A Ride Through Fear

I have wanted to teach in the fitness industry for atleast the last 12 years. Fitness has always been a passion of mine. It is the one place in my life that I feel confident. I start to sweat and get my heart pumping and my veins are filled with life force. Jedi style. I feel pure positive joy when I am working out and I channel my inner Beyonce.
Why have I waited so long to actually follow my passion? FEAR. (false evidence appearing real, thanks Gary Bussey)
I know the only way that I will ever see if my FEAR is real or imaginary is to just go for it. It has taken me 12 years to get the courage to do just that. I think alot of it has to do with getting comfortable with where I am in life. I have a great job in corporate America and I make a good living. My job makes me think of words like stable, safe, comfortable, somewhat boring, "okay", nice. That is all fine and dandy if it weren't for the fact that I want to live a life full of passion. I want to wake up and be absolutely stoked to go to work. I want to help people improve their lives and feel good about themselves. I want to coach and be a cheerleader for people who want that for themselves. The thought of my career surrounding fitness gives me goose bumps. It is my dream.
I am starting to realize it doesnt have to be this dream that I think about from time to time. If I fail, so be it. I think if you have a passion for something, you owe it to yourself to follow it. Of corse there will be times when I make mistakes or feel like I could have given a better class but that is how you learn and become great!
It's time for mama to go for it.
I am happily taking baby steps and started with the Schwinn Cycling Certification through Fly Fitness (www.wearesuperfly.com). I discovered Fly Fitness through a friend of mine who is now the Studio Manager. I have since taken cycling classes at Fly from the studio owner, Traci Barton. She is so warm, friendly and encouraging and the club reflects that energy. It is the type of studio that creates a family/community environment and I instantly wanted to be apart of it. Traci and her crew have found a way to make exercise so intense and also fun! It feels like finding the workout partner you always wanted. The location is amazing, located in Carillon Point-Kirkland. This means it is right near the water and has an amazing view of the mountains. I cant wait until summer when the classes get taken outdoors! I highly recomend anyone and everyone check this studio out!
I took the Cycling Certification this Saturday through Schwinn. I have to admit I was intimidated coming into this training. I looked around the room and felt myself start to go into the fearful place of doubt. My mind started to talk to me-All these other women are already instructors, they look so fit, I am sure they will get to instruct before I would, I should just give this up now..........blah blah blah. That monkey mind tried to take over! Luckily it didnt last and by the end of the day I was not only certified, but extremely excited.
Amy Dixon, (www.amydixonfitness.com) the Schwinn Instructor, was absolutely amazing. She is a gorgeous and totally in shape- red head- who has incredible energy. You could tell she is passionate about fitness, the Schwinn program and connecting with her students. We learned alot of detail about planning classes and how to match the music to RPM, etc. I was a bit overwhelmed. Until the ride. It was AWESOME! Amy became this cycling warrior-she kicked ass while kicking our ass! She matched the music with the emotion of the ride and had us do visualizations which were surprisingly powerful. You could definately feel the class excitement after we rode together. I was PUMPED! All of a sudden, I found myself more confident. I let go of my fear in that ride and embraced the excitement and my own power. I realized everyone in the class was so warm, friendly, open and fantastic. It was a welcome shift from fear to joy. All it took was doing what I love.
I dont know how ready I am to jump on the bike and teach but I do hope to find a mentor to get me to that next step. I want to offer powerful, fun, motivating, hard core classes that get people excited to find their inner Beyonce. We all have one, dont we?! I am going to continue to push past fear and move through this life, living full out. I welcome fear anytime because behind it is always something worth living for.