The Scene: Returning to the Flame of My Roots

The women in my family have always been the gatherers, the chefs, the mediators. Cooking wasn’t just a necessity—it was their love language. That rhythm held steady until we emigrated to the U.S. and my mom married my stepdad. That’s when I first began to see the roles shift.

From the age of 12, my stepfather became the central father figure in my physical realm—while my biological father, papi, remained just a calling card away, holding space for me from across the island until his passing when I was 21.

My stepfather, a retired Black man who came of age in the grit of 1950s New York, was a lover of food and culture. Through him, I was introduced to Black American culture—its richness, rhythms, and flavors. He became a bridge between my Dominican heritage and my new world.

His cooking reigned until it was lovingly interrupted by the boomerang visits of my grandmother, who floated between our U.S. kitchen and her home in the DR.

And so for me, cooking was never just about nourishment—it was about the way people who loved me, fed me.

Years later, the corporate grind—with its endless travel—and the stillness of the pandemic slowly pulled me out of that rhythm. The kitchen became a space of absence, not presence.

But this summer, I’m reclaiming it.

Not for performance.
Not for punishment.
But as a radical act of connection—with myself, my lineage, my body, and the cosmos.

I’m no longer interested in fitness fads or restrictive eating. I want to feel strong, open, playful, divinely disciplined, and deeply fed—in body and soul.

So, I’m creating a summer rhythm rooted in my Dominican lineage and layered with the wisdom I’ve cultivated as a conscious woman, healer, leader, and living altar.

This is the story of how I’m building my ancestral nutrition and movement plan—and how I invite you to craft your own.

The Wisdom: Nutrition & Movement as Ancestral Technology

1. Nutrition as Ancestral Alchemy

For four months, I worked with a nutritionist who helped me not only revise what I ate but reclaim how I related to food. I began seeing the preparation of meals not as a task but as a ritual—a moment to honor the mujeres who fed entire families with humble ingredients and holy hands.

As a nontraditional mujer and entrepreneur with a rich cultural background and ancestral connections, I needed my connection with food to feel meaningful, ancestral, cosmic. 

Instead of focusing on adhering to strict meal plans or even tracking my weight, my nutritionist guided me on creating rituals around my eating, sleeping, and being.

On the other side of the transformation, I’m shifting to a Dominican-inspired rhythm this summer: cooking three times a week around noon, not at night. Just like we do back home. It lets me:

• Avoid the fatigue of end-of-day cooking.

• Tap into the sun’s creative energy as I prepare my meals.

• Embrace flexibility in my evenings with breakfast-for-dinner or lighter, more playful bites.

Each week will have variety, ritual, and sensuality:

• Two full meals a day: One hearty ancestral or hybrid dish and one more playful or intuitive meal.

• Creative “wildcards”: 1–2 meals per week enjoyed out in community or offered as nourishment from loved ones.

• Breakfast-for-dinner magic: Sophisticated breakfast plates—like plantain waffles, avocado-lime hash, or coconut chia bowls—will replace heavy dinners and become evening rituals of self-love.

• Sweet sacredness: Rather than erase sweets, I will ritualize them. A small tres leches on Sundays. A caramel treat after a writing breakthrough. Ice cream with my moon. These aren’t “cheats.” They’re offerings.

This is soulful nourishment, not clean eating. It’s intentional, intuitive, and infused with love.

2. Fitness as Cosmic Reclamation

Movement has always been medicine for me. I’ve walked daily for five years. I’ve trained for half-marathons, practiced yoga daily, and flowed through HIIT circuits. But now, I’m inviting in a new chapter of embodied movement—one guided by flexibility, endurance, strength, and joy.

My cosmic summer rhythm includes:

• Daily walks to stay grounded, integrate emotions, and commune with nature.

• 2–3 movement sessions/week through ClassPass, including yoga, strength training, or HIIT depending on my cycle.

• 1–2 dance sessions/week (bachata, salsa, or intuitive movement) to awaken pleasure, sensuality, and memory in the hips and core.

• 1 restorative or yin yoga session to align with my Queen’s Week and lunar cycle.

• Stretching + core work layered into my morning or evening routine.

Rather than approaching this as a checklist, I’m following a rhythm inspired by my body, the moon, and my chakras. If I’m in my follicular phase, I may lean into strength. If I’m in my luteal or bleeding phase, I’ll opt for stretching or slow dance.

The goal is not weight loss—it’s wholeness. It’s becoming the kind of woman who can hold more joy, more pleasure, more abundance in her body.

The Embodiment: A Living Summer Altar

This rhythm is not a schedule—it’s a devotion.

Here’s what it looks like in practice:

Weekly Rhythm:

MONDAYS

• Noon: Cook Meal 1 (Dominican-Inspired or Ancestral Fusion)

• Evening: Walk + 15-minute intuitive dance/stretch

• Affirmation: “My week begins with sacred rhythm.”

• Chakra focus: Sacral

TUESDAYS

• Morning: ClassPass strength/yoga

• Meals: Leftovers from Monday + Wildcard dinner or playful breakfast-for-dinner

• Chakra focus: Root

WEDNESDAYS

• Noon: Cook Meal 2 (Creative/Global)

• Afternoon dance or stretch

• Sweet ritual: One intentional treat (e.g. tres leches + journaling)

• Cosmic action: Align with moon phase

• Chakra focus: Throat

THURSDAYS

• Morning: Yoga or walking meditation

• Meals: Wednesday leftovers + nourish with a favorite sweet fruit or herbal tea

• Writing flow in the evening (fuel creative fire)

• Chakra focus: Third Eye

FRIDAYS

• Noon: Cook Meal 3 (Experimental/Seasonal)

• Dance class or night walk

• Sacred pleasure: Beauty ritual, date with self, or outdoor moment under the stars

• Chakra focus: Heart

SATURDAYS

• Morning: Long walk, farmers market, or hike

• Wildcard meals or shared food with community

• Evening: Freeform movement, intuitive meal, or sacred bath

• Chakra focus: Crown

SUNDAYS

• Rest or yin yoga

• Reflective writing and planning for the week

• Dessert or comfort food with intention

• Affirmation: “I am a living altar.”

• Chakra focus: Solar Plexus

The Invitation: Sacred Summer as a Reclamation

This isn’t just about getting “fit” or “healthy.”
It’s about becoming the mujer my ancestors dreamed of—one who listens to her body, cooks with joy, moves with purpose, and makes room for sweetness without shame.

It’s about embodied sovereignty—where my body is the compass, the temple, and the portal.
It’s about seasonal alignment—eating what grows, moving with my cycle, creating in harmony with the sun and moon.
It’s about sacred rhythm—where every meal, stretch, and dance step becomes a prayer.

If you’ve ever wanted to eat in a way that felt like ceremony…
Move in a way that felt like joy…
Live in a way that felt like wholeness…

Then I invite you to design your own sacred summer rhythm. If you're looking for guidance on this ancestral journey, reach out to my Ancestral and Holitic Nutritionist at Women Around the Sun.

Not to perform.
But to remember.
To remember that you, too, are divine, rhythmic, and rooted.

Let this be the summer of your return.