Today we’d like to introduce you to Aeree Rhee.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Aeree. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was scrolling through Instagram one day and I happened to be looking through what the people I was following was liking and a friend of mine had “liked” a photo of a blogger and this scary looking machine. I love trying new things so I googled “megaformer”, watched all the YouTube videos and read all the articles about it and found that there was a studio near me so I bought a class and off I went. I was instantly hooked, I loved it from the minute I got on the machine. After going to class regularly for about a year there was a newsletter that went out asking if anyone was interested in becoming an instructor and I went back and forth with the idea and ultimately I talked myself out it- I’m the girl that hates being the center of attention and I struggle with talking in front of large groups of people so it didn’t make sense for me to even think about being an instructor.
Fast forward another year later, I had just ended a long term relationship and engagement and needed a change in my life so I emailed the studio and asked when the next round of training was being held. I always thought these instructor had such an easy job just calling out moves and when I got into the training it was anything but easy-there was so much to think about. You had to say the exercise, what body parts are working, counting to the beat, checking form, setting them up for the next exercise. I was like what did I sign up for- but I made it to the end of training and my mock classes.
When I first got my classes I would show up to the studio an hour before teaching and read through my routine multiple times just wanting it to be perfect. Of course I would mess up my ‘rights and lefts’, I would find myself off tempo and I beat myself up after every class thinking that it was the worst class ever. After about a month into teaching I thought to myself -why am I putting so much pressure on myself, if they like me they will come back and if they don’t that’s fine I can’t make everyone happy. Once I had that mindset I was a much better instructor because I could make the classes fun and laugh if I said ‘right’ instead of ‘left’ and everything didn’t have to be perfect.
I’ve now been teaching for over 3 years and I still love my job. I love seeing women who are working on getting back into shape that feel defeated after their first class come back and keep coming back, to see them get stronger and more confident in themselves is so motivating for me to keep doing what I do and it is the most rewarding part of my job.
Has it been a smooth road?
I have to say it’s been a pretty smooth road for me so far *knock on wood* I work with a bunch of hustlers who motivate and empower each other to do better and be better.
I will say one challenge is how cruel we can be to ourselves. I find myself always comparing myself to other instructors-wishing I could look more like this person or that person, and I as good of an instructor as this person. Instead of focusing on the unique gift that I have to offer I get lost in the static of compare and despair. Things we would never say to another person comes so easily when judging our appearance. Hearing clients talk about their bodies negatively because it’s not the ideal image is always tough-instead of celebrating what is so great about our bodies and what it does for us each and everyday, we spend too much time judging ourselves.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
The best thing about Boston is that people from here are so proud of their city and it’s a city of resilience, diversity, and it’s a community and we stand by each other.
Contact Info:
- Address: 9 Virginia Dr
Milford MA 01757 - Phone: 978-602-2935
- Email: bodhi410@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arhee/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aeree.rhee
Image Credit:
Nick Cosky
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