In 1998 Helen Terry from Brentwood had returned from Texas (where she owns her business Lionheart Motivation) to present Nia at the UK Fitness Professionals Convention, and this was the first time Nia was presented in England.

Helen has now become a popular international presenter.

This year she has presented at the World Aerobic Experience, and the National Fitness Conventions in Australia and New Zealand.

Helen is now back in England, as Fitness Professionals, with Adidas, have invited her back for a five week UK tour.

She will be providing workshops on weekends of fitness professionals throughout the country.

During the week Helen is providing some special classes at the Brentwood Centre on Wednesdays at 7.30pm (open to the public at £5 per person) on September 1, 8 and 15, and at the David Lloyd Centre in Basildon this Sunday (August 28), from 12.30pm-6pm.

Helen, 34, moved to Brentwood when she was four, and attended Shenfield High School.

After leaving school, she worked in London for a Eurobond Broker, before going back to PE College in Brighton, which led her to moving to Texas in 1990, to study for her Masters degree in exercise physiology, which she gained in 1992.

Helen, who is married to Joe and has a three year old daughter, Liliana, said that her interest in martial arts began when she was at the City University of New York Hiroshama Japan, in Japan.

Helen returns to the United States in September.

Nia offers three programmes in one:

(1) Physical health: providing the basic elements of any fitness programme: strength, flexibility, balance, relaxation and endurance. Nia creatively does this without repetitive jogging.

(2) Mental health: addressing the intelligence and the imagination using left and right brain activities, visualisations, positive words and phrases.

(3) Emotional health: helping to unite the body-mind, effectively creating changes on many levels.

The end result of Nia's three programmes in one is: "Lifetime fitness and well-being."

Referring to her classes, Helen said: ''Previous experience is not necessary, in fact those with the least ability have the best time''.

For more details of the classes, or about Nia in general, Helen Terry can be contacted on 01277 229081 or by e-mail, on niafitness@hotmail.com

Helen Terry, who is on a five week tour of England, presenting Nia.

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