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
Stand up paddle boarding is one of the fastest growing water sports in recent years. Paddle boarding is an aquatic activity that is performed standing on a surfboard with the help of a paddle to propel you through the water. One of the earliest accounts of stand up paddling was in pre-colonial west and south African tribes, standing in long canoes with modified spear-paddles. The sport as we know it originates in Hawaii, where they use 5 meter long boards and paddles. Professional SUP started in Hawaii around 1990, when the practice began being taught in surf schools for the first time.
SUP is an ideal activity because it doesn’t require much adeptness to surfing (or even waves). Practicing Pilates while balancing on a board, on the water, is another story. Pilates on the board becomes a more dynamic balancing experience of posture and breath. When you climb on the paddle-board, the movement of the water creates an extra dimension of instability and challenge to familiar Pilates poses. SUP + Pilates does wonders for awareness, balance and focus – assuming you can stay on!
Polestar Graduate, 
I was once at a Polestar Pilates Educator meeting in which we were working hard to create content for the Internet to communicate to the world, “Why Pilates?” And “Why Polestar?” The answers I found to these questions were easy. Why Pilates? Because Pilates keeps every person doing what they want to do! Whether that is hiking mountains or pulling weeds, running marathons or playing on the floor with grandchildren.
Now Why Polestar? That’s an easy one. Polestar Pilates allows me to be creative within a system of principles. Rather than teaching me a series of exercises that become a rote script for a beginner, intermediate and advanced Pilates class, Polestar provided a structure within which I could be creative. This meant that I could use the same tools to teach an 85 year old grandfather as well as a ten year old boy. I wasn’t taught a recipe of exercises but a systematic approach and theory. The amateur chaos theory mathematician in me was stoked!
The Polestar Pilates system is based on six principles (Polestar Principles of Movement) that are designed to guide the critical thinking of a Polestar Pilates Practitioner. In this post I want to describe the first one.
The Breath Principle
Now, we don’t specifically choreograph when one should inhale and exhale. We study the anatomy and physiology of the breath and we also learn the “biokinematics” and the “arthrokinematics” of breath. All of this information within the principle allows us to decide how to best use breath as a tool for movement facilitation. When we study the breath principle we choose to ask the question how can I use the breath to create the best movement. Will an inhale help facilitate healthy movement, or is an exhale better? Or we might ask, how can I use this breath to challenge the mover in front of me to create greater integration of movement.
The Polestar Principles encourage client-centered inquisitiveness – Can our understanding of the breath shed light on any other physiological questions? How might I use breath to improve posture? Create more flexibility or space in a joint? Create axial length or facilitate thoracic mobility?
Why do I love Polestar Pilates? Because Polestar gave me a plethora of information and then said, “okay kid, take this and run with it! Have a ball, and most importantly help people move”.
Experiential:
The breath is a system and tool we can learn to control (and teach our students to control as well). Try “Box Breathing” for stress reduction, grounding and activating the parasympathetic nervous system.
• This breath practice can be done anywhere! Wherever you are, sit or stand in a way that you feel grounded (weight distributed evenly between the feet or sits bones) and lengthen the spine as if your head was being pulled up by a thread.
• “Box Breathing” consists of the same number of counts during your inhale as your exhale with an added pause at the peak of the inhale and valley of the exhale.
Try It!:
A. Inhale Four Counts (1,2,3,4) – (Pause Four Counts – 1,2,3,4)
B. Exhale Four Counts (1,2,3,4)- (Pause four counts 1,2,3,4)
C. Try Repeating this Cycle 4 times.
• This rhythmic breathing practice can help activate your parasympathetic nervous system (the one that makes you feel calm). Experiment to find the number of counts that works for you – it should be easy, steady and grounding. Breathe On!
Katrina Hawley PMA-CPT, Polestar Educator and Affiliate is the owner of 