SPEAKING AND GUEST TEACHING
Conversations that loosen the grip.
I speak in rooms where women are quietly carrying too much —
at work, at home, in their businesses, and inside their own bodies.
Often without language for it.
Often while being told it’s just age, just stress, just menopause —
or “how it is now.”
I don’t accept those one-dimensional explanations.
I talk about the invisible rules women have adapted to for decades —
and how those rules show up as pain, fatigue, anxiety, breathlessness, hesitation, and self-doubt.
I question:
Why hormonal transition and chronic stress are more intertwined than we’ve been told
Why menopause often amplifies stress patterns that were already running
Why women are taught to distrust their bodies at the moment they need more authority, not less
Why capacity is still measured using systems that were never built for women
Why over-functioning is praised — until it breaks you
What changes when authority is returned to the person living in the body
This isn’t about denying biology.
Hormonal change does not happen in isolation from nervous system load.
It’s about challenging reductionist explanations — and profitable fear.
What I Challenge
The Lens I Bring
My work sits at the intersection of:
Nervous system capacity
Movement and physiology
Belief, conditioning, and identity
I don’t tell people what to do with their bodies.
I help them see what they’ve been taught not to notice.
Once that shifts, behaviour follows — without force.
Where this work fits
I speak inside:
Women-in-business and leadership spaces
Retreats and gatherings where depth matters
Coaching programmes and mentorships
Organisations ready for a more honest conversation about stress and capacity
Wellness spaces that want something more intelligent than motivation
These conversations don’t hype people up.
They reorganise something.
People leave thinking differently — not just feeling inspired.
What Audiences Notice
Not transformation.
Not fixes.
They describe feeling:
Less broken
Less behind
More authoritative in their own bodies
Clearer about what actually matters
Less willing to earn rest through exhaustion
Quieter.
More grounded.
More capable.
If You’re Looking For a Speaker Who:
Asks better questions
Disrupts without theatrics
Holds physiological truth without fear-mongering
Leaves people with more agency — not more advice
You can enquire below.
Speaker Bio
Nicolette van Bree is the founder of The Curious Rebel.
Her work explores how pain, fatigue, anxiety, and loss of confidence often emerge not from broken bodies, but from systems built on overload, performance, and quiet compliance.
She works at the level of nervous system capacity — examining how women adapt to responsibility, optimisation culture, and the pressure to remain “fine.”
Rather than prescribing fixes or offering hormone advice, Nicolette helps people understand what’s happening beneath symptoms — and how authority has been gradually handed away in the name of discipline, expertise, and control.
Her lens integrates nervous system function, movement, belief, and identity — revealing how chronic bracing shapes behaviour, energy, and decision-making over time.
She speaks in leadership, women-in-business, retreat, and wellness spaces where depth matters more than hype — and is known for leaving rooms quieter, clearer, and structurally changed long after the conversation ends.