Learning the Language of Life with Nicki Lynn Sclama - Interview by Ilona Oranen
“It felt like the first time someone was speaking the truth that I had known since I was a child,” Nicki recalls. “It was like a remembering. My whole system said, ‘Yes. Yes. This is it.’”
As a somatic practitioner, Nicki supports others in coming home to their bodies. So when she met Piet’s work, she recognized something rare. “It wasn’t about methods,” she says. “It was about being.”
Rather than techniques or tools, what Piet offered was a different kind of presence—one that asked her to slow down, to notice, and to meet each moment honestly. “It’s really subtle,” she explains. “And it's so profound. The shift is so profound. And the horse gives you that feedback immediately.”
Nicki remembers one session vividly: “I was in the round pen, and Piet asked me, ‘What is true right now?’ And I realized, oh—I’m hiding something. I’m not here. I’m not actually being honest with myself.” That moment stayed with her. “It’s not about the horse doing something. It’s about what’s true in me.”
“Piet has a way of being that makes your nervous system settle,” she says. “He’s so clear. He’s so grounded. You start to feel it in your body—‘Oh, I can meet the world from this place.’”
In her own coaching practice, Nicki often finds herself returning to what she learned in the round pen. “It’s leadership,” she says. “It’s relational. It’s what it means to really meet another being, without needing to control or fix.”
At the heart of Piet’s approach, she says, is deep respect. “It’s not about dominance, and it’s not about submission,” she says. “It’s about mutuality. Choice. Connection.”
Whether you're a coach, a leader, or someone simply curious about a more embodied way of living and relating, Piet Nibbelink’s horse-led course offers a different kind of invitation. One rooted in presence, honesty, and quiet wisdom.
The horses are ready when you are. Learn more about Piet's online course and begin your journey at www.pietnibbelink.com.