Embodied Leadership: What I’ve Learned from Two Decades of Movement, Breath, and Horses

After more than 20 years of teaching Pilates, training instructors, raising two boys, and running leadership retreats in rural Texas, I’ve seen one truth come through over and over again: leadership starts in the body.

The answers below come from a recent Featured.com interview, where I shared the story and principles behind Conscious Contact — a leadership approach that blends mindful movement, equine work, and nervous system intelligence.

For more, visit my work at The Good Space Pilates Studio (www.thegoodspacepilates.com) and Elmwood Place Pilates Retreats (www.elmwoodplacetx.com).

To explore private coaching and immersive programs, visit the coaching page here: www.elmwoodplacetx.com/coaching.

As the creator of Conscious Contact, can you tell us about your background and what led you to develop this unique body-based approach to leadership?

As the creator of Conscious Contact, my journey began long before I had a name for it. I’ve been teaching classical Pilates — on both the mat and the reformer — for over two decades. During that time, I watched how consistent movement didn’t just strengthen muscles; it reshaped the body, recalibrated the nervous system, and transformed the way people carried themselves in the world. I noticed that when someone aligned their spine, deepened their breath, and truly connected to their core, they didn’t just move better — they led better. It was leadership development happening through the body.

Alongside my work in the studio, I spent time observing and learning from horses — specifically how they communicate without words. Horses respond to energy, intention, and consistency. They mirror your internal state with striking honesty. That mirrored beautifully what I was teaching in Pilates: that leadership is not what you say, but how you show up — in your body, in your breath, and in your presence.

Conscious Contact emerged as a natural blend of those two worlds: somatic intelligence and relational trust. It’s a body-based leadership approach that teaches people how to lead themselves first — through nervous system regulation, aligned posture, and non-verbal communication.

You've spent two decades training movement instructors and facilitating leadership retreats. How has your perspective on effective leadership evolved over this time?

Over the past 20 years, my view of leadership has shifted from being skill-based to being state-based. In the beginning, I focused on helping people become better teachers — clearer cuing, stronger presence, more knowledge. But what I’ve come to understand is that the most effective leaders aren’t the ones with the most information — they’re the ones with the most regulation.

Leadership isn’t just about what you say or how much you know. It’s about how you manage your own energy. When a person is grounded in their body, breathing fully, and present in the moment, they lead from a place of calm authority. That’s what people trust — not perfection, but presence.

Can you share a specific example of how you've seen a leader's physical presence dramatically impact their ability to build trust and influence others?

Yes — I’ve seen it again and again, both in my students and in myself. When someone begins to realign their posture, deepen their breath, and reconnect to their core, there’s a visible shift not just in how they move, but in how they carry themselves — and how others respond to them.

I’ve watched students walk into a room unsure of themselves, physically collapsed inward, and over time — through Pilates, breathwork, and nervous system education — transform into grounded, confident leaders. Their voice steadies. Their decisions become clearer. They stop seeking permission and start standing in self-authority. It’s not about ego — it’s about embodied security.

Your approach emphasizes that 'leadership is physical.' Could you walk us through a simple exercise that leaders can use to quickly ground themselves before an important meeting or presentation?

Yes — one of the simplest and most effective grounding exercises I teach is what I call the “Posture + Breath Reset.” It takes less than a minute, but it shifts your nervous system fast — especially before a high-stakes meeting or presentation.

Here’s how to do it:
1. Stand or sit tall with your feet flat and rooted. Soften your knees.
2. Realign your spine by reaching up through the crown of your head and down through your tailbone.
3. Take 3 deep breaths: inhale for five counts, exhale for five, using your abdominals to wring the air out like a wet rag. Focus on the exhale.
4. Optional: Place one hand on your chest and one on your belly to keep your breath low and steady.

This practice helps you lead with presence — not pretense.

You mention using horse-assisted exercises in your training. Can you describe a particularly memorable moment where you saw a participant have a breakthrough in understanding non-verbal trust through this method?

Yes — there’s one moment that stands out every time, and I’ve witnessed it in participants, my own children, and even in myself. It happens in the round pen when we ask the horse to move away — not with force, but with energy, intention, and clarity. The human sets a boundary. The horse responds. But then something remarkable happens: the horse chooses to come back.

When the horse lowers its head, softens its eyes, and begins to follow the human — a 1,200-pound animal tracking like a dog on a leash — you can feel the shift. The person is no longer seeking control. They’re embodying leadership. That moment is unforgettable. It’s the birth of a new kind of authority — one rooted in safety, clarity, and calm.

Conscious Contact integrates the idea that 'prevention is smarter than recovery.' How do you guide leaders to recognize early signs of burnout in themselves and their teams, and what's your go-to intervention?

Burnout whispers before it screams. I teach leaders to recognize signs like shallow breathing, irritability, shoulder tension, or disconnection from purpose. In teams, I train them to notice energy shifts or withdrawal.

My go-to intervention is what I call a Reset Ritual:
- Stop and breathe deeply (inhale 5, exhale 5, wringing out the lungs with the abdominals).
- Roll on the spine — Rolling Like a Ball or the abdominal series. This stimulates the spinous processes and vagus nerve, like flipping the breaker box in your house. It resets the electricity in your nervous system.
- Realign your posture: crown up, tailbone down — let gravity support you.
- Recheck your internal state.

It’s fast, effective, and powerful.

You've introduced the concept of 'architectural alignment' in posture. How does this differ from traditional 'power poses,' and what impact have you observed when leaders adopt this practice?

Traditional power poses are about performance. Architectural alignment is about integrity. In Pilates, we make gravity a friend — not a foe. We use it to stand tall.

Leaders learn to use the two forces of gravity — reaching up through the crown and down through the tailbone — to activate their true structure. This calms the nervous system, deepens the breath, and creates a presence people trust. They don’t have to force confidence — they become it. I’ve watched leaders reclaim the room simply by realigning their body.

In your experience, how has incorporating mindful movement and breathwork into leadership training affected the emotional intelligence and decision-making capabilities of the leaders you work with?

It’s transformative. Movement and breath bring leaders out of reactivity and back into choice. Shallow breathing and poor posture lead to reactive, emotionally charged decisions. Breath and alignment allow for clarity, empathy, and presence.

Once leaders learn to regulate their own nervous system, their emotional intelligence increases. They listen more. They respond instead of react. And their decision-making becomes rooted in awareness — not urgency.

Looking ahead, how do you envision Conscious Contact evolving to meet the changing needs of leaders in an increasingly digital and remote work environment?

As work becomes more digital and remote, embodiment becomes even more essential. You can’t lead effectively when you’re disconnected from your body.

There’s nothing like syncing your breath with a 1,200-pound animal to remind you of presence. In the digital world, leaders will need more practices that bring them back into the body. Conscious Contact will offer more retreats for full reset, paired with short digital tools — posture cues, breath resets, nervous system check-ins — to keep leaders grounded no matter where they are.

You have to unplug, sink your heels into the earth, and realign before you can truly connect outwardly.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Thank you — I’m grateful for the opportunity to share this work. If there’s one thing I’d want leaders to walk away with, it’s this: your body is not separate from your leadership. It is your leadership.

How you breathe, how you stand, how you respond under pressure — that’s where trust is built. In a noisy world, coming back to your breath and your body is the most radical, powerful thing you can do as a leader.