Boundaries, Regulation, and Relational Leadership

For many women — especially those who are sensitive or accustomed to holding space for others — boundary struggles are rarely about willpower. They are about the nervous system.

When your system is dysregulated, you override yourself. You stretch too far. You absorb what isn’t yours. You say yes when your body says no.

Over time, that pattern becomes exhaustion.

Healthy boundaries are not built through force. They are built through regulation.

When your nervous system feels steady, your edges become clearer. You can remain open without collapsing. You can care without overextending. You can lead without abandoning yourself.

This is something I see often in my work with women and horses in Squamish Valley…