We sat down with Brent Anderson PT, PhD, OCS, NCPT founder of Polestar Pilates, to ask him a few questions. Brent has been teaching for over 30 years and incorporates movement science, mindfulness, and human behavior in his work. A fun fact about Brent is that he is a retired extracurricular pole vaulter!
Polestar: What do you love about teaching?
BA: Being in the moment with students and observing them experience the material and giving me that look like “I get it.”
Polestar: What is your current inspiration?
BA: I love everything about movement science and spontaneous movement facilitation… the science of PLAY. I am also inspired by behavioral science: What motivates us? How does what we believe affect who we are? Lastly, I am super inspired by humanitarians, really making a difference in the world by touching one person at a time. SERVICE!
Polestar: Why Pilates?
BA: I am fascinated with the simple and yet profound philosophy of Joseph Pilates. The formula is simple and accessible to every human being. Exercise, eat well, sleep well, keep your mind clean, connect with nature, and foster a balance between work, rest and recreation.
Polestar: What do you hope to convey in your teaching?
BA: Movement and health are available for everyone. Identify the uniqueness of the individual and design a successful whole body experience for them that exceeds their expectation.
Polestar: Where would you love to vacation?
BA: Home.
Polestar: What is your favorite quote?
BA: “Love one another as I have loved you.” JC, “As much as necessary, as little as possible.” Alan Lee MD
Polestar: Describe your movement style:
BA: Sometimes I feel like a train, but I’m told that I am a nimble train with some soulful rhythms.
Polestar: What is your favorite apparatus:
BA: I love all the apparatus, just like I love all my kids. NO FAVORITES. Early in my training, I would try to conduct an entire exercise program just on one piece of equipment. You will be amazed at how creative you can be on each piece of equipment.
Polestar: What are you reading?
BA: The Book of Mormon in Italian and a new book called Sapiens.
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I had been working in technology sales for more than ten years and was getting very bored. My current position was winding down and I hadn’t started looking for anything else. At the same time, I was seeing a career psychologist to help determine what I should do next. Just the same it never dawned on me to leave the corporate world. Then, a personality profile that I had completed with the psychologist showed that I would make a good teacher. Of course, I thought. You don’t work in technology sales without being able to teach clients why the new expensive tech solution is something they need when none of their competitors are spending money on it. But, did that mean I could teach people why Pilates could help them stay strong and flexible while enhancing their ability to do just about any other activity they were interested in doing?
Weeks passed and I kept going to my two private Pilates sessions every week. My instructor brought it up again. I questioned her about why she thought I would be good. It turned out she was seeing the same things that the personality profile showed. I started to connect the dots and thought this might be something to consider. I did a little research into different teacher training programs and quickly decided that if I was going to do this I wanted to be comprehensively trained from a school that qualified for PMA certification. I wanted to make sure that I was well qualified to teach; I was going to do this right.
Even though I live in Philadelphia, a major metropolitan area, there were not many options. I had long believed in the therapeutic healing properties of Pilates. It made sense to me that a school founded by a physical therapist would take a scientific approach to Pilates. My logical mind liked that. This led me to Polestar. It was also the school that my teacher had been trained by. I considered other schools and really wanted to find an option that would not require a hotel or long drive. In the end, I chose Polestar and took the training in Burlington, VT. It was a long drive, but it was also where my husband grew up and his parents still lived there. In the end, I did have a long drive, but I would not have a to stay in a hotel.
The training was intense. I was surprised by how much there was to learn. After all, I had been doing Pilates for 8 years. I thought for sure I knew how to do the exercises. Turns out it takes a lot more than knowing the exercises to be a Pilates Instructor. In addition to learning how to cue and formulate a workout, Polestar takes the time to make sure you understand why you are doing what you are doing not just how to do it. A lot of time is spent prompting the student to think through their decision-making process to ensure that when they graduate they can work with people in an effective manner that helps them reach their fitness goals.
The educators and mentors truly care about the students in a way that makes you feel like family. As I planned my Pilates career and determined that I wanted to open a studio I knew that I also wanted to work with Polestar to bring Comprehensive Teacher Training to the Philadelphia area. In the fall of 2017 it became a reality. Now I am the instructor asking my clients to consider becoming Pilates teachers.
Surprisingly I have not missed the corporate world. It used to be that every couple of years I would get bored with my job and start looking for something new or different. Now, I truly believe that I have found what I was meant to do. Several years have passed and rather than becoming bored, I have become more obsessed and engaged with Pilates and the Pilates community.
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