Have you ever felt less confident at work since becoming a mother — even though you’re just as capable?

You’re still delivering. Still performing. Still holding everything together.

But internally?
You maybe hesitate more.
You second-guess faster.
You replay conversations you used to walk away from easily.

In this episode, I explore why ambitious mothers often experience a quiet erosion of professional confidence — and why it’s not actually a mindset problem.

It’s a self-contact problem.

You’ll learn the difference between:

• Self-connection (the nurtured and more reflective relationship you build with yourself)

• Self-contact (your ability to stay connected to yourself in real time under pressure)

• Performance confidence vs. identity confidence

• Why nervous system capacity directly impacts leadership presence

If you’ve ever thought:

• “I used to be sharper.”

• “Maybe I can’t hold both career and motherhood.”

• “Why didn’t I just say what I meant?”

This episode will help you understand what’s actually happening — and how to rebuild leadership clarity without forcing more confidence.

Because sustainable leadership for mothers doesn’t come from pushing harder.

It comes from staying in contact with yourself.

For more resources go to www.bodyfulminds.com or follow on Instagram @bodyful_minds or connect on LinkedIn.

If you’re a high-achieving mother who feels capable and responsible — but notices that there’s very little space left to think about what you want — this episode is for you.

In this episode of the Bodyful Minds Podcast, I explore why clarity and reflection can feel so hard when you’re making decisions all day long for everyone else. Not because something is wrong with you, and not because you’ve lost your ability to decide — but because your attention and decision capacity are constantly directed outward.

We talk about:

• why decision fatigue isn’t personal failure,

• how your connection to yourself can get quietly crowded out,

• why thinking harder doesn’t create clarity when capacity is already full,

• and how to bring yourself back into the decisions you’re already making — gently and practically.

This episode isn’t about doing less or fixing your life.
It’s about reconnecting with yourself so discernment, confidence, and integrity can return — without self-override.

For more resources go to www.bodyfulminds.com, follow on Instagram @bodyful_minds or LinkedIn.

In this episode of the Bodyful Minds Podcast, I explore why defensiveness shows up so often for high-achieving mothers — especially around mental load, standards, and partnership.

If conversations about who does what at home quickly turn tense, this episode offers a different lens. Instead of seeing defensiveness as a communication problem or resistance to change, we look at it as information — a sign of care, responsibility, and a nervous system that has been in constant “on-mode” for too long.

I unpack:

• why mothers are often held to higher standards than fathers

• how unequal evaluation erodes self-trust over time

• why “letting go” isn’t neutral when one person carries the social and emotional cost

• how children’s needs quietly shape mental load decisions

• and how body awareness creates space to question inherited standards and choose new ones — together

This episode is not about doing less, lowering standards, or asking for help.

It’s about reconnecting with yourself through the body, restoring self-trust, and creating shared responsibility that reflects the life you actually want to live — not just the one society expects.

If you’re an ambitious mother who wants to carry your responsibility without constant bracing, this conversation is for you.

There’s a point before things fall apart —
before burnout, before overwhelm, before something actually goes wrong —
where life simply starts to feel intense.

For many ambitious mothers, this intensity shows up quietly.
Nothing is failing. You’re coping. Life keeps moving.
And yet there’s a constant sense of “please don’t let anything tip the balance.”

In this episode of the Bodyful Minds Podcast, I explore what’s happening in that in-between space — where motherhood and career are both meaningful, demanding, and lived at the same time.

This conversation looks beyond personal shortcomings or missing tools, and instead names how modern motherhood is shaped by constant responsibility, limited margin, and an overwhelming amount of information to process — even for highly capable women.

You’ll explore:

• why life can feel intense even when you’re doing “everything right”

• how adaptation and agility are signs of capacity, not depletion

• why pressure builds before things fall apart

• how body awareness supports grounded, values-aligned decisions — not through optimization, but through self-trust and “good enough” clarity

This episode isn’t about slowing down, fixing yourself, or changing your life.

It’s about understanding the conditions you’re operating within — and reconnecting with the quiet confidence that you can move forward without perfect certainty, knowing you’ll be able to adjust as life unfolds.

A grounding, identity-affirming listen for mothers who want to grow, lead, and care — without constantly overriding themselves to make it all work.

For more resources go to www.bodyfulminds.com, connect on LinkedIn, or follow on Instagram @bodyful_minds.

In the previous episode, we explored what happens when you stop overriding your body —and why body awareness doesn’t feel like instant success.

In this follow-up episode of the Bodyful Minds Podcast, we take the next step.

Because for many ambitious mothers, the challenge isn’t understanding why they override themselves —it’s learning how to stay present when slowing down, uncertainty, or discomfort arise.

In this episode, I explore:

• why many nervous systems remain in overdrive even when nothing is “wrong”

• why slowing down can feel threatening rather than calming

• why body awareness has to be practiced in neutral, everyday moments — before you can practice during overwhelm

• how self-empathy, rather than self-correction, changes how we meet difficulty

• what begins to change when you learn to stay present instead of abandoning yourself under pressure

This episode isn’t about fixing yourself, building routines, or getting it right.

It’s about cultivating the capacity to stay present with yourself —so that when life gets hard, you don’t disappear from your own life.

A grounded, reflective listen for ambitious mothers who want to live, work, and lead with more steadiness, clarity, and self-trust — without continuing to override themselves to make it all work.

For more resources on motherhood, career, and body awareness, visit www.bodyfulminds.com, connect with me on LinkedIn, or follow along on Instagram @bodyful_minds.

Many ambitious mothers have learned to override their bodies in order to stay reliable, capable, and in control.

They push through tiredness.
They hold it together.
They keep going — at home and at work — even when something inside is asking for pause, space, or adjustment.

In this episode of the Bodyful Minds Podcast, I explore what happens when you stop overriding your body — and why doing so doesn’t make life instantly easier, but ultimately makes it steadier, clearer, and more powerful.

This conversation isn’t about slowing down, doing less, or becoming someone new.
It’s about accessing the strength, authority, and clarity that are already within you — but that often get shut down when you override yourself out of habit.

You’ll hear:

• why many high-achieving women learned early on to override their bodies

• why tuning in doesn’t feel like instant success — and why that’s not a problem

• how body awareness helps you set boundaries without overexplaining

• how it allows you to step out of conflict before it escalates — and return with clarity

• how it supports you in being a loving, present mother and a grounded, respected professional people listen to

This episode is for you if you want to lead — at home and at work — with more steadiness, presence, and trust in yourself, without constantly pushing past your limits.

For more resources on motherhood, career and body awareness go to www.bodyfulminds.com, connect with me on LinkedIn or follow on Instagram @bodyful_minds

January often brings renewed focus on exercise, discipline, and getting “back on track.”
But for many ambitious moms, movement quickly becomes another place where worth is measured by output — intensity, frequency, or consistency — rather than support.

In this episode of the Bodyful Minds Podcast, I explore why movement doesn’t automatically reconnect you with your body — and how exercise, when approached without awareness, can quietly reinforce pressure, self-optimization, and disconnection.

Drawing on body awareness, nervous system insights, and everyday lived experience, this episode invites you to rethink movement as a conversation rather than a performance.

In this episode, you’ll explore:

• Why movement is often used as proof of discipline and commitment

• How early messages about control, productivity, and “good behaviour” shape our relationship with exercise

• Why the same movement can feel supportive one day and draining the next

• How everyday, organic movement can support regulation, creativity, and emotional processing

• A simple post-movement check-in to rebuild trust with your body

This episode is for ambitious moms who want movement to support their energy, clarity, and nervous system — without turning it into another self-improvement project.

Invitation for the week:
Notice one moment where movement changes how you feel — not how you look.

January often brings renewed focus on food and exercise — but for many women and mothers, these conversations quickly turn into pressure rather than support.

In this episode of the Bodyful Minds Podcast, I offer a different perspective on nutrition and movement — one rooted in body awareness, nervous system regulation, and metabolic health, not dieting, weight loss, or discipline.

Drawing on current scientific insights and my own lived experience as a former athlete and body-awareness coach, I explore:

• Why the same food or exercise habits can either support or deplete your nervous system

• How chronic under-eating and calorie restriction signal stress and scarcity to the body

• The role of cortisol and visceral fat in women’s metabolic health

• Why skipping breakfast and fasted exercise can backfire for many women

• How blood sugar stability, protein intake, fibre, and food diversity support energy and resilience

• Why “strong and supported” is a better health goal than “slim” — especially in midlife

This episode is not about rules or prescriptions. It’s about shifting from control to support, and learning how to work with your body rather than against it — particularly if you’re an ambitious mom carrying a high mental and emotional load.

If you’re looking for a calmer, more intelligent way to think about food and movement this January, this conversation offers orientation, context, and relief — not another to-do.

⚠️ Disclaimer

The content shared in this episode is for educational and informational purposes only and reflects Katherina’s personal experience and perspective as a body-awareness coach and former athlete. It is not intended as medical or nutritional advice, and it should not replace guidance from a qualified healthcare professional.

Always consult with your physician, registered dietitian, or other qualified health provider before making changes to your diet, exercise routine, or health practices — especially if you have existing medical conditions or concerns.

• ZOE App
  I mention the ZOE app as a personal tool I use to better understand my own responses to food and support blood sugar stability, fibre intake, and overall metabolic health.
  This is not a paid partnership or sponsorship — the recommendation is shared purely based on personal experience.

• 🔗 Resources Mentioned in This Episode