My first motivation for pursuing a certification to teach indoor cycling was when I participated in the classes as a student over 20 years ago. The instructors played music that grated on my nerves. I love all kinds of music and wanted the instructors to mix it up. The music played week after week was techno from the mid 80s. It drove me crazy. I didn't want to hurt their feelings by saying it was boring to me when each instructor clearly liked techno and rave music. So, I gently suggested to them to try new things from different eras, even going as far as making CDs and presenting gifts of mixes for them to try. They never used the CDs.
So, I took the next step and signed up for teacher certification training. After an exciting weekend of learning the basics and adding in my own moves to get the best workout for myself, I made mixes on my iPod and applied to be a teacher at the gym I already was a member of. I was accepted as an instructor and from that moment on, I knew my classes would offer something totally new and motivating for the participants. I mixed jazz, world music, rap, reggae, hip hop, soul, gospel, musicals, classical, and more.
After each class, the participants would ask me to make them copies of my mixes because they wanted to use the music for their workouts and for their general pleasure outside of the cycling room. Some of the musicians they had never heard before, and I have over 100,000 CDs at home. This was the biggest compliment I could have ever received. They were motivated to come back to class to see what KJ would play next time!
Word got out and I was hired at a few more cycling clubs around San Francisco. I had a following. It felt good, but not for not for my glory, but for the end result of connection of hearts through music, the bonding ritual of group exercise, and building a tribe of like-minded individuals who supported each other in their health goals outside of the cycling studios.
What is your motivation music? What music says YES? What music has you nodding your head in a positive way, that spurs you on towards your best version of yourself? I use music every day to help me get through what I want to do, what I'm doing at the moment, my feelings, and as a backdrop for my life. I could not imagine my life without it. It is the only thing I know outside of silence that expresses the inexpressible.
Blessings,
KJ Landis
Find me at:
superiorselfwithkjlandis.com
SuperiorSelf channel on YouTube
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KJ Landis on LinkedIn
[email protected]
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