The Energy Level They Told Us to Fear (But Actually Saves Us)

Dayanna Valenciano
Nov 26
3 min read

Let's talk about Energy Level 1—

the level everyone tries to outrun, avoid, bypass, spiritualize, sanitize, and

throw sage at like they're in an exorcism 😂.

I swear, if I had a dollar for every "high vibe coach, spiritual teacher, and guru" who told me heaviness was a "mindset problem," I could buy another acre in my beloved Costa Rica and build a women's temple just for our collective rage and tears LOL.

But here's the real truth:

The Energt Level 1 (victimhood, lethargy, apathy), which I call Rooted Despair, isn't low energy, vibration, or frequency.

It's DEEP.

It's the beginning of every real healing journey I've ever been on or of any of the women I've supported.

The Day My Body Filed a Complaint

Let me tell you a little story.

Years ago, besides working in the aviation industry, I was running a successful handbag business, coaching, mothering, wife-ing (LOL), holding everyone together like Latina duct tape — and suddenly my body was like:

"Ma'am… we're not doing this anymore."

Chest tightness due to chronic respiratory issues. Ahh, my body couldn't breathe, literally and figuratively speaking.

Throat closing.

Brain fog.

Zero motivation. Actually shaming myself to push and grind harder

A whole emotional shutdown landed me in a hospital bed.

I thought something was wrong with me.

And the coaching industry, spiritual groups and the wellness community didn't help, because everything out there said:

"Raise your vibration!"

"Shift your mindset!"

"You're stuck in victim frequency!"

Meanwhile, my nervous system was literally waving a red flag like:

"All hands on deck, she's drowning in shame, guilt, and frustration!" 😂

It would take me another six years to confront a system designed to disconnect us from our bodies and ancestral wisdom.

That's when I realized… the problem wasn't my energy, or that I wasn't meditating "correctly", or that I wasn't embracing "love and light".

It was the whole framework that taught me to distrust my own body's wisdom and shamed me every time I talked about pain.

Our Bodies Aren't Weak — They're Tired of Lying. Despair is not:

✖ low vibe

✖ a failure

✖ negative energy

✖ "not spiritual enough."

Rooted Despair is:

✔ your body filing an emotional HR complaint

✔ your truth bubbling up

✔ your ancestors tapping the mic like "hello...???"

✔ your nervous system waving a white flag

✔ the moment your soul says, "No más."

This level is where we finally stop pretending.

The pretending that we're okay.

The pretending that we can carry it all.

The pretending that we don't need support.

The pretending that the system didn't shape our pain.

Our bodies get tired of the performance.

And when they do — they pull us into Level 1, where the real conversation begins.

The Culture of Silence We Were Raised In

Let's be honest… many of us were raised in cultures where you didn't get to feel.

No crying.

No stopping.

No "mental health day."

Just coffee, survival, prayer, meditation, and a whole lot of ignore your feelings until further notice.

Our mothers didn't have the luxury to fall apart.

Our grandmothers swallowed oceans and called it strength.

So, of course, when despair shows up, we think something is wrong with us.

But the truth is:

Your body is finally telling the truth your mind has been trained to avoid.

Rooted Despair Is the Catalyst

Whenever my life has undergone a significant shift — leaving my aeronautics career, becoming a coach, decolonizing my entire belief system, speaking truth online even when people attacked me — it started in Level One.

With that inner whisper:

"This isn't working anymore."

"This isn't who I am."

"I cannot carry this one more day."

It's not a weakness.

It's clarity that hasn't fully formed yet.