Nishelli Perera is a spark, and someone you might picture seated in her office chair doing serious work. Until of course, you learn that is just a facet of her. What makes each day colourful and fun to her is Jazzercise, an amazing fitness-dance routine. Jazzercise was brought to Sri Lanka by Nishelli, franchise owner and CPR certified instructor.
The workout programme, which offers a mix of jazz, kickboxing, resistance training, pilates, yoga, and various cardio movements, has positively influenced thousands world-over. This lively personality earned her Masters in Economic Research and Bachelors in Economics from the University of North Texas and was the top Economics graduate in her programme. As a Research Analyst for Buxton; a customer analytics firm based out of Texas, she built statistical models for national retailers, restaurants and hospitals.
Her clients included Wal-Mart, Sprouts, GNC, Advent International, Jamba Juice and Miami Children’s Hospital. She is currently employed at a leading organization in the field of Analytics and Strategy. Her Jazzercise classes are held at the Otters Aquatic Club. Visit www.facebook.com/jazzercise.lk for more details.
Tell us about “Jazzercise”. What drew you towards it and how has the journey been since you started it?
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During my first semester in University I gained 20 pounds and was desperate to get back in shape. I tried dieting, running, swimming, roller blading, Taekwondo and a plethora of other activities. Unfortunately, I did not have the discipline to be consistent because I wasn’t having fun. I then tried Jazzercise and was hooked from the very first class. My instructor was energetic and motivating with an excellent sense of rhythm which made the class an hour of exhilarating fun. Though I started Jazzercise to lose weight, I have continued Jazzercising over the last ten years because I noticed that it increased my endurance and stamina, toned my muscles and relieved stress after a long day. Jazzercise became my “me time” where I could forget about the stress and worries of life and dance away for an hour.
After several years of taking classes, one of my instructors encouraged me to become an instructor. While the technique training and studying elements of Kinesiology was hard work, it was worth every drop of sweat to become a Certified Jazzercise instructor. Being an instructor has been an immensely gratifying experience as I have been able to help people achieve their fitness goals.
When I made the decision to move from Texas to Sri Lanka a little over two years ago, I knew I didn’t want to give up Jazzercise. I transferred my franchise to Sri Lanka to be able to share my passion with people here. It has been a fun ten years of Jazzercising and I hope to continue for four more decades.
Why do you think men and women need to work fitness into their everyday schedules? How important is this routine to be a happy, enjoyable one?
Fitness should be viewed as an integral part of adult life and should be incorporated into one’s weekly schedule. Fitness is more than just losing weight, it’s about being toned, improving cardiovascular endurance, building stamina and preventing lifestyle diseases. I don’t believe that women should work out to be skinny or men should work out to be buff. That is an extremely superficial way of looking at fitness and results in many engaging in short spurts of activity followed by lulls of inactivity. Given that exercising feels like a daunting chore at times, it is important to find something that is fun and almost addictive. If it’s not fun, it’s easy to make excuses when work and family compete for time. For me, that addictive fitness routine that I can’t live without is Jazzercise.
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Research analysis, lecturing and dance fitness - the combo sounds beyond intriguing. Tell us about your varied passions and how they compete for your time and attention?
When I was 18, I received a great piece of advice: “find what your love to do, and get someone to pay you for doing it”. Three things I love are Economics, dancing and teaching and I have attempted to make my career revolve around those three. I work in the Analytics and Strategy field which allows the nerd in me to thrive while Jazzercise allows me to dance to my heart’s content at the end of the day. I make sure to plan ahead at the beginning of each week in order to do my balancing act. I have taken a step back from lecturing Micro and Macro Economics but hope I will be able to return to it in a part-time capacity in the future.
Share with our readers what living a balanced and wholesome life is according to you?
A wholesome life to me is to take care of your spiritual, physical, mental and emotional well-being. You can’t let one component of your life suffer and expect the others to thrive. I am very much a work-in-progress when it comes to living a balanced and wholesome life but make a conscious effort to strive towards it.
Where do you hope to take Jazzercise in Sri Lanka in time to come?
Being a Jazzercise instructor has been such a rewarding experience that I hope I can pass on that opportunity to others who wish to become instructors and spread the fun across this nation. Jazzercise has 7,800 franchises across the world in 32 countries and is wildly popular even in the Asian region. I hope that the Jazzercise buzz will spread in Sri Lanka the same way it has in countries like Japan and Malaysia. Jazzercise enforces strict guidelines that ensure that customers are guaranteed the same quality of instructor wherever they go in the world. I hope that others with the same passion towards delivering a high quality fitness programme will join me in spreading Jazzercise. I hope to one day run a Jazzercise Center which will offer a wider variety of formats such as body sculpting, low impact and Jazzercise for kids.
Text by Nivedha Jeyaseelan
Pics by Kithsiri de Mel
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