Supporting the Anxious Poler: A Guide for Instructors

If you’ve ever watched a student freeze halfway through a trick, hesitate before taking their hands off the pole, or say “I can’t” before they even try — you’ve already met anxiety in the pole studio.

Whether new to pole instructing or you’re a seasoned professional, one thing is for sure – at some point, you will definitely encounter an anxious student. There is a reasonable likelihood that you may once have been an anxious student yourself! Pole dancing is as much a mental game as it is physical. Common reasons for anxiety can include:

• Being new to pole

• Being new to the studio

• Working towards a performance or competition

• Fear of failure or embarrassment

• Perfectionism

• Self-doubt about strength, flexibility or capacity

• Injury, or fear of injury

• General anxiety transferring into pole classes

These can show up as hesitation before a new trick, gripping too tightly, freezing on the pole, avoiding certain moves, or verbal expressions of doubt or self-criticism. As an instructor, you can play a key role in assisting your students to understand performance anxiety, and learn to recognise and move through it effectively. Whilst we can’t get rid of anxiety, we can learn how to manage it better, so that we can perform despite its presence.

Whilst these tips can be particularly helpful for supporting your anxious student, many of them are also helpful for all students:

1. Normalise the anxiety with empathy – everyone experiences anxiety at some time, especially when trying something new, or levelling up. Sharing your own experiences with overcoming fear and anxiety can be helpful, if you’re comfortable to do so.

2. Foster a culture where students can embrace a learning mindset, and feel safe making mistakes. Remind students that mistakes are a normal part of learning, encourage the use of mindfulness when executing tricks, and remind them that using mats, grips, regressions, and spotting is part of smart training — not a weakness.

3. Encourage your students to engage in some relaxation or mindfulness before class, as part of their preparation. In class, encourage them to take a deep, grounding breath before executing each attempt – this helps moderate heart rate and adrenaline, releases muscle tension, and grounds them in the present moment.

4. Encourage the setting of small goals at the start of each class that are challenging but achievable – and celebrate success in any form. This can be when your students attempt a trick and lift off the floor, when they persist in their efforts and hold their shape, when they succeed in execution or simply give it a try.

5. Stay present – encourage your students to verbalise what they need to focus on before their next attempt, rather than dwelling on past mistakes or failed attempts.

6. When giving feedback, be specific and encouraging – for example, instead of saying “Good attempt,” say something like “Well done, you pushed off so strongly – next time remember to use those ab muscles to help draw your knees up to your chest."

Supporting anxious students can sometimes bring up your own nerves, self-doubt, or pressure as an instructor. You don’t have to carry that alone.

If you’d like to feel more confident supporting anxious students — or managing your own performance anxiety — working with a Pole & Aerial Performance Psychologist can give you practical tools to feel calmer, more grounded, and more effective in the studio.

Work with our Pole & Aerial Performance Psychologist to feel more confident, calm, and supported in your journey as a pole instructor.

Train safe

The Pole Physio team

xx