Social Workout

My Body

Sarina Jain on Roots, Pride, and Trust

Sarina Jain (via masaladance)

Sarina Jain is the creator of the Masala Bhangra Workout and the star of the Masala Bhangra Workout DVDs. She teaches 16-classes a week in New York City. 

Spicy food is what makes me tick. I love my culture. I also love the bullshit that comes with it. I’ve been teaching fitness for 19 years. I started very young. One of the first classes I ever taught was regular Jane Fonda aerobics, and then of course step aeorbics, which was big in the 90s. Any aerobic class is going to be even more effective when you have an instructor who’s really passionate about what they do. To see a room full of people at 6:30 in the morning ready to jump up and down and work it out with me, that’s a high for me.

Masala Bhangra is ten years old! That’s huge, huge, huge. To be able to create something that’s real and effective and easy to follow and yet challenging, that’s what fitness is all about. I take pride in being able to take a class and move 500 people. My largest event that I do is 5,000 people, everyone up doing the Masala Bhangra Workout. It’s wild. I love what I do and I love what I’ve created. All of my instructors, I train them personally. I want to give them all the Indian-ness possible so that when you go to the class and I’m not there, it’s still a great experience.

My father and I were very close. I come from a very close knit family. He died of a massive cardiac arrest at the age of 47. He was very concerned, would my sister and I be able to preserve the Indian culture? He was concerned about us losing our roots. All of those things that every parent is worried about when you migrate to another country. And now, I think a lot of people come to me for that Indian culture. I pretty much teach you what you should be doing at an Indian wedding. I have a little part of my dad in me. I’m literally thinking of him, doing this for him. I hope my dad is proud, I know he was so worried.

I just got back from shooting my 7th and 8th workout videos, in Bollywood. I made my first video in 1999. When I look back now I think, holy shit, I paid how much money to that person? You have no idea what to expect, so you just believe and trust. It was exhilarating. It still is exhilarating.

[Ed Note: Sarina’s newest workout video will be available later this winter. In the meantime, she’s teaching a brand new weekend class at Alvin Ailey Extension, Saturdays, at 10:30 A.M.]