Dance, Yoga, Gyrotonic, Pilates…she does it all! We interviewed Polestar graduate and practitioner Amy Foster Berntsen in Miami, FL. Her unique perspective of movement informs her teaching and lifestyle -read more to learn about Amy! Catch her on instagram @amynamastePolestar: What do you love about teaching?
AFB: Teaching for me, is a service of giving back the wonderful gifts that were given to me by my teachers. I’m passionate about my work.
Being a professional dancer in premier ballet companies around the world, I had to cultivate an awareness of how to care for my own body. Having battled many different types of injuries with the mindset “the show must go on!” I couldn’t let an injury hold me back from dancing. I first discovered Pilates and GYROTONIC® in my youth while training to become a ballet dancer. My teachers were strict and I was dedicated. I loved finding new ways to strengthen my physic and I absolutely fell in love with these two practices. With all the different modalities I’ve picked-up along the way, Pilates and GYROTONIC® methods contributed to faster recovery time when injured. Through my ballet career I developed a broader understanding of alternative movement modalities.
Being a teacher of movement has been in my wheelhouse for about 20 years now. It’s very fulfilling and I believe it’s my dharma, my life’s purpose. I also teach yoga which deepens my spiritual practice and I meditate everyday to help me relax and connect within. I meet a lot of incredible people in my field and I’ve been fortunate enough to train with some great minds en route my movement journey. I’m always grateful and love to incorporate little tidbits of my favorite teachers style into my classes. That’s what keeps me growing. We learn from each other. We are all teachers and we never stop learning. To me that’s magic!
Polestar: What are your current inspirations?
AFB: I’m inspired by my students. How they show up to class. Ready to learn and take care of their bodies. It is a pleasure to see that and feel like my teachings makes a difference in their life.
Polestar: Why Pilates?
AFB: Pilates is a vehicle for everyday movement. It creates structure in the body, resets the nervous system and reeducates the tissues. Pilates keeps the body in-check with less aches and pains. As we get older it is important to find a movement practice if we want to stay healthy and rejuvenated. This is what I find to be true in my own body. I always tell my students “consistency is key”.
Polestar: What do you hope to convey in your teaching?
AFB: Knowledge and new skills through an experience of movement. I hope people leave my class happy and feel good about themselves.
Polestar: Where would you love to Vacation to?
AFB: Hawaii is the next place I’d love to visit or Italy, but Hawaii first.
Polestar: What is your favorite Quote?
AFB: This is hard because I have so many favs but here’s a potent one that I resonate with.
“We may act sophisticated and worldly but I believe we feel safest when we go inside ourselves and find home, a place where we belong and maybe the only place we really do.” -Maya Angelou
Polestar: Describe your movement style?
AFB: Dynamic, poised, strong, challenging, flexible, mindful, graceful and chill
Polestar: What is your favorite apparatus?
AFB: Ladder Barrel. I love doing back bends on it every morning before teaching. And the reformer of coarse.
Polestar: What are you reading?
AFB: Currently listening to audio book: Mindfulness In Action by Chogyam Trungpa
Amy Foster Berntsen
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Becky Phares, PMA®-CPT is a Polestar Pilates Graduate, Practitioner and contributor to the Polestar Life Weekly Blog. With more than 10 years of teaching Becky teaches at her studio The Body Initiative Pilates Studio in Lafayette, Louisiana. Find Becky and her Studio on Facebook: The body Initiative Pilates Studio and Instagram @the_body_initiative_ .
“The Constant”
I have a new theme… “The Constant” . This term shows itself in multiple different ways throughout society. The dictionary defines it as occurring continuously over a period of time or unchanged through time and space. In math constants are parts of algebraic expressions that do not change. In science it is referred to as properties that do not change. If you were to google the word constant you may come up with: a constant burden, constant bickering or constant chatter. Constant is even a name given to babies; in 2016 it was ranked #16,656 for popularity for girls and #13,558 for boys. But what in the world does that have to do with Pilates?
Well, it shows up EVERYWHERE in our system. Let’s take a look: In the exercise the hundred, the shape of your spine and legs stay constant as your arms pump. In foot work your spine stays in a constant shape as your hips and knees flex and extend, even though it is moving with the carriage. In rolling like a ball, the whole shape of the body is constant even though the shape changes orientation.
But why is it important? I feel that this gives some of my clients feedback if I give them “the constant.” For example during long stretch the spine and pelvis stay constant. The first part of long stretch, the plank position, is fairly easy to keep the shape. However, once you stretch your body back and your arms forward, your spine and pelvis want to change. Because of where gravity is sitting, I get a lot of people who like to create a bigger, lordotic curve in this exercise. It’s understandable because the body goes in the path of least resistance. So could an instructor benefit from cueing the constant? Absolutely! It could help the client understand that the shape does not change even though the spine is in a greater challenge.
The constant may change orientation, like tendon stretch and thigh stretch. Sometimes the constant stays in the same orientation but moves along with the carriage such as in stomach massage and feet in straps. Other times the constant stays absolutely stable in space and time but progresses in difficulty because of outside forces, such as leg pull front and chest lift. **see pictures below
So is this a new theory? Absolutely not! I’m just sharing different terms that I am currently using with my clients. I like this word/concept because regular people walking through my door easily comprehend it. Other relatable terms are dissociation and stability. We all use what works for each individual client. Try this on and see if it works for you.
**The constant is shown in white**
Exercises that the constant changes orientation to gravity:
Thigh StretchTendon Stretch
Exercises that the constant stays in the same orientation to gravity but moves with the carriage:
Feet in StrapsStomach Massage
Exercises that the constant stays the same in space but grow more difficult through the series:
We sat down with Polestar graduate Vennesa Leopold to learn about her Pilates practice, teaching and what she does outside the studio!Polestar Pilates: What do you love about teaching?
VL: I have a passion and heart for people. I love getting to know them and helping them get the most out of life. I love sharing my knowledge and restoring health. Pilates and movement in general is a way for me to help guide people. I feel like teaching is way of speaking with them without necessarily using words. I love when someone has an “ah-ha” moment, like they finally connected with a certain body part that hasn’t moved in a certain way in years!
Polestar Pilates: What is your current inspiration?
VL: At the moment I am really inspired by my husband. He waterskis on a professional level and is currently training towards breaking the world record. To watch someone you love set their sights high and aim for the stars is incredibly inspiring.
Polestar Pilates: What brought you to Pilates?
VL: I took up Pilates 2 years ago during my pregnancy. I was very sick with nausea and vomiting for most of the pregnancy and every time I tried to exercise it got worse! Pilates was a way I could move without feeling sick. Also, I worked as a physiotherapist in Australia and saw the benefits of Pilates across all areas of health. Overall, I’m just so intrigued by the human body, the interaction between the anatomy, physiology and gravity… it’s just fascinating to me!
Polestar Pilates: What do you hope to convey in your teaching?
VL: For me when someone has that “ah-ha” moment and they look at you like, “Did you just see what I felt?” I get so excited. I hope to convey that movement is therapy, for the body and the mind. And that it’s never too late to start moving towards greater health.
Polestar Pilates: Where would you love to vacation to?
VL: I have always wanted to travel back to Santorini, Greece. It’s such a fun place to be- in the middle of the Mediterranean- amazing food, funny people, incredible sunsets and you can ride around on a donkey if you want.
Polestar Pilates: What is your favorite quote?
VL: I don’t really have a favorite quote as such, but I did hear something recently that really resonated with me. The pastor at our church said, “There is a reason why the rearview mirror is smaller than the front windshield. The past is small, distant and should not be your focus. The future, however, is big, vast and right out there in front of you.”
Polestar Pilates: Describe your movement style.
VL: Athletically aware. Don’t even know if that makes sense but that’s the way I would describe it! Being an athlete on a pro level in a very technical sport you have to constantly be aware of where your body is in space. Small adjustments in body position make a huge difference to performance. Pilates is the same way. I like to move in a strong, intentional and athletic way on all pieces of equipment, just as I do on my waterski.
Polestar Pilates: Do you have a favorite apparatus?
VL: I actually really love the Chair. You can get a whole body workout and wake up feeling sore the next day! You don’t need weights, just yourself. Feeling sore is rewarding to me!
Polestar Pilates: What are you reading?
VL: I like to look at books that have pictures in them, so I read a lot of children’s books to my 16 month-old daughter. You can learn a lot from Dr. Seuss!
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We love hearing from our Polestar community about their Pilates journey and training. Check out this recent testimonial from Polestar community member Gamze Gunay from Bejing!
I remember the times I was working hard until the late hours at the office. No matter if it was the night or weekend, or even a holiday, I was to finish my duties. The workload was increasing continuously and it felt like there were dozens of knives in my back. All I knew was that I needed to move; however, I couldn’t find the time for it. I was just shuttling between office and home. I was feeling totally stressed and I wasn’t supposed to reflect it to the people that I was responsible for as a human resources professional. I couldn’t even get rest when I slept.
The pain in my back was so intolerable that I finally had to see a physiotherapist, and he suggested a 10-day therapy to me. Even though we discussed that 10 days wouldn’t be enough itself and that I had to keep moving, we decided to give it a try. I had to go to therapy during my working hours. While in therapy, I understood that the more I worked, the more workload was given to me and there was no interruption during my absence. So I decided not to work out of working hours and let my manager know about it. Otherwise, I was going to fall out of love with my job to which I dedicated myself passionately. Therefore, I got the chance to start my journey of Pilates that I was so curious about. And I wasn’t wrong about the feeling that there was something for me in it. The equipment, the environment, the feeling before and after the session… they were all making me feel better day by day and I was working at the office in a healthier way.
I was practicing four to five times per week and my teacher told me,
”the happiness on your face every time you get in the studio is priceless.”
We talked about the possibility of me leaving corporate life to be a Pilates teacher. Meanwhile, there was something happening in my life; my boyfriend proposed to me while he was living in Beijing, China, and it wasn’t going to be the final destination as he would be appointed to many other countries all around the world time after time. That meant that I needed a job much more global than human resources and one that would make me happy.
So, I decided to take into consideration my conversations with my Pilates teacher and pursued a path to become a Pilates teacher. Before moving to Beijing, the first thing I did was search for the training options, which led me to the Polestar Comprehensive Training Program here.
Now I’ve completed the program and am getting ready for the certification exam. Pilates is filling the gaps of my new life; it is my best friend; it is my new job; it is my therapy. It is a way of meeting new people and helping the ones that share a similar story with me. By digging down deep into its principles and teaching techniques and gaining more family members through it, I understand that starting my journey with Polestar Pilates has been my best choice. I am proud to be a member of the Polestar Pilates family and am happier than ever!
We are creatures of comfort and spend a great deal of our focus and effort to minimize possible discomfort. For example: cushioned shoes, central air conditioning and heating, heated steering wheels, cooled car seats, grocery delivery, etc. It’s fantastic that we have these innovations and conveniences built into our lives, but does it carry over into our physical fitness and mental expectations? – Kate Strozak, NCPT
In movement training sessions, our goals are to expand our movement capabilities whether that be in power, mobility, agility, or complexity. We want to respect our bodies when we receive signals of: “that’s enough,” “that was a little too much too soon,” or “this is causing damage.” The more we move and the more body awareness we cultivate, the better we can listen to these messages while continuing to progress.
Early on, a coach or trainer can help a person to recognize these messages while challenging their capabilities. “The four stages of learning” is a model employed across many sectors including business, psychology, education, sports, and others.
This model was created by Noel Burch in 1970 and it includes:
Unconscious incompetence (we don’t know what we don’t know)
Conscious incompetence (we are aware of what we don’t know)
Conscious competence (we are aware and can do)
Unconscious competence (we do without thinking- a habit is born)
As a movement professional, do you help your clients get to the phase of unconscious competence? For many trainers, this could be an intimidating tactic because you might wonder what would happen to your business if all of your clients could do without you.
I have two suggestions:
1. Enable your clients to get to the phase of unconscious competence.
2. Help your clients embrace that their potential is limitless and that you are there as a resource.
A few simple suggestions to help your clients phase into the state of unconscious competence include fostering exploration and creativity.
Phrases might include: “what would happen if you tried…?” and “let’s explore…”
Using cuing judiciously is also helpful in empowering your clients. Do you find yourself having to repeatedly cue the same faulty movement patterns, for example, rib alignment?
If you find you are often repeating the same cues, it’s likely because the client hasn’t experienced what you are trying to convey or they don’t understand. Try changing the task or environment and see if they can execute whichever function you want them to accomplish. Embodying this principle can take time; it can decrease the pressure of feeling like you have to know everything, increase the collaborative nature of your work, and facilitate creativity from both the coach and the client.
Journeying through the limitless potential phase is a soul-satisfying experience that can result in unexpected laughs, plot twists, and spontaneous joy.
For example, the other day I was reviewing footage of a movement flow I did in a park and saw that I did one legged push ups in a complete state of ease and flow. I started laughing and almost crying!After a year of focused practice on mastering a pushup, I had never considered what my next step would be.
Who knows what will evolve next, but I know that my own expectations can only limit what I’m capable of accomplishing. Being a resource to your client to help them explore movements that might be challenging now while pushing them further along is the role of a movement coach. Be open to surprises and be willing to explore both with yourself and with your clients.
Are you looking for some ways to take yourself out of your comfort zone?
Here are a few things I incorporate in my day-to-day life:
• At the end of a shower, turn your water as cold as you can. Over time increase the duration of time you can tolerate the cold water.
• Walk on rocks of variety of shapes, sizes, and smoothness. Your body will thank you!
• Turn off the AC or heat in the car and open those windows! You might be do this for small periods of time, and please be safe if you’re living in places with extreme weather patterns.
• Practice breathing exercises with sustained pauses. Buteyko breathing and Wim Hof are great resources for this work.
Kate Strozak, NCPT is a Polestar Pilates Educator and Content Contributor
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