Where Energy Begins

Mitochondria, memory, and the places we live—inside and out.

We talk about energy like it’s something we just need more of.

More energy to think clearly. To be patient. To move. To feel better. To make it through the day.

But energy isn’t something we find. It’s something we make. Every second, every minute, in every single cell.

And at the heart of it all is something so small we rarely think about it: mitochondria.

You may have heard the line, “the powerhouse of the cell". I use it myself as it’s an easy default description. But, that’s only a fraction of the story.

Mitochondria are where food and oxygen get turned into something usable, ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) the cellular energy molecule that powers everything. From digestion to hormone synthesis to muscle repair to thought.

They are, quite literally, the reason you can get out of bed. Or not.

They’re powerhouses yes, but they’re not just little batteries. They’re not machines. They’re relational.

Mitochondria have their own DNA. They aren’t just part of you, they came before you.

A long time ago, millions of years before humans existed, mitochondria were their own organism. A free-living microbe, capable of producing energy. At some point, it merged with another cell.

Instead of being destroyed, it stayed. They joined forces. One offered protection. The other offered energy.

And from that biological pact came the foundation of complex life. You are, at the cellular level, the result of a collaboration.

And mitochondria? They still remember.

They remember your mother. Every single mitochondrion in your body carries a tiny loop of DNA that came from her. Not half from each parent, just her.

You inherited your energy making capacity, quite literally, from the maternal line. Passed from mother to child across generations. A thread of continuity, still running, still working, inside every cell of your body.

But here’s where it gets really interesting:

Your mitochondria are in conversation, with everything.

With your food. Not just the carbs and protein, but the polyphenols in herbs, the antioxidants in berries, the sulfur in cruciferous vegetables. Those bitter notes that signal healing.

With your light exposure. Whether you’ve seen daylight in the morning. Whether you’re eating too late at night. Whether your rhythms make sense.

With your movement. Not the perfect workout. Just enough oxygen and muscle use to say: “Yes, I’m alive".

With your stress. Not in theory, but in chemistry. Mitochondria are both energy producers and stress sensors.

When the body is under threat, they downregulate. They protect. They conserve. They wait.

They’re also listening to your environment.

To the air you breathe. To the water you drink. To the chemicals in your food and home. To the noise. The pace. The pressure.

And they’re responding.

Because mitochondria aren’t disconnected. They’re a living reflection of the environments we live in.

This is where energy really begins. Not with hacks. Not with hustle. With relationship.

When your mitochondria are supported, your body has what it needs to function, on the inside, without asking so loudly on the outside.

You think more clearly. You move more easily. You recover. You rest. You remember what it feels like to be capable.

But that doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens in connection. To your food. To your rhythm. To the natural world. To your own biology, which is always trying to adapt—even when you’re not listening.

This is why food matters. Not just because of nutrients. But because food carries memory. Of soil, sun, season, care. And your mitochondria remember that too.

This is why your routines matter. Not as perfection—but as context.

And this is why your inner world and your outer world are not separate. Because mitochondria don’t care if something is trending. They care if it’s sustainable. If it’s supportive. If it helps or hurts the system they’re trying to keep alive.

So when you think about your energy, don’t just ask what you need more of. Ask:

What am I connected to?

What am I responding to?

What am I making space for?

And is it helping?

Energy isn’t something we get. It’s something we build a relationship with, one that includes your food, your environment, and the life you’re trying to live inside your own skin.

Energy begins here, but that’s only part of the story.

Next week, we’ll look at what happens when energy runs too hot, and what your mitochondria need to burn without breaking.

The Fire Inside: Energy, Oxidative Stress, and How We Burn Without Breaking

Want to see where the science comes from? For the extra curious, the references are here.