Pilates Teacher

Educator Highlight : Mirko Turla

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In your own words – describe “the Spirit of Polestar”

“Education in correct movement through knowledge, passion, curiosity and kindness.”


What Three Words come to mind when you think of “Polestar Pilates”

Experience, Intelligence, Cutting edge

What do you love about teaching Pilates?

I love being able to help others reduce or eliminate body pains, improve their movements and their relationship with their bodies. I truly believe that this ultimately translates into a happier life and spirit.

Where did you take your Training and who was the educator?

I took my first Polestar comprehensive in Hong Kong in 2003 with Dawnna Wayburne. I subsequently took reformer and mat course with her in 2005 and 2006. I’ve learned a great deal from Dawnna – she is truly a phenomenal teacher! Over the years, other Polestar Educators that influenced my teaching were Brent Anderson, Shelly Power, Sherri Betz, and Dav Cohen. I was also very fortunate to attend various classes and workshops with the legendary Lolita San Miguel, Mary Bowen and Deborah Lessen.

What are your current Inspirations? 

Nature, being outside in the sun, being near the sea because they’re very close to how I would describe a perfect holiday! 🙂

Why Pilates? How did you find the practice?

I gravitated towards Pilates because I was dealing with back pains years ago and I read how beneficial it was. I started with mat, then moved on to equipment and I felt its amazing benefits almost immediately!

What do you hope to convey in your teaching?

Proper body awareness, alignment and the happiness and satisfaction of being pain-free and moving better.

What is your favorite Quote? 

“Sometimes you’ve got to let everything go – purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything… whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free, your true creativity, your true self comes out” – Tina Turner.

I find this true not only with material things, but also with what we are not happy within our body (pain, limitations) and mind.

What is your Favorite Apparatus or favorite way to move?

It varies, but I’d say the Trapeze table because I love the Hanging Series!

Find Mirko at @mirkofitfoodie

Generosity & The Business of Pilates

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“What I love most about Polestar and Brent Anderson’s message is the spirit of generosity.” – Mara Sievers

I remember reading a newsletter Brent wrote a while ago encouraging us to visit other Pilates studios, even the ones that are not teaching our technique or style. We can learn from everyone. Each new piece of information, every creative variation enriches us. Every life experience for that matter.

There is no reason to be afraid of other styles, schools or teachings.

When I first opened my studio, I felt a significant amount of stress to fill my classes and make everyone love Pilates so that my studio and I would thrive. This stress took quite a toll on my mental and physical wellbeing, so I made the conscious decision to eliminate the self-imposed stress of competition. I have to admit that it was initially more of a “fake it ’til you make it” effort, but over the years, I can honestly say that I have completely dropped the fear of competition.

Last year I visited a Pilates studio and took a session with the owner. During our session a man came in the door who was curious about Pilates and wanted some information. After briefly showing the man around the studio, she let the prospect go. She told me that her schedule was booked and she doesn’t need new clients. That’s wonderful for her, but she missed an opportunity to generously share the Pilates method with someone who’s interested by referring him to another nearby studio.

In order for the Pilates method to thrive, we all need to thrive. In this example, the studio owner could have brought business to another like-minded, hard working business owner. The man who came in would have remembered that this lady was generous enough to help him get what he was looking for even though she got nothing out of it. I think it’s better for us to be inclusive than exclusive, and this type of generosity and honesty gains respect in the community.

At my studio I get the occasional request if we offer barre classes, which we don’t, but I know of a studio in my town that does, so I refer them to that studio. Although barre is a different movement style, the spirit of generosity still applies.

Recently, a classically trained instructor who had moved to the area contacted me with her interest in teaching at my studio. After her demo and some thinking, she decided not to teach at my studio and eventually opened her own about 20 minutes from me. I saw this as a fantastic opportunity for me to experience classical equipment, which was new to me. I had been terribly curious about it and wanted to experience first hand what everyone was talking about. As soon as her studio was set up and ready to go, I booked a session and learned a bunch of new things that helped my body and inspired my teaching. She is a very different teacher from me, and she will attract very different clients.

Here are some reasons why I would refer a client to another teacher or studio:

  • I’m fully booked and can’t fit the client into my or the studio’s schedule
  • One of my current clients has a different mindset and approach to Pilates: if I feel I have to convince them in every lesson that what I do has value, then it might be better to refer them out… we’ll both be happier
  • If I or my studio don’t offer the day, time or type of class that the student is looking for, it’s more important that the student gets to do their preferred movement, even if it’s somewhere else

As Pilates teachers, it’s our goal to help people have positive movement experiences and to build awareness of mind and body. Whether they reach that goal through us or our “competitors” doesn’t matter so much; what matters is that people are moving and finding happiness.

Keep a generous spirit even or especially when the stresses of our lives make us withdraw, contract, and pull back. Sharing opens your heart to others, and people will love and remember you for it.

Your turn! Share your story of Generosity & Pilates in the comments section below.

Mara Sievers NCPT, is a Polestar Graduate, Practitioner and the creator of the Pilates Encyclopedia.  “Pilates is an amazing method, and it can be hard. It requires a lot of time to master. With its many details, it can seem overwhelming at first. Even after completing a comprehensive training, there is still so much to learn.“

Teaching Self Monitoring in Pilates

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By Polestar Educator Noelle Dowma DPT, BFA, NCPT, CMTPT

October 2017 was a busy month for me…I presented in the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) conference in Houston, Texas at the beginning of the month, and again at the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) conference in Indian Wells, California at the end of the month. The IADMS presentation was called “Dance Conditioning with Pilates as the Foundation,” and it was basically a Pilates mat class with lots of other exercises that dancers need. A good portion of my participants did have Pilates experience, but I wanted to highlight the unique non-Pilates exercises I teach to help dancers get the strength and flexibility they need.

When preparing to teach for the PMA conference, I knew my audience was 100% Pilates and not many dancers. So, I taught the directly inverted Pilates mat class. I used far more traditional Pilates exercises and only interspersed a few that would specifically benefit dancers (and regular people). This act of teaching similar things in a small time frame made me realize how versatile Pilates mat and equipment work can be.

A Pilates mat class can easily be transformed from a basic class appropriate for very unconditioned people by simplifying and modifying exercises, to challenging the most elite athlete. The difference in these two classes comes down to content and difficulty, although safety and challenge must be our focus as teachers.

I worry that we, as Pilates teachers, over challenge people, which can result in injury, the development of poor form, frustration, and misinformation.

What these teachers might be overlooking is the focus to teach the students self-monitoring so that they can make ideal choices for their body.

An example of this is to help provide our students with information about how to perform self-palpation, internal assessment (feeling what is happening), or external assessment (looking at their alignment). Our role as teachers is not to say “in-out” or to count for them, but rather to help them to know if they are doing the exercise correctly and when to modify, stop, or continue onwards.

It is always joyful for me to hear a past student tell me about trying a Pilates class elsewhere. Because of having this self-awareness, they often can assess how good the class was and are able to keep themselves safe, even if the pace and advancement of the exercise were too much. This makes sense after all, because Joseph Pilates said:

“It is the mind that shapes the body.”

If we follow his philosophy, we can help teach others to have the consciousness so that they follow Polestar’s mantra of “intelligent movement.”

Discover Noelle Dowma and Kinesphere Physical Therapy here

Polestar Faculty Highlight : Joanne Bezzina – Sydney, Australia

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In your own words – describe “the Spirit of Polestar”

JB: Using Pilates as part of the tool kit- empowering our clients to connect to themselves. Creating a space where it is safe to challenge ourselves and explore our capabilities beyond our perceived limitations.

What Three Words come to mind when you think of “Polestar Pilates”

JB:

Family

Strength

Energy

What do you love about teaching Pilates and owning a Studio?

JB: I love owning a studio that consistently has my clients commenting that they feel happy in. I love seeing people understand their own body.

Where did you take your Training and who was the educator?

JB: I studied with a great team of educators: Dav, Audrey, Kimberley and Cat here in Sydney.

What are your current Inspirations? What do You love about them?

JB: Deborah Lessen- always, her calm and measured instructions with so much wisdom. Also my clients! They teach me so much…

Why Pilates? How did you find the practice?

JB: I wanted to move in a way that was just for me after hanging up my dancing shoes. I was obsessed pretty quickly!

What do you hope to convey in your teaching?

JB: That this is part of an ongoing journey. Having a relationship with Pilates is part of a greater opportunity to connect mind, body and spirit. Also, that pain is not forever and that there is strength and ability within us all.

What is your favorite Quote? How do you live or embody this?

JB: “I accept you for who you are, as you are” – Brent Anderson.

It makes the experience of teaching a grounding one. It reminds me that we are all in this together and that we can work as a team without clients.

What is your Favorite Apparatus or favorite way to move? What do you love about it?

JB: Anything that encourages fluid spinal articulation. Kneeling cat on the wunda chair is up there along with swan on the trapeze table.

Learn more about POLESTAR Pilates Australia here

Mentor Highlight : Christophe Blanc, Hong Kong

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How did you discover Pilates? Why Pilates? 

CB: While I was studying at university in the early 2000’s, I started my career in the fitness industry teaching step and aerobics.  What I enjoy most about being a group fitness instructor is the interrelationship between music and movement, particularly in a class situation where everybody is moving in unison.  

The more I taught, the more I became passionate about the human body, particularly how to improve its potential and functionality, which led me to study personal training. 

After I relocated to Hong Kong in 2011 I was encouraged to learn and become proficient teaching a myriad of group classes from Body Pump to Grit to ViPR to cycling to TRX.  It was under this environment of constant learning and development that my group fitness director, Meech Aspden (who is also a Polestar mentor), strongly encouraged me to take a Polestar Pilates mat course.  

Meech has been a keen advocate of all things relating to Pilates, but particularly Polestar Pilates, and her words have always resonated with me, “Pilates will make you a better instructor.” Taking the Polestar Pilates mat course was a revelation as it showed me the link between understanding anatomy and the practical application of how and why we should move.  From a personal perspective, I could feel the benefits that Pilates has had on my own body, session after session, as it reduced my back pain and muscle tightness.  

Pilates self-mastery has allowed me to move with more fluidity, improved my sense of balance, and helped me recover more quickly from other training modalities.  

After mat Pilates, I then progressed onto the Polestar Reformer course, which fueled my passion for Pilates even further.  It was during this process that Meech encouraged me to become a mentor for Polestar, so that I, too, can share my passion for Pilates. 

What do you love about teaching Pilates and what do you convey in your teaching? 

CB: As a Pilates Instructor I love mat Pilates, because it was my first foray into the Pilates world.  Pilates is for me a combination of lengthening and strengthening, mobility and gracefulness that reminds me of dance.  I love teaching the sequence of movement as a flow because it reminds me of life: a constant flow of events happening one after another.  I want to teach my participants to take a journey with me moving consciously and with purpose from one exercise to another so that it mirrors their real lives: being able to move with grace to the ebbs and flows that they face on a daily basis.  

Our mantra should be to live a life that is pain free so we can enjoy and savor every moment. As a mentor, I love to teach students the theory and science behind Pilates and help them to understand why Pilates can change peoples’ lives.  The Pilates approach to movement is unique and fascinating: it requires a methodical approach, linking the mind and body.

Where did you take your training and who was the educator? 

CB: I took the course with Isofit Pilates Studio in Hong Kong.  Samantha Robinson who is a senior educator for Polestar Asia conducted the mat Pilates course.  I loved the way she delivered the course – she made it fun and enjoyable.

What is your favorite quote?  How do you embody and apply this?

CB: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” -Albert Einstein.  

For me, that means if I want to see change or exact change, I need to break out of my comfort zone and challenge myself.  Nothing is really easy, but nothing is impossible too.  That quote has helped me in the process of self-development and self-actualization. 

What is your favorite apparatus or favorite way to move? 

CB: The Reformer is one of my favorite fitness apparatuses because it was so challenging initially and revealed all of my flaws.  The more I practice on the Reformer, the more I realize that the human body is complex, yet capable of much more than we give it credit.  

I love the concept of the resistance of the springs and the way the feedback from the springs can either facilitate or challenge the movement.  

I could feel huge improvement in my spine mobility with exercises like semicircle and snake and twist.  For my students the Reformer is also my number one go-to apparatus as I see them improving in leaps and bounds particularly with their own body awareness and coordination.

What are you reading or learning about? 

CB: At the moment I am reading Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari.  I have always been interested in history and how humankind has been able to evolve so differently from other species.  It’s a New York Times Best Seller and the author takes a very interesting approach to the creation and evolution of homo sapiens.

Where would you love to vacation?

CB: Anywhere where there is nature and space.  I love nature and greenery; I am from the mountains in France and that’s what I miss the most living in the urban hustle and bustle of Hong Kong.

Discover Polestar Pilates Asia here

Graduate Highlight : Steffi Jauw from Jakarta, Indonesia

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Pilates is for EVERYBODY! I love how Polestar teaches us to adapt our cues & teaching to fit our clients’ needs. Whether our client is post-injury & in need of a little extra attention, or you have a client who is very athletic & is using Pilates to enhance their performance – Polestar Pilates provides! – Steffi Jauw

What Three Words come to mind when you think of “Polestar Pilates”

Attention

Compassion

Safety

What do you love about teaching Pilates?

SJ: I love how my clients are much more aware of their bodies now. They are able to move better, and it’s so satisfying when they come into the studio and tell me how Pilates helps them in their day to day lives, and how they can now do certain things they weren’t able to do before, or how after a few sessions a lingering pain that has been there for a long time is suddenly gone. It is always so fulfilling to see how in the beginning they weren’t able to do a certain exercise, and after a few sessions they were able to do it with confidence!

Where did you take your Training and who was the educator?

SJ: I took my training in Bandung, Indonesia. My educator was Sansan – she is such a lovely and knowledgeable teacher! I have learned and hope to continue to learn much more from her!

What are your current Inspirations? What do You love about them?

SJ: I want to be able to help as many clients as possible. I am excited to learn more about bodies and how to help them move better!

Why Pilates?  How did you find the practice?

SJ: Initially I taught group fitness for a mega gym. I used to teach up to 15 hours a week – that destroyed my body, because when I taught I had to move with the members as well. So I was doing up to 15 hours of intense cardio and weightlifting exercises a week. It was so hard for me to get up in the morning. It reached a point where one day I said to myself, I need to find a more sustainable career path… I’ve always been intrigued by Pilates, especially with Pilates equipment. They all look so intimidating yet curious.

Where I live – in Jakarta – There are many Pilates schools and some are infamous for being a extremely difficult courses. I was quite intimidated by the demand to know all the anatomy & the names of the muscles off the top of your head so I started asking around about other Pilates schools, started doing my research.

One of my best friends – who was in the process of taking her exam – introduced me to Polestar. She raved about how great it was and highly recommended it to me.

I took the Gateway Mat course – with doubt at first. But what cleared my doubts was the way Sansan made everything so easy to understand, and with her humble & approachable persona, I wasn’t afraid to ask her questions…Also, during my Gateway course, I was having a very bad case of low back pain due to overtraining. By the end of the course it had gone – amazing!

What do you hope to convey in your teaching?

SJ: I want to spread awareness to my clients. I want them to know how important proper movement is. I also want them to know Pilates is not scary – with the right tools, all movements are achievable and beneficial.

What is your favorite Quote?  How do you live, embody or apply this?

SJ: “If your spine is stiff at 30, you are old. If it is flexible at 60, you are young.”

I have friends who are in their 20s and yet move as if they are in their 80s… It pains me to see that their bodies are not making full use of their potential. I try to do as much self-practice as possible. I do a lot of clerical work, and I still teach group fitness (about 4 hours a week) – so if I don’t incorporate a little Pilates practice once in a while, my body gets stiff and at times even painful…


What is your Favorite Apparatus or favorite way to move? What do you love about it?

SJ: The Oov! I just did the Oov course and it was MIND BLOWING. I love how it can be used for both corrective exercises and to train for performance as well!

Learn more about Polestar Pilates Asia here!