A Most-Listened-To 2025 Episode - If you’ve ever thought, “I don’t think I’ve ever met a relaxed woman”, this episode will show you why and how to finally feel more at ease.

To close the year, we’re re-releasing one of our most listened-to episodes of 2025, and it’s no wonder it struck such a chord.

Speaking to many of you in our community, one theme comes up again and again: women feel permanently rushed, tense and overwhelmed. Relaxation doesn’t just feel unlikely, it feels unimaginable. And most of us have no idea how to get from “constantly on edge” to “at ease in our own bodies.”

In this grounding and beautifully honest episode, therapist and author Nicola Jane Hobbs explores what it really means to become a “relaxed woman” not as a luxury, but as a way of living that’s rooted in nervous system safety, self-permission and gentleness.

Nicola shares why relaxation feels so rare, how guilt gets woven into rest, and what begins to change when you start feeling safe in your own skin. She also opens up about her first year of motherhood, the tenderness, the disorientation, the identity shift and how it transformed everything she thought she knew about rest.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

Why your nervous system resists slowing down and how to help it feel safe
How guilt became tied to rest and why guilt can be a sign you’re growing
Tiny, realistic ways to bring rest into your day without more time or childcare
Why can’t we become relaxed women alone, and how to build the support you need

Remember to subscribe to Motherkind — it helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.

If you liked this episode, listen to this next: MOMENT | Calm your nervous system in seconds with this technique

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

Follow Zoe on Instagram
Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Using customer experience as a tool to drive economic development - Interview with Mandisa Makubalo