <strong>catch the full vibe in the audio above</strong>…your choice. Whichever way you take it in, I hope it lands exactly where you need it.</p><p>When was the last time you paused…not because you had to but because your body asked you to?</p><p>Most of us don’t get that far. We wait until we’re on the edge. Until the breakdown. Until our bodies refuse to keep pushing through.</p><p>This week’s episode begins a four-part journey through the H.E.L.D. framework, a system I created after years of trying to hold myself through exhaustion I didn’t feel allowed to name.</p><p>Each phase — <strong>Honor, Express, Lean, and Define </strong>— guides us out of silent overwhelm and back to a strength that doesn’t cost our softness.</p><p>Today, we begin with <strong>Honor</strong>…the sacred practice of pausing long enough to feel what’s been pushed aside.</p><p>Not fix. Not perform. Just notice.</p><p>Because when you’re always the one holding space, carrying weight, keeping things together…you stop hearing your own voice.</p><p>You start bracing instead of breathing.</p><p>You forget that you’re allowed to be tired. And tender. And in need.</p><p>But here’s the truth:</p><p><strong>Your exhaustion isn’t weakness. It’s wisdom. It’s a body that’s been whispering, “please let me rest.”</strong></p><p>In this episode, I offer a letter, a simple body check-in, and an invitation to return to yourself without guilt.</p><p>Not because you’ve earned it.</p><p>But because you exist.</p><p>And that’s enough.</p><p><strong>🌬 Invitation to Reflect:</strong></p><p>As you move through the week, return to this question:</p><p><strong>“What part of me needs to be honored today?”</strong></p><p>Let it be simple. Let it be yours.</p><p>A need. A truth. A boundary. A feeling.</p><p>Whatever comes up—you don’t have to explain it.</p><p>Just honor it.</p><p>You deserve a life that holds space for your humanity too.</p><p>xo,</p><p>Rashida</p><p>aka your strong friend who is honoring you for showing up for yourself</p><p><p>Thanks for reading! To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></p><p>P.S. - Are you feeling the vibe & desire more personalized support? My 1:1 Voxer coaching offers gentle guidance, practical tools, and a safe space to help you shift from silently holding it all together to finally feeling held. Learn more <a target="_blank" href="https://7646655465752.gumroad.com/l/strong-friend-coaching">here</a>.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Dear Strong Friend at <a href="https://dearstrongfriend.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">dearstrongfriend.substack.com/subscribe</a>
4 total episodes available
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