My Journey to Becoming an Instructor: How Being Forced into Change Led me to my Passion
” In every crisis there is a message. Crises are nature’s way of forcing change — breaking down old structures, shaking loose negative habits so that something new and better can take their place.” — Susan L. Taylor
Some of my most transformative moments have been situations that I stumbled upon. I have always valued stability, been resistant to change, and honestly allowed fear and self-doubt keep me from stepping outside my comfort zone. Change only occurred in my life when I was forced into it. But once I was forced into this change, I was able to see the very thing that I was holding so desperately onto was stunting my growth! Throughout the years, I have grown to learn that though change is uncomfortable, the outcome on the other side is typically always better.
Why did I want to become an instructor??
Being a pole instructor wasn’t initially on my radar! My instructor journey dates back to 2014. I had been poling for a year and was approached by my then home studio to audition to become an instructor. I respectfully declined because I didn’t think I was “good enough” yet. My plan was to win my studio’s student pole competition where the 1st place prize was a free membership for a year. I planned to use that year to continue my own training and then maybe consider instructing. Well, things didn’t go as planned because I lost the competition. This led me to change my mind about being an instructor. Hey, I was trying to eliminate this pole bill so if becoming an instructor would do that for me then why not?!
As I transitioned into this new phase in my pole journey, I grew to love being an instructor. A natural introvert, I always steered away from being in the spotlight and being the center of attention. The idea of teaching people was both intimidating and exciting at the same time. Throughout this process I enhanced my own self-confidence in my own talents and abilities. I gained the opportunity to play a vital role in women learning to tap into their sensuality, build strength both physically and mentally, and enhance their overall view of themselves. Not to mention I have built great relationships with both men and women over the love for pole dancing. Even with all these positive interactions and relationships with all my clients, something in me wanted more. I often suppressed this feeling due to fear of failure and the unknown. By 2019, I had been with my then home studio for 6 years (1 year as a student and 5 years as an instructor), and I decided I wanted to branch out and teach a class that was not offered at my studio. Even though a few other instructors were branding themselves and essentially doing this same thing, the situation didn’t pan out successfully for me. For whatever reason, I was held to different rules than my former co-workers. That studio felt it was a conflict of interest, and I was seemingly forced out of a space that I called my community. My biggest question was, “what is next?”
Why start Candi Reign Poles?
Candi Reign Poles was started because I was forced into change. Truly, this was a blessing in disguise because I felt seemingly trapped in my previous situation. I still enjoyed pole dancing, but I was missing that initial spark. Everything just felt so routine and honestly like a chore. This new chapter allowed me to reignite my passion for pole dancing! I love poling for myself, but I honestly love being an instructor, coach, motivator, etc. more. In February 2019, I set out to brand myself and start offering my own pole and sensual movement classes on my own terms. Though this change was uncomfortable, and branding & marketing are not my thing, I was slowly figuring things out. My business was finally starting to get a little momentum, and then March 2020 hit. I had just come back from the BGP Cayman Islands retreat, and I was still on a high. I felt motivated more than ever! But COVID-19 halted everything! I was forced to cancel all in person classes because of the shelter-in-place. My main question to myself was how do I restructure my business for it to continue to grow?
Great…a pandemic. What’s next?
My immediate thought was to transition teaching virtually because that seemed like the next logical step! I was a little unsure of how it would work because I’m a hands-on instructor. I feared that losing the face to
face interaction may negatively impact how some of my clients would learn. In this situation, I could not afford to overthink things. I decided to just put a class out there and see how it was received. To my surprise more of my clients had poles at home than I knew about, and overall people were receptive to my virtual offerings. During these uncertain times, I tried to look on the bright side of things. COVID-19 pushed me outside of my comfort zone and forced me to teach virtually. This opened me up to a much wider market of clientele than just Atlanta. This unforeseen situation allowed me to connect with other polers worldwide!
Of course, me pivoting my class offerings to virtual wasn’t all peaches and cream. I encountered a couple of challenges as well. Firstly, I found it difficult to keep people engaged with online classes! After a few months, a lot of people were over the whole online class wave. People missed their friends and in person interaction! I used this as an opportunity to focus more on a building community! Since shelter-in-place restrictions were slowly starting to loosen up, I decided to evaluate which virtual classes weren’t performing well and cut them. I, again, started to pivot my business and focused more on pushing in-person and virtual privates. Secondly, it was hard to keep myself motivated. There were many days where I felt lazy and had no desire to get on a pole, let alone teach. I get a big portion of my energy and motivation from my clients, and it’s difficult to feel that energy virtually. I’m trying to keep moving and use this pandemic as a time to take other instructor’s classes in hopes of motivating myself again. So far, that’s working!
The moral of the story is change isn’t bad.
If you really want to do something you aren’t going to let being forced out of a job or COVID-19 stop you! By being forced into these uncomfortable situations, you get to see what you’re really made of and find a way to make things comfortable (i.e. finding a new normal). This is where the growth happens! Overall, I may be one of few who feel this way, but COVID-19 hasn’t been bad for me! I’m still claiming a successful year! This pandemic gave me time to sit still and evaluate what is important in my life! It also, taught me that things can change instantly, and you will either adapt or be left behind. I, now see and value the importance of remaining flexible, being able to easily pivot, having different contingency plans in place, and not being afraid to try something new; even if it is (initially) outside my “comfort zone”!
Candi Reign