Presence is not something I switch on when a coaching session begins. It’s something I intentionally cultivate long before I sit with a client.

At Vantage Proof, presence is foundational to how I coach. Not as a technique, but as a way of being. This philosophy was shaped early in my career through my yoga teacher training in 2011, where I first learned that attention, awareness, and regulation are skills that can be practiced, strengthened, and sustained.

That learning has stayed with me and continues to inform how I support myself today as a coach working with leaders navigating complexity, pressure, and change.

Midlife awareness and cognitive sustainability

With experience comes perspective, but midlife also brings a deeper awareness of how cognition, energy, and emotional states shift over time.

I’m conscious that clarity can waver when energy is depleted, that sustained focus requires more deliberate support, and that positive emotions don’t automatically sustain themselves in the way they once might have. Hormonal changes, cumulative stress, and increasing responsibility all influence how we show up, especially in work that demands deep listening and emotional attunement.

Rather than seeing this as something to push through, I see it as information. Information that invites better self leadership.

Supporting my own wellbeing is not separate from my coaching practice. It is integral to it.

Greeting the sun: how the day begins matters

One of the most enduring influences from my yoga teacher training is the practice of greeting the sun. Not just as a physical sequence, but as a symbolic act.

Greeting the sun is about orientation. It acknowledges that a new day has begun and that how we enter it matters. Rather than rushing forward, it invites intention before momentum takes over.

Before my feet touch the ground, I take a moment to arrive. A brief body scan, noticing where there is ease or tension. A few conscious breaths. Sometimes a short meditation, sometimes simply stillness. Nothing elaborate. Nothing time consuming. Just enough to signal to my nervous system that the day is beginning with awareness rather than urgency.

These small practices anchor attention in the body, where clarity and regulation begin.

Attention before stimulation

One of the most intentional choices I make in the morning is resisting the impulse to reach for my phone.

Instead, I look out the window.

This simple act creates space between waking and stimulation. It allows the mind to orient naturally rather than being immediately pulled into information, comparison, or demand. Light, weather, and movement offer a gentler transition into the day and help establish a sense of choice rather than reaction.

In my coaching work, I see how quickly people’s days become shaped by external inputs before they’ve had a chance to check in with themselves. Reclaiming even a minute of intentional attention can change the quality of thinking that follows.

Practices that support clarity, energy and mood

Many of the practices I rely on today are simple, but consistent. Their power lies in repetition and intention rather than intensity.

Starting the day with intention
A word, a quality, or a reminder of how I want to show up anchors attention before the day pulls it outward.

Movement as regulation, not performance
Movement supports nervous system balance, cognitive clarity, and emotional steadiness. It’s not about pushing harder, but about maintaining flow.

Protecting cognitive and emotional energy
I design my workdays with awareness of energy rhythms, limiting unnecessary transitions and allowing space between sessions. This supports ethical, sustainable presence.

Ending the day with gratitude
Gratitude creates a natural close. It shifts attention from what remains undone to what was meaningful, supportive, or nourishing, helping positive emotion carry into rest.

What this means for my clients

These practices are not something I impose on clients, but they shape how I hold space for them.

Because I attend to my own clarity, energy, and emotional regulation, I’m able to offer presence without urgency, depth without overwhelm, and challenge without judgment. Clients often tell me that simply being in this space helps them slow their thinking, access insight, and reconnect with what matters beneath the noise.

At Vantage Proof, coaching is not about doing more or doing better. It’s about creating the internal conditions that allow leaders to think clearly, act intentionally, and sustain themselves over time.

Presence is a practice, not a trait

Being present is not a personality trait. It’s a capacity that grows through awareness, care, and practice.

My role as a coach is not only to support others in this work, but to embody it myself. Because the quality of presence I bring directly shapes the quality of thinking my clients are able to access.

In a fast paced, cognitively demanding world, presence is not a luxury. It’s a leadership capability.

And it’s one we can practice, starting with how we begin the day.

~ Vantage Proof Consulting, Jan 2026.