For dance fitness instructor and Ann Arbor resident Anuja Rajendra, the philosophy of BollyFit — fitness, fun and illumination — is one that could benefit people across the state.

Rajendra founded BollyFit, a program that incorporates a mental and physical exercise to make people more aware of their inner consciousness, in 2007.

Her efforts have not gone unnoticed. Rajendra has recently been appointed to Gov. Rick Snyder’s Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports. She joins a group of professionals from across the state for a two-year term.

“We often get a bad rap here in the Midwest and in Michigan in particular with the economy and health figures,” Rajendra said. “For a long time now I’ve wanted to do something to help. I feel very deeply and strongly about our state.”

The council’s purpose is to increase physical activity and to promote the health of the state’s residents.

“Mental health and physical health go hand in hand,” Rajendra said.

BollyFit is a class akin to Zumba — there’s fun Indian music and dance-based steps, but Rajendra doesn’t call it a “workout.”

“I want it to be something fun and high-energy, and then they’re sweating and sore,” she said. “There’s this thread of this mindfulness that connects people to themselves and to the people around them.”

Though Rajendra will say her business has grown “naturally” by one person at a time, her current staff levels reflect the beginnings of a movement.

“I’d rather fill in the steps brick by brick, step by step, move by move, person by person,” Rajendra said.

There are about 15 guides that lead classes across Washtenaw County and in Oxford. Classes in Traverse City will soon be starting, Rajendra said.

The movement is growing: Rajendra is preparing to train a number of guides to lead more classes, with plans to eventually expand to the U.K. in 2013 and the East Coast.

The hour-long BollyFit sessions are an “ego-free” zone, a philosophy Rajendra said would translate well to the workplace.

The BollyFit moves are a part of “conscious choreography,” Rajendra said.

“Students may not know the reason for why we’re doing the move, but in the back of my mind it was created to literally lift the spirit.”

She hopes to encourage people to look at themselves from within.

“It’s very difficult to get people up and to get active,” she said. “It’s important to create that space for them to just accept where they are at that moment without judging themselves or feeling that they’re doing it for someone else.”

By space, Rajendra means inner space: Maintaining an inner stillness in the confidence of who you are as a person with no regard to your body shape helps people forget about their inhibitions about their weight and dance freely to the BollyFit routine.

“You are not your body,” Rajendra said. “It may be physically heavy, but that doesn’t have to define the essence of who you are.”

Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.