WomenUnbound

Holding Your Centre: How to harness your nervous system to lead with clarity, calm and courage

Overview: Why?

When we ask female leaders about their toughest moments, they tell us about the time they were talked over in a meeting and couldn’t find the words to respond, or when they felt so angry they couldn’t sleep after unfair feedback from their manager, or feeling permanently overwhelmed because they have to say yes to every demand.

All of these moments have a common thread: they demonstrate different ways that our nervous system responds to stress and threat, which research now shows are far more complex than just ‘fight or flight’.

Women’s nervous systems are uniquely affected by stress at work because we’re navigating biases, expectations and barriers that undermine our sense of worth, belonging and potential. They tell us that we need to be more, do more and constantly say yes to others rather than tend to our own needs, to prove ourselves.

Over time, this high stress state can start to feel like our normal baseline –we end up in  ‘survival mode’ most of the time. Tuning into our nervous system responses and learning to regulate them is the crucial first step of reclaiming our sense of agency, clarity and choice as leaders.  It’s the key to better decision-making, greater creativity and high-trust healthier relationships. Without shifting our baseline, we can’t make real, lasting change.

Cultivating ‘embodied presence’ – our ability to sense, interpret and respond to the signals our body sends us –  is the foundation stone for better nervous system regulation. It's the first pillar of what we call ‘feminine-centred leadership’, a new model designed with women’s needs and experience at its heart.

We’ll explore practices and tools designed to cultivate embodied presence and build the inner resources you need to respond to the challenges you face as a leader.

  • "The ‘Holding Your Centre’ workshop couldn’t have come at a better time. The group session really helped ground and centre me and I was grateful to be reminded of my power. The corporate world can grind women down and make us lose sight of who we are. This workshop was a much needed realignment. Thank you for bringing me back to myself.

  • "I think the most valuable take away for me was understanding that other women had similar experiences to me in regards to leadership and that reminding myself to take space for me is not only important, but essential for my nervous system"

  • "The workshop gave us practical insights into how our nervous system influences our overall well-being and ability to adapt. Importantly, it provided a safe environment for professionals to learn and share, offering a unique experience compared to individual sessions. "

  • "This workshop is a wonderful opportunity to connect and start exploring the topic of female leadership in a safe and creative environment."

  • "Appreciating and embracing different perspectives on emotional intelligence and coping techniques is always a gift. This experience has improved my self-awareness, meditation skills, and leadership resilience."

We will:

  • ✺

    Delve into the ways that women’s nervous systems are uniquely affected by bias and systemic barriers in the workplace and explain the impact on their leadership potential and performance

  • ✺

    Help you to make sense of your nervous system responses to stress, and how they influence your thoughts, emotions and behaviours

  • ✺

    Develop your ability to sense and interpret your body’s sensations as important signals that indicate how you’re responding to threat / stress / challenge

  • ✺

    Give you practical tools to regulate your nervous system and build your resilience

  • ✺

    Give you hands on attention and support in a small group setting (max. 16 participants)

  • ✺

    Introduce you to a supportive community of amazing women leaders

What does this mean for you as a leader?

Research shows that a better regulated nervous system means: 

  • More clarity in your decisions

  • Greater capacity for being with discomfort and being resilient in the face of uncertainty

  • More calm and courage to face difficult conversations with colleagues 

  • More energy and less likelihood of burnout 

  • Greater creativity and problem-solving

  • Higher empathy without being overburdened by emotional load

Women leaders in the public, private and NGO spheres who want to…

  • Deepen their insight and understanding of themselves

  • Address root cause of their challenges and achieve long term sustainable change

  • Achieve greater calm, clarity and take ownership of their responses 

  • Women who want to lead authentically and align with their values 

Who is it for?

Who we are

As mothers, entrepreneurs and leaders, we see the challenges and systemic barriers women face every day.

We work with incredible women who try to break these barriers in their work and personal lives but it often comes with a huge cost. We believe there’s a better way to work and lead, and it’s time for a new approach.

WomenUnbound was born from this desire - to reimagine our standards of leadership to unlock the potential of female leaders and harness the ‘feminine’ qualities we’ve neglected in our public life for too long. 


  • Co-Founder

    Odharnait is a coach, advisor and founder of Solas, a consultancy that develops leaders who want to build thriving organisations fit for the challenges of the 21st century that have a net positive impact. She brings 20 years of practice and study in mindfulness, wellbeing and yoga together with expertise in innovation, leadership and organisational development to help individuals and organisations bring about transformative change. She has worked across the non-profit, commercial and public sectors, with partners like M.I.T. and UNICEF. She was a founding member of the leadership team of Being Patient, a social enterprise transforming reporting on health issues, and T-minus, an agency specialising in leadership for environments of high growth and change.


  • Co-Founder

    Elisa is a transformational coach, IFS practitioner and group facilitator supporting senior women leaders in the non-for profit sector (like the EU, UN and international NGOs) as well as private sector to reclaim the power of their intuition and inner wisdom to lead in an aligned and connected way. She draws on her years of experience leading teams across countries like Lebanon, Syria and Iraq with multi-million dollar portfolios for Search for Common Ground; along with her own first-hand experience and training in transformational coaching models, Internal Family Systems therapy, somatic practices and facilitation to bring a holistic approach to facilitate change at the individual, group and collective level.