Our Instructors

Rachael Giraldo, BMath Zumba Instructor and Business Owner CAN FIT PRO Certified Personal Trainer CAN FIT PRO Certified Fitness Instructor I come from the colourful twin island nation of Trinidad and Tobago; known for its beautiful weather, food, culture and Carnival. My 25 years of dance experience and over 10 years of fitness instruction and personal training experience, combined with that rhythm that runs deep in my Trini veins, is sure to captivate you and have you movin' and shakin' in my classes!! When I found Zumba, it was a match made in heaven. I am in love with the energy, the happiness, the stress relief, the friendships I have made and of course the AMAZING weight loss after having 2 children. My goal is to bring this and so much more to all who come to my classes. Once you try my class, I promise you, you will be hooked. This stuff is contagious and so is my personality! :-) See you soon! Let's party!

My Success Story

Before - 158 lbs (9/10 dress size)

After - 113 lbs (3/4 dress size)

A new Mom. Wow. Very overwhelming and rewarding and lots of other things all in one, including extra "baby" weight that I just couldn't shake.

Since I moved to Canada, I had been struggling with maintaining a healthy weight as I was very home sick when I came to university and would often eat out of boredom while on campus. Physical activity?  Well that was a remote thought.

Then I found fitness. It was fabulous. I became a personal trainer and fitness instructor and found myself motivating others and feeling great about it. I met many challenges during my years as a fitness professional, and they taught me a lot about how people think about themselves and the self-esteem issues that come with being overweight and unfit.  I was employed at an all women's gym for 7 years.

Then came time to have my family. I got pregnant with my first and gained 50 lbs!  I couldn't believe it!  I was eating salads and fruit and working out like crazy but yet my body type just called for the extra weight while my baby was growing. And boy did I milk it!  I ate for 2, as they recommended, and found myself later on with a 2 year old daughter and unable to get back to my old self. Postpartum depression set in and I gave up on ever being and looking like the old me again. Besides, I thought, I have this new life to take care of now, so no time for me.

Then my son was born. And yes, I gained 50 lbs again, on top of the weight I couldn‘t shake from my first pregnancy. Gee, 50 seemed like my lucky number. Too bad I didn't play it in the lottery.

While having my children, I was actively teaching a mom and baby dance class that kept me on my feet and my business mind active. It was great. I started to lose weight very slowly but not fast enough, I guess, as I had lots of pressure from family. Suck in your stomach!  Stand up straight, your posture is horrid!  You name it, I got it. With lots of love, of course. Why won't these people back off and let me be?  Don't they know how difficult it is to balance all this new mom stuff AND try to lose weight at the same time?  I wasn't sleeping well (do you know a new mom who does?) and my eating habits were horrible as my world revolved around my children. No wonder I couldn't shake the weight.

Then a very dear friend of mine introduced me to Zumba. I took the workshop and fell in love!  I remember thinking to myself, why didn't I do this sooner?  So, I started to teach classes. Boy oh boy was that challenging. I remember the first Zumba class I ever taught. I thought I was going to die from cardiac arrest!  I could barely talk after each song and I could hear my heart in my ears... boom boom boom. I thought to myself; ME? I am motivating others and I can barely keep up with the class that I am teaching?  Craziness!  But the great thing was, I was so busy enjoying the music and the smiles in front of me that I didn't even notice when my breathlessness went away.

Then a friend I hadn't seen in years saw me recently and said - wow!  Where did the other half of you go?  I didn't even think to measure myself, even though all my clothes were literally falling off my body. I finally did and discovered that I was a dress size less than when I met my husband!  I was in complete shock!

And now?  My family?  They are constantly trying to feed me pasta!

All I know is this. I love Zumba. I love how it makes me feel and I love how it makes others feel. I don't ever plan to stop teaching, because the very thought of it makes me very sad. It is the first time as a fitness professional that I can say, without reservation, that I look forward to each and every single class I have to teach. The music really moves me and I feel like I can fly. Now that's passion.

I wish for all who attend my classes to find that inner spirit that keeps them going. I want them to fall in love (like I did) with something that motivates them. I know from experience that when you relax and just have fun and stop obsessing with the scale, the weight loss and fitness will come. Zumba did this for me and I really hope it does it for others. I know it will. In fact, I am already seeing it in my classes and now THAT keeps me going.