Life & Work with Nazanin (Nazy) Sayar

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nazanin (Nazy) Sayar.

Hi Nazanin (Nazy), it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
From a very young age, dance and fitness have always been part of my life! It has always helped me connect with people and has always been my safe space for self-expression.

Dance was a big part of my life growing up. I took Latin Dance for many years and taught it in Sweden before moving to the United States. Once I moved to the States, I shifted gears and spent most of my free time in the gym, focusing on fitness. In 2015, I took a long break from fitness and dance, focused on raising my two children, and became a full-time stay-at-home mom. I truly enjoyed this chapter of my life, and I feel so blessed that I was able to devote so much time to raising my children and watching them grow. In 2018 I joined our neighborhood athletic club and started taking all the dance classes they had to offer, and I was forever hooked! The hardwood floors, the foggy mirrors, the sweaty smiles, and the loud music took me right back to my younger days in the dance studio! The fitness club quickly became a big part of my personal life, and I finally felt like I had a home outside of my home where I could dance again, stay active, and have a community of like-minded friends. In 2019, I received my Group Fitness and Zumba certification, hoping to start teaching classes at the gym. However, 6 months after receiving my certifications, the world shut down due to Covid.

2020 was a big year of change globally and personally for me! Gyms closed, schools shut down, and we were all quarantining at home, homeschooling our children while watching heartbreaking news worldwide. What we once considered normalcy was suddenly ripped away from our lives. We didn’t have an outlet for all the stress and anxiety building up within us. 2020 was also the year that I turned 40 and entered a midlife crisis. I wanted more for myself! As much as I loved being a mom, I wanted something more! I knew I had more inside of me, more to give!

About two weeks after the global shutdown, I casually told a good friend that I should start offering dance classes in my driveway, and immediately he said, “You absolutely should!” This will forever be a pivotal point and a moment I’ll remember for the rest of my life! So, on April 29th, 2020, three family members visited my patio. I conducted my first socially distanced dance class in 100 degrees of North Carolina heat and humidity, with no shade! It was hot and a mess, but we danced for 60 minutes! It was one of the most uplifting and liberating moments I had felt in a long time! I knew right away in my heart that this would be my purpose in life! Right then, I knew I was placed on this earth, destined to spread joy and happiness through dance! What started with three people on my patio grew to 10 people in my driveway, which evolved to 15 people in different local parks and abandoned basketball courts. Some people joined the fun, some watched from the sidewalk, and others tried to shut us down. Nevertheless, we persevered and survived the 2020 summer with multiple weekly dance sessions, in heat, in the shade, and rain showers, combined with sweat, smiles, and too many mosquito bites! It will be a summer I’ll remember for the rest of my life!

Fast forward, and today KARDIOJAM has hosted countless fun and exciting events! We have hosted driveway parties, birthday parties, tennis/dance parties, summer camp dance parties for over 50 kids, dance parties with over 40 hockey players, hosted fun poolside and parking lot parties at my local country club, partnered up with other businesses and other fitness formats and offered unique dance fitness pop-up classes for their members!

KARDIOJAM is still evolving and has a long journey to reach its fullest potential. I have a big vision in mind. I truly embrace the journey and the joy it brings our dance family and me! I always say that my participants give me so much more than I will ever give them in return. They bring energy, smiles, passion, and joy to every class. We are a welcoming tribe with an amazing vibe, and I could not ask for anything better! We are currently offering morning classes at CC&CO in North Raleigh. KARDIOJAM is growing, and we are now training and adding instructors, and we are excited to grow our platform way beyond Raleigh and North Carolina!

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has been everything but smooth! But I intentionally did not pick a paved road! I picked a dirt road on purpose! I picked this road to pave it myself and the people in my tribe! I truly believe that magic and success happen outside our comfort zone, which is true with so many parts of life, including our journey to manifest our deepest dreams! The road this far has been a mixture of rejections, blood, sweat, tears, injuries, mental exhaustion, and physical and financial strains! So often, I’ve told myself to throw in the towel, but time after time, I have realized that my passion and purpose go way beyond my challenges! I have been rejected, doors have been closed on me, people who I thought were friends have left my side, and I have felt lonely and taken advantage of, but today, I stand so strong, all thanks to the dirt road I picked back in 2020! If I were to go back in time, I would do it the same way all over again! KARDIOJAM and I are truly one! We grow together, and my KARDIOJAM journey has taught me so many life lessons, and I am forever grateful for the opportunities it has created for me!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. What can you tell our readers who might need to be more familiar with what you do?
KARDIOJAM is a space where dance and fitness merge to create a high-energy atmosphere! Here we exercise in disguise and express ourselves through movement. KARDIOJAM is for every body! We are inclusive and will meet you at your level of comfort! Our tribe is the absolute most diverse! Our community comprises ex-dancers, current dancers, non-dancers, athletes and people who claim they have no rhythm (never true), and people who hate to work out!

Often, my choreography happens in the comfort of my car when I am driving by myself. I call it CAReography! I turn on my music and “CAReograph” a song in my head, and later my tribe will bring it to life! This is how we together create PURE KARDIOJAM MAGIC! I have created a space where we celebrate the dancer in you, as I am confident that inside every single one of us, we house a dancer waiting to be unleashed! Here the emphasis is not placed on how well you can execute a dance/fitness routine! Instead, we learn to listen to our body and let our body move the way it is meant to move! During your hour with me, I will make you feel sexy, capable, free and beautiful because that is exactly who you are! Dance is about more than just how you look. It is about how you feel! So, with us, you will enter a space where we encourage and embrace individuality, celebrate each other, and learn from each other! We all come from different walks of life, but during our time together, we become one, and as one, we create magic and celebrate life together. We constantly remind each other that “Our vibe attracts our tribe,” I believe that KARDIOJAM is where amazing women and men come together to create a vibe full of love, passion, compassion, and positivity!

What sets us apart from similar formats is that the class is not just a dance or fitness class. It is the perfect blend of both, making it achievable by anyone at any fitness and dance level! I take a lot of song requests and choreograph songs that my participants can connect with, and whoever is ready can join me in leading the songs! It creates the most uplifting, inclusive, and judgment-free zone, which I take pride in! I also like mixing in genres from HipHop, R&B, Bollywood, and so much more! If the song speaks to me, I will choreograph it!

My mission is to shower my tribe with love, confidence, and the knowledge that their bodies are of the most value and that they can do so much for them if they only allow it! As I said, diversity is huge for me! When we peel back all the exterior layers of our existence and truly look inside and at our souls, we are all one no matter what we look like and where we live on planet Earth! We all need love, fulfillment, belonging, purpose, and self-expression! It is the absolute most valuable lesson in life! This is my foremost mission, and it is the ultimate goal of KARDIOJAM!

We love surprises, fun facts, and incredible stories. Can you share something that might surprise us?
I am a performing introvert! I am very introverted! You would never be able to tell that because when you see me teach a class, I am an absolute extrovert, and I empty all my energy on the dance floor!

Pricing:

• The first class is always free.
• We offer punchcards that will never expire.
• Reach out to me through email to find out our pricing.
• Our prices are very comparable to what is already in place.
• You will get your money’s worth in so many ways.

Contact Info:

• Website: kardiojam.com
• Instagram: Kardiojam
• Facebook: Kardiojam