Welcome!
Thank you for choosing to study with Polestar® Pilates in order to obtain your Pilates Instructor qualification. Polestar is recognized world-wide for the depth and quality of training that is afforded to course participants. We welcome you to this training course and to the extended Polestar community!
At this point we would like to bring to your attention a number of things which we believe will enhance the benefit that you receive from the Polestar® training programme. Much more extensive and detailed information can be found in your Polestar Pilates Student Handbook which your host has or will pass on to you.
Host Centres
Polestar Pilates Asia Inc. facilitates education over a wide geographical and cultural area by presenting the core training and workshops in “Host Centres” such as the one where this training is taking place. Your Host Centre is the one that you have registered with.
The Host Centre is responsible for organizing and facilitating all aspects of your training. Stay in close touch with your Host Centre for all administrative aspects of the course and to find out things like training times, workshop and mentorship sessions/trainings scheduled, fee payment procedures, convenient accommodation if you are from out of town, the continuing education (CEC) programme. Your host centre will do everything that can be reasonably done to make your training as trouble free and productive as possible.
You can find out more about our Host Centres here.
Polestar Pilates Asia Student Number
You will be allocated a Polestar student number which we will assign to you just after your first contact course module. Please use this number in all correspondence and contact with us as it will greatly facilitate our record keeping and communication. You may obtain your Polestar student number by contacting your host.
Educators
The Polestar educator conducts the actual training. He or she is responsible for primary instruction of the course curriculum and is often assisted in class by a translator (if required) and Qualified Polestar graduates who are themselves working and training to become Polestar mentors and educators. You might have a different educator for each course module or have the same educator instruct for two or more of your course modules.
[If becoming a Polestar mentor or educator is something that interests you, you may approach the educator and he or she will inform you of the process involved. Bear in mind that the training is long and requires considerable effort and commitment. Not everyone who applies is accepted on to the Polestar educator track].
Extra Curriculum study activities
The contact training modules that you will participate in are the core elements of the course. Around this core it is necessary for you to develop your skills and accumulate experience as a Pilates instructor in order to pass the qualification exam and most importantly, in order to become a quality Pilates instructor who will be capable of….. ”Impacting the world through intelligent movement”…!
To this end you are required to supplement the core training modules with mandatory self mastery training, observation, assisting and teaching hours. All of these are incorporated in your Host’s Mentorship Program, details of which may be obtained from your Host. Your educator will also assist you and explain how to go about this and how to record these “extra curricula” training hours in your log sheets.
Qualification Exams
In order to take the qualification exam, as mentioned above, you must have completed all Online courses, the core course training modules and the additional extra curriculum training hours. The training time required in the lead up to the exam is different for each person and also depends on how much time you have practiced, how much prior Pilates/instructing experience you have had and how “ready” you and your educator/mentor feel you are. Be guided by them. Except under very special circumstances, it is required that course participants take the exam at least 3 months (for Mat and Reformer qualification) and at least 4 months (for Studio and Rehabilitation qualification)-after completion of the final course module. Please remember also that the exam should be taken within 12 months from the date of the final contact course module.
You are encouraged after completing all core training modules to start teaching on an “Apprenticeship” basis wherever possible. The more experience that you have the better prepared you will be in attempting the exam and equally importantly, to be an effective Pilates instructor.
When you are ready to take the exam and have registered with your host centre, please remember that your examiner prior to the exam will ask you for:
- All course module attendance certificates.
- Log sheets signed off by an authorized educator or mentor.
- Confirmation of course fee payment from your host.
- Identification Document.
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If you are not successful on your first attempt at the certification exam, don’t worry.
Discuss the reasons why you were unsuccessful with the examiner and/or educator or the Polestar Asia education director, Ms. Dawnna Wayburne either at a mutually convenient meeting or by email. Usually additional effort in areas that need attention will ensure a better result at your next attempt.
Continuing Education
As you probably already know, the Pilates training that you will receive in this course, although extensive, is only the beginning, a springboard to a wealth of knowledge and experience that may be gained from a continued and extended association with Polestar. We look forward to this continued association with you even after you have obtained your Polestar certification. Your certification is valid for a period of 2 years and you are required during this period to complete 16 Continuing Education Credits (CEC’s) in order to maintain the validity of your certificate OR if you are or become PMA (Pilates Method Alliance) certified, a valid renewal of your PMA certification automatically entitles you to Polestar qualification renewal for an additional 2 years.
Stay in close touch with your host who will inform you of the continuing education workshops, seminars and mini courses that Polestar offers all over Asia on a continuous basis. These workshops are often presented by educators when they come to a host centre to present a core module and cover a wide range of interesting and useful topics such as Advanced Mat, Reformer, Cueing, Sports Specific and Rehabilitation Pilates and many others. Participation in these will earn you CEC’s and without doubt enhance your knowledge and skills as a Pilates instructor.
Also if you are not aware, Polestar Pilates Asia holds a Retreat every few years at some exciting and relaxing location in Asia when Polestar graduates and pupils from all over Asia and other countries, get together and participate in a range of workshops and sessions presented by Pilates and movement educators from all over the world. Besides enhancing your skills and knowledge as a Pilates instructor, lots of fun and abundant networking possibilities are available at our Retreats. Polestar graduates will also earn up to 16 CEC’s for full retreat attendance. Not to be missed if at all possible.
Polestar Pilates Asia will arrange Country Intensive Seminars in years that the Retreat is not offered. These Country Intensive Seminars held locally with local language facilities, are an extremely valuable education opportunity, provide Polestar CECs and are not to be missed if at all possible.
Polestar Education LLC and Polestar Asia post a lot of information about ongoing activities in Polestar Asia and other places around the world on websites: www.polestarpilatesasia.com and www.polestarpilates.com.
Your host will also post important information relevant to you on their website.
Make sure you check them out every so often.
Polestar Pilates Asia publishes a soft copy interactive e-newsletter: Polestar News Asia approximately 4 times a year. Our newsletter is full of the latest Polestar and Pilates news from around the world, upcoming events, focus topics as well as contributions from our Polestar Asia community concerning any aspect of their Polestar experience. We welcome your news and views!
Contact
We at Polestar do everything possible to make your training as beneficial and enjoyable as possible. Invariably, problems and hiccups do arise from time to time. If you do encounter a situation which you feel needs rectifying contact your host first to solve the problem. If the problem remains unsatisfactorily resolved please contact:
David Wayburne, Director-Polestar Pilates Asia Inc; david@polestarpilatesasia.com and we will do our best to find an acceptable solution.
If you change your contact details, please let your host (and us) know of your new email, tel, or address as soon as possible so that we can stay in touch with you.
I greatly look forward to meeting with you personally during the course of your training with Polestar and wish you every success in your Pilates training (and continuing education) with us and in your career as a Pilates instructor.
Warm regards,
Dawnna M. Wayburne
Education Director