Before You Even Walk In the Door
There's a moment before every class that most Pilates teachers don't think much about.
You grab your water bottle, you switch your phone to Do Not Disturb, you say hi to the clients as they walk in. And then you start teaching.
But something already happened before you said a single word. Your clients picked up on your energy, because your energy has also entered the room. We've all experienced that class where everything felt hard and none or your cues seemed to land. There is a good chance the problem started before you even opened your mouth.
Presence isn't a gift. It's a choice. And it starts before you even walk through the door.
YOUR ENERGY IS CONTAGIOUS
There is real science to back up what most people innately know.
Research on emotional contagion and emotional mirroring consistently shows that the emotional state of the person leading a group directly influences the emotional state of the group itself. As the teacher, you are the emotional anchor in the room. When your energy is scattered, distracted, or depleted, your class feels it, even if no one can name exactly why.
Think about the days when you were running late, dealing with something personal, or just not quite yourself. You walk in and somehow the class feels heavier than it should. The vibe is off. You find yourself watching the clock and waiting for the class to finally end. Those days are not random. On those days, you are bringing something into the room that your clients are picking up without knowing it.
I'm not saying you should be fake or pretend you are having a great day when you're not. I'm talking about being intentional and resetting in real time. And the most powerful tool for doing that is a ritual.
WHAT MICHAEL PHELPS UNDERSTOOD
Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian in history, with 23 gold medals. Before every single race, regardless of the stakes, he followed the same precise sequence. A specific stretching routine. A 45-minute warm-up, always the same. Headphones on, listening to the same hip hop playlist. Then isolation in the ready room, alone, with his goggles on one side and his towel on the other. And through all of it, he was running what his coach Bob Bowman called "the videotape": a complete mental visualization of the perfect race, stroke by stroke, from start to finish.
Bowman designed that ritual deliberately. The goal was not superstition. The goal was to create a reliable mental trigger that told Phelps' brain: it is time to perform at our best. Every time he went through those steps, the signal was the same. By the time he stood on the blocks, his mind had already swum the race.
These same principles apply to you. Treat your classes and sessions as an event. You are a teacher who leads groups. And when you walk through that door to teach, your olympic event starts.
THE DOORWAY EFFECT
I came across something during my research on communication skills that is really cool. Have you ever had the experience of walking into a room and forgetting what you went in there for? Researchers at the University of Notre Dame discovered that walking through a doorway causes the brain to file away what it was just holding and open itself to what comes next. It is an ancient cognitive mechanism rooted in survival: when you enter a new environment, the brain clears space to assess it.
You can use that to help you prepare for every session. Each time you walk through the door of your studio, you have a built-in neurological reset waiting for you. The question is whether you use it consciously or let it happen by default.
Most teachers let it happen by default, which means whatever they were carrying on the other side of that door comes right in with them. Instead, as you walk through the door, visualize leaving your baggage at the threshold and tell yourself what you want to bring into that space. What do you want that class to be and how do you want everyone to feel at the end? The energy you bring into the room is a choice. Choose wisely.
BUILD YOUR OWN RITUAL
And what about the minute or two before you walk into the room? I have been teaching workshops and masterclasses around the world for decades now, and I have learned exactly what I need to do to show up at my absolute best. My ritual takes about five minutes, and I do it before every single session.
I start by doing a quick review of my notes. Even though I wrote them and have taught the workshop multiple times around the world, I always give them a quick glance. I don't need to, but it signals my brain to recall why I'm there and what my mission is. I believe every teacher should have teaching notes, by the way. Not to use as a script, but as a reminder of what you want to focus on, what you want your clients to experience, and what is most important in this particular session. That review helps set my intention.
Then I do a simple standing warm-up to get out of my head and into my body. Just like I learned in my Pilates training, I make sure to move my spine in all directions. I'll start with a roll down, then do a standing breaststroke, then side twist and side bend. Then I do a couple of squats. I finish with some deep breaths, shoulder rolls and pelvic tilts and finally one more deep slow breath standing with my best posture. This simple breathing focus helps tone the vagus nerve and shift me from a stress response into a more regulated state. I often splash cold water on my face or the back of my neck, which does the same thing in about five seconds.
By the time I walk into the room, I have left what was happening before and I am here, focused, and ready. I have told my brain what I want to focus on.
Your ritual does not need to look like mine. Create a ritual that works for you. Try a few things and see what makes the most sense and then, do it consistently. My ritual takes just 5 minutes, but I also have a shorter version for times when I'm feeling crunched. That way I can always do it before I start. The consistency is what turns it into a trigger. Over time, your brain learns: when I do these things, it is time to show up and bring my best.
WHAT TO LEAVE AT THE DOOR
I always tell my team the same thing: leave your baggage at the door. Bring in only what you want your class to experience from you.
That is not dismissing what is hard. Life is hard sometimes. And you can pick up those bags on your way back out the door. But your clients came to your class for a reason. They came for you! They are trusting you to be present with them. And when you use the doorway effect with intention, when you have a ritual that helps you reset, and when you remember why you teach, you give yourself the ability to make the best choice. You bring a powerful and positive energy into the room. And that's contagious.
That decision is the beginning of presence. And presence, as I have seen in 35 years of watching teachers teach, is one of the most powerful things a Pilates teacher can develop.
It changes everything. Before you even say a word.
Ready to go deeper?
Presence and Energy is one of the five pillars of The Pilates IT Factor framework. The Guide walks you through how to build it intentionally, alongside Vocal Foundations, Physical Communication, The Science, and The 5 Pilates Teacher Archetypes.