Describe “the Spirit of Polestar”:
CS: Polestar is a true community that empowers people from where they are to grow and succeed. Not without challenge but by providing a safe and positive environment that makes it easy for people to move forward in new ways.
What Three Words come to mind when you think of “Polestar Pilates”?
Community
Creative
Empowering
What do you love about teaching Pilates?
CS: I love that moment when people discover something new in themselves that feels like an uncovering or unravelling of their truth, their inherent movement – like it was something that was always there they just didn’t know how to look for it or find it. My first Polestar training was at my own studio in Leeds with the amazing Alastair Greetham. We were a small group new to Polestar in the North of England and were overwhelmed by the generous and knowledgeable teaching from Alastair.
What are your current Inspirations?
CS: I recently took up mediation and I love how this restores my mind and body. I am also doing business coaching because I think it is possible and important that we strive to build our industry as a viable sustainable business. I feel a responsibility to do what I can to build a solid foundation for the future of our industry through the quality of teaching and approach to business that doesn’t sacrifice our values and ethics.
Why Pilates?
CS: I was studying dance at university and suffered knee injuries preventing me dancing for almost an entire academic year. I was blessed to have a Pilates studio on site and spent my days there on the Reformer and assisting the teacher. I wasn’t a fan at the time and then when I returned to dance and felt the results in action I knew I would love Pilates forever. I always say that Pilates isn’t here to help us get good at Pilates it is here to help us get good at life and all we want to do with it!
Why Polestar Pilates?
CS: I had trained with many other schools before discovering Polestar. I had looked at Polestar over the years and never pursued it because I was scared of the physio influence and that it would be over my head. It turned out to be exactly what I needed to answer all the questions I had. I am creative, lateral thinking, and intuitive so learning scripts, teaching rote, and not knowing the why behind what we were doing really never worked for me. Polestar allows us to be creative, to be who we are as humans, and teach from there.
What do you hope to convey in your teaching?
CS: There are no boundaries. There is always something you CAN do!!!
What is your favorite Quote?
CS: Wow this is tough! I am a real quote person and there are so many. I even wrote a series of blogs about my favourite Joseph Pilates quotes. I have some great Brene Brown and Maya Angelou ones and right now it is actually this quote that I have kept with me throughout lockdown.
“Time is like a river that carries us forward into encounters with reality that require us to make decisions. We can’t stop our movement down this river and we can’t avoid those encounters. We can only approach them in the best possible way.”
Ray Dalio
When we accept that in our lives there are going to be many things that happen that are out of our control and we know they will come, we can bring our attention and focus to how we respond and work with these situations and events. We can ride the wave rather than trying to swim against the tide. In our movement and our Pilates life we can accept that we may develop inefficiencies, imbalances, or even injuries and that it is normal. We don’t have to berate ourselves or diagnose – only accept and move from there with the support of ourselves and the method. I also love the part about carrying us forward, we are in a time that only moves forward and I don’t like to look back and use energy comparing me today with me in the past and the same in my relationships with others. We have to forgive and accept ourselves and others to stay healthy and move forward “in the best possible way.”
What is your Favorite Apparatus or favorite way to move?
CS: I come back to the Reformer because of the moment you lie down it’s like a hug and the soothing rhythm and sound of the springs as you do footwork immediately brings me into myself.
You can find Claire on social media @Clairesparrowpilates and @polestarpilatesuk
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