This conversation with Rebecca Dollard, somatic healing practitioner, life coach, and host of The Motherhood Mentor Podcast, was originally recorded for the main Single Greatest Choice podcast feed. But once we began talking, it became clear that the conversation belonged here in The Village.

Rebecca and I go deep into nervous system safety, consent, boundaries, generational patterns, and what it means to become more dynamically alive as women. We explore how high-functioning women often learn to override their own needs and internal signals, and how somatic healing can help us build greater presence, capacity, connection, and choice without giving up our ambition.

You’ll notice that the conversation ends abruptly. I had exactly one hour to record before another call, and I became so absorbed in our discussion that I completely lost track of time. There is no tidy conclusion, and I decided to let the conversation stand as it is.

Rebecca is also our August 2026 Village workshop host. This episode offers an opportunity to get to know her and experience her approach before the workshop. Members listening later can find the workshop recording in The Village archives.

Connect with Rebecca:

Website: https://rebeccadollard.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themotherhoodmentor/

The Motherhood Mentor Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-motherhood-mentor/id1735994095

Now that you understand why nervous system safety matters, it's time to explore what it can actually look like in practice. In this lesson, we'll walk through six categories of nervous system regulation tools—including breath, touch, movement, co-regulation, sound, and sensory grounding—and discuss when each may be most helpful. Rather than looking for one perfect technique, you'll begin building a personalized toolkit that helps you create safety in ways that work for you. Over time, these practices can help you navigate stress, uncertainty, and big emotions with greater flexibility, resilience, and choice.

For movement - Katie started participating in challenges through the StepBet app in March of 2026 and it’s been a game changer for staying consistent with daily movement! This is not a sponsored ad, just something that has genuinely increased my physical movement, which in turn has had a positive impact on my nervous system. Find out more at https://www.stepbet.com/

For laughter - in the episode, Katie mentions laughter as a tool to shift our state and create safety in our bodies. Here is my current favorite Instagram account for guaranteed laughter! www.instagram.com/lyndseydotw

When we feel stuck, our instinct is often to think harder, gather more information, or come up with a better plan. But when our nervous system is in protection mode, our access to choice becomes limited. In this lesson, we'll explore why nervous system safety is the foundation of self-trust and wise decision-making.

You'll learn the difference between feeling safe and feeling calm, why so many of our behaviors are actually protective rather than problematic, and how building capacity—not eliminating difficult emotions—allows us to respond to life's uncertainty with greater flexibility and intention.

We'll also introduce the idea of creating a "state change" before trying to solve a problem, setting the stage for the practical tools you'll learn in Part Two.

In this month's Village episode, Katie explores what happens when we postpone adventure until life finally feels ready.

Reflecting on her own journey into solo motherhood, she shares how many of the experiences that expanded her life the most happened in the middle of uncertainty, not on the other side of it.

Through stories about travel, donor siblings, motherhood, and an unlikely adventure found in IKEA, Katie offers a different definition of adventure and introduces three ingredients that can help us find it in the life we're already living: novelty, connection, and curiosity.

In this month's Village episode, Katie explores what happens when we've been living in uncertainty long enough that we start putting our lives on hold — not just emotionally, but in small, quiet ways we may not even notice. Through a story about a package of uneaten childhood chocolates that became family lore, she introduces the idea of "eating the chocolate monkey" — and invites members to stop waiting for resolution before coming back to themselves. This episode picks up the body-based thread from last month and asks: what if your body already knows what it needs? You just have to be willing to ask.

In this episode, we're examining the limits of thought work and what happens when mindset tools aren't quite enough. Drawing on insights from a recent retreat, this conversation explores why feelings aren't problems to be solved — and what it actually means to let them move through you. You'll hear the difference between managing your emotional state and truly regulating your nervous system, including a helpful thermometer vs. thermostat framework for understanding the distinction. The episode also introduces three simple, research-backed somatic tools you can start using right away to support your body alongside the mindset work we've been doing together.

Regret is something so many women grapple with on the path to solo motherhood by choice.

Regret about past relationships.

Regret about timing.

Regret about not starting sooner.

Regret about whether the decisions you make now might be ones you question later.

In this episode, we explore one of my more radical beliefs: regret is actually optional.

Not because we can control every outcome, and not because life always unfolds the way we hope. But because much of what we call regret is rooted in hindsight bias — judging past versions of ourselves using information, perspective, and awareness we didn’t have at the time.

In this episode, we talk about:

1. why regret often softens into grief when we approach our past with self-compassion
2. how the cultural myth of the “right path” fuels unnecessary suffering
3. the role growth plays in changing how we see past decisions
4. how self-compassion doesn’t only move backward — it also guides the decisions we make today
5. how to think about your future self in a grounded, practical way

Regret-proofing your life isn’t about making perfect decisions.

It’s about changing the way you relate to yourself across time — past, present, and future.

Key Concepts Covered:

1. Hindsight bias and how it shapes regret
2. Why growth can make past decisions feel uncomfortable
3. The difference between regret and grief
4. Letting go of the belief that there was one “right path”
5. Self-compassion as a forward-looking practice
6. Making decisions today with your future self in mind
7. The tension between perfectionism and denial
8. Building a relationship with yourself that reduces fear of getting it wrong

Mentioned in this episode:

Byron Katie

Full Focus Wellness Planner

For women who are capable, proactive, and used to carrying a lot, surrender can feel uncomfortable — even threatening.

This episode explores the tension between taking action and letting go, offering a grounded framework for distinguishing between what is truly yours to manage, what cannot be carried no matter how hard you try, and what you could carry but choose not to in order to protect your capacity.

Rather than encouraging passivity, the conversation focuses on discernment, identity, and the cost of over-responsibility.

In this month’s Village podcast episode, Katie explores self-care through a realistic, preventative lens — one that works inside real life and across every stage of the SMBC journey. From thinking and trying, to early parenting, to long-haul solo motherhood, this conversation focuses on self-care that supports your nervous system, honors your capacity, and doesn’t require crisis, perfection, or hours of free time. You’ll hear reflections on mental, emotional, physical, and social self-care, along with simple practices and perspective shifts designed to help you care for yourself before things feel urgent.

This episode is the audio replay of our January Village workshop, Stepping Into the New Year With Intention.

Rather than focusing on goals, outcomes, or timelines, this workshop explores intention-setting as a grounded, compassionate practice, one that can hold real life, changing capacity, and the messy middle. We reflect on noticing patterns without judgment, choosing intentions that actually fit the season you’re in, and practicing how to gently return to yourself when stress, uncertainty, or overwhelm show up.

This conversation is designed to meet you wherever you are in your solo motherhood journey, whether you’re in a season of decision-making, fertility, early parenting, or navigating the ongoing rhythms of motherhood.

✨ Inside The Village:

The full video recording, slides, and guided handout that accompany this workshop are available in the January content space.