Less Noise, More Signal: Cueing Strategies that Calm and Clarify

If you’ve ever found yourself mid-class thinking, “Did I just say ‘engage your core’ for the sixth time in a row?”—you’re not alone. Cueing is one of the most nuanced and evolving skills a Pilates instructor develops. It’s not just about knowing the body or the repertoire—it’s about communicating in a way that lands with clarity, safety, and resonance. In real time. With real people.

At SOMA, we view cueing as a dynamic conversation with the nervous system. The right cue at the right time can regulate, rewire, and reconnect a client to their own inner intelligence. But that takes presence, precision, and practice.

Meet Your Students Where They Are: Simplicity First

Task-oriented cues are especially effective when students are learning something new—whether they’re beginners or experienced movers encountering an unfamiliar exercise. Before someone can refine a movement, they need to feel safe and successful doing it. That means getting them moving quickly with clear, simple language that prioritizes external focus—“Push the carriage away,” “Reach your arms to the ceiling,” “Step to the top of the mat.”

Avoid overloading early instructions with anatomy or internal mechanics. Most people don’t need you to narrate every joint angle to find a basic shape. Simplicity reduces cognitive load and calms the nervous system. Once they’re moving, then you can build in layers of detail and awareness.

Your Words Matter: Say Less, Mean More

Verbal clutter slows everything down. Phrases like “Now we’re going to…” or “Go ahead and…” create unnecessary pause points. Instead of saying, “Now we’re going to lie on our backs and grab the straps,” simply say, “Lie on your back. Grab the straps.” Clear. Respectful. Direct.

And how you say something is just as important as what you say. Your tone, pacing, facial expression, and even gestures shape how a cue is received. Speak like a guide, not a performer. Warmth and confidence go further than a perfectly rehearsed script.

Practice Out Loud: Cue Yourself, Film Yourself

It may feel awkward at first, but speaking your cues out loud while you move is one of the best tools for refinement. Record yourself. Watch it back. You’ll notice filler words, repetition, or areas where you tend to over-explain.

The goal isn’t to sound robotic—it’s to be concise without being cold, and clear without becoming bossy. The more practiced you are with your own voice, the more confidently you’ll cue in class.

Internal Focus: Taking the Experience Inward

Once external focus cues have been understood and integrated into the student’s practice, internal focus cueing can be introduced to invite students to shift their attention from the external shape of a movement to the sensation of how it unfolds from within. Instead of just telling them to “push the carriage away,” you might say:

• “Draw your sit bones together”

• “Notice the length of your spine”

• “Sense the pull of your abdominals”

• “Ground your heels into the footbar”

• “Feel the muscles in the back of your legs energize”

Then, once the internal awareness is established, return to the external cue: “Now, push the carriage away.”

This layering nurtures interoception—the body’s ability to sense itself—and builds a deeper, more embodied movement practice. It's not about getting the form perfect, but about fostering presence, nuance, and ownership from the inside out.

Layering Cues: External → Internal → Sensory

Cueing is a scaffold. Start by setting up the body. Then anchor it with contact points. Then get it moving. Once students are in the movement, you can guide their attention inward and add cues for sensation and refinement.

Think of it as a progression:

• External Focus: “Push your lower back into the mat.”

• Internal Focus: “Engage your abdominals to flex your lumbar spine.”

• Sensory Awareness: “Feel the stretch in your lower back and the soft touch of the mat.”

Each layer supports the next. Don’t rush. Let students move first—then fine-tune.

Developing Your Style: Teaching with Voice, Variety, and Authenticity

Every Pilates teacher should be able to offer both external focus and internal focus cues with a high degree of clarity and consistency. This ability is foundational—it’s what makes Contrology a reliable, reproducible method capable of delivering consistent results across bodies and experience levels. But once that foundation is in place, your unique teaching style can begin to emerge.

Your style isn’t something you force—it’s something you uncover through repetition, reflection, and your relationship with the people in the room. It shows up in your voice, your pacing, your choice of imagery, metaphor, humor, and shared experience. Don’t be afraid to let your personality come through. That’s not a distraction—it’s a point of connection. The way you understand and relate to the work may land with a student in a way that scripted, technical language never could. This is where you move from being a competent instructor to an exceptional teacher: by combining structure with presence, and clarity with your own human voice.

Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Cues: Know Your Audience

Every cue tells a story—but not every story speaks to every student. Some clients connect best with anatomical language and technical direction. Others come alive when offered metaphor, humor, or even playful sound effects. (“Can you feel your glutes say grrr on the way up?”) That’s why being fluent in multiple cueing languages—visual, auditory, and kinesthetic—is so essential.

Consider your audience. Seniors might not click with pop culture references, and younger clients may not relate to analogies rooted in the past. A quick check-in—“Does that cue make sense to you?”—can build rapport and gently shift the tone when needed. Encouraging your clients to engage with the language helps them stay present and gives them a sense of ownership over their experience.

Use demonstration strategically. You don’t need to perform every rep. Sometimes a well-time hand gesture, or asking another student to demonstrate, is more effective than doing the movement yourself. Save full demonstrations for when they’re truly necessary—and when they will serve the room better than your words alone.

Ultimately, your job as an instructor is to translate movement into meaning. Whether through a metaphor, a cue, a breath, or a smile, the more fluent you are in different styles of communication, the more impact you’ll have—and the more inclusive your teaching becomes.

Consent and Connection in Hands-On Cueing

Touch can be a powerful tool—but only when it’s offered with professionalism, confidence, and consent. Always ask permission. Let the student know where you’ll place your hands and why.

Avoid pushing or correcting with force. Instead, use your hands as guideposts. For example, if a student’s knee is too far back in a lunge, place your palm where their knee should land and say, “Bring your knee to meet my hand.” Or, if someone’s legs are high in the Hundred and you think they can handle a greater challenge, reach a hand just below their feet and invite them to lower their legs to meet your hand. Focus on inviting change through awareness—not imposing it.

Hands-on cueing principles:

• Use broad, flat contact (palms or full hand) over fingertips

• Use firm, confident placement—not fluttery or sweeping touches

• Reinforce awareness, not control

• Always pair touch with clear verbal direction

• Make eye contact whenever possible to reinforce your presence meeting theirs

Hands-on cueing should enhance your verbal and visual instruction—not replace it. Reserve it for students who are comfortable in the work and ready for deeper refinement.

Read the Room: Adapt in Real Time

Cueing isn’t about memorizing a script. It’s about noticing what’s happening in the room and responding. If someone looks confused, change your words. If one student is struggling, have them observe someone who’s got it. If no one is moving, try: “Let’s try that a different way.”

Ask questions. “How are you feeling?” “Would you like more flow or more focus today?” Give them agency. They’re here for themselves—not for your perfect delivery.

From Mechanics to Meaning: Help Students Feel the Work

Once students are safe and confident in the movement, it’s time to deepen their awareness. This is where Pilates truly comes alive. Begin to guide their attention inward with simple, reflective questions:

• Is your spine lengthening or compressing?

• Are your glutes or hip flexors initiating the movement?

• Does this feel different on your right side compared to your left?

Encourage them to notice, to reflect, to feel. This shift fosters movement literacy—an embodied understanding that extends far beyond the studio. It transforms students from passive recipients of instruction into active participants in their own experience, cultivating curiosity, clarity, and lasting connection to their bodies.

Final Thought: Let It Be Human

You don’t need to sound perfect. You just need to sound like you. Share your lived experience with the work. Teach from your own embodied understanding. Students aren’t coming to be impressed—they’re coming to feel something. To be seen. To be supported.

So when in doubt, be clear, be curious, and let your awareness be your guide. The more attuned you are to yourself, the more powerfully you’ll lead others home to themselves.