Cheers To 10 Years: Remembering My First Class

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2018 promoting our 1st Newcomer’s Dance Too! Project in Flemingdon Park (funded by the Toronto Arts Council)

At the 2015 Syrian Refugee Wellness Conference, hosted by Adeena, founder of the Afghan Women’s Organization

Cheers To 10 Years: Remembering My First Class

By: Sumera Garcia-Quadri

I remember running my very first Zumba Fitness program in April 2014. It was an 8-week program at the Annex with 4 participants, all of whom saw my little flyer at a local laundromat or cafe. I had a black Denon speaker, a Nokia cell phone with my playlist on it, and a pair of colorful sneakers from Payless. I was also lucky to have the support of my grandma, sister, aunt, and a few friends who would participate in my classes as a way to reassure me that what I was doing was good.

Before instructing and organizing community group fitness programs, I was at a women's circuit gym. While it was a good start, I wanted to enter an area of fitness that made sense to me. Zumba Fitness felt RIGHT, although I had never taken a Zumba Fitness class before signing up for the instructor training. I trained in Latin dances since the age of 13 (dances like Cuban Salsa, New York Mambo, Pachanga, Cha Cha, and Merengue) so finding a dance fitness system that combined Latin rhythms and movements was a dream. I was also desperate to maintain a healthy weight and active lifestyle during the daytime, which I couldn’t find in dance. Latin dance outings/socials were usually in the evenings and in a nightclub where you would usually dress up, where pretty shoes, and hope to find lots of good dance partners. Although I left Zumba Fitness in 2015, I owe a lot to its Colombian founder, Beto Perez, as it kept me and millions of others grooving, burning calories, and inspired.

Since then, I made it a habit to pilot group fitness programs that you wouldn't usually see in a gym like Pound Fit (a drum workout), Mom and Baby Latin Dance Fitness, Kid's Fitness Circuits, Kid's Yoga Safari, and eventually, women's Bollywood Fitness. I had no idea back then that Bollywood Fitness would take off the way it did and that we would be known for our seasonal Bollywood dance and fitness programs. Fast forward 10 years, I'm now running approximately 20 seasonal dance and fitness programs a year across various health centers, women's and kid’s organizations, and community spaces, as well as a free youth annual dance and safety event in 5 under-communities.

Truthfully, I experienced a lot of ups and downs due to not being a brick-and-mortar business or about the BOTTOM LINE. It’s hard to keep members happy, maintain community partnerships, and train instructors on how to run safe, effective, and fun classes. I had taken off most of 2018 to think about whether I wanted to continue in the fitness industry or not. Then there was COVID-19 which on one hand, set back Toronto Fitness for almost 2 years, but then brought us the gift of virtual classes.

I would like to thank our regular members for giving us a class to come to each season. Without them, we would have been out of business a long time ago! (P.S. I remember the names of all of our members).

I would to thank our regular instructors for keeping us moving - Alejandra, Ceejay, Pekhna, Mithila, Cheryl, and Deepak. A thank you to Aleya, a friend and fitness mentor, who has listened to my struggles at all times of the day and has referred me to the best kid Latin dance instructors. A shout out to our oldest self-defense pals Niv Goffman, Gil Katz, and Jesse Solloum from Krav Maga Maleh Canada for working alongside me since 2019 to get more youth moving and feeling safe.

Cheers to 10 years of moving and grooving,

Sumera

How Exercise Helps My Brain

I love this article by Harvard Health for the simple fact that it raises awareness of the benefits of exercise that we often don’t see, the hidden ones in the BRAIN.

I was raised by my grandparents. I noticed that as I grew older, so did they both mentally and physically…

My grandfather tried to use exercise and a plant-based diet to manage his heart failure and weight for more than 40 years. My grandmother, however, adopted a better diet, fasting, and exercise (cardio and resistance training 3 times a week) in her 70s' after having 2 strokes as a result of not managing type 2 diabetes and almost losing her foot. My father also died at age 43 and he had diabetes and kidney failure.

Considering how far my grandparents have come, I'm surprised that they never discussed how exercise positively impacted their mental or brain health.

I often exercise to release stress and hurt feelings, to feel happier, maintain a better weight (I often consume more calories than I burn), and to get the chance to bond and meet cool people to chat with after class. I also notice that when my stress is down, my memory is better!

Whatever your reasons for exercise, I truly believe that if you choose a physical activity that you enjoy and can do it 3 times a week, you'll see benefits in so many other parts of your life, not just in your APPEARANCE!

Wishing you a happy brain,

Sumera

3 Virtual Christmas Party Ideas for Kids & Families on Zoom – Low to No Cost

3 Virtual Christmas Party Ideas for Kids & Families on Zoom – Low to No Cost

By: Sumera Garcia-Quadri

Thanks to technology, families, friends, and schools and small businesses across the world have been able to connect with each other during COVID-19! Being mindful of the fact that many countries are going into lockdown for a second time this year due to the spread of the virus, I would like to share some activities that we can all do online during such a beautiful time of year.

All you need to throw a fun holiday party on Zoom is a: tablet/pc/cellphone, internet, a few willing friends and family members, and a festive outfit. A bonus of having an online party is that you don't have to worry about splurging on fancy gifts or worrying about drinking and driving!

A quick tip if you're new to Zoom. There's a meeting time limit for free users. Go on the Zoom site for their plans or see if a member in your party has a paid account and can host the event for you.

1. Christmas Choir Party on Zoom – Inspired by my best friend, Diana

Goal: To heal the soul with music, to bond with others through a positive outlet, and to invite your family and friends to join in on the fun

Cost: free / the cost of Zoom for the month

Time commitment: a month

How:

• 1. Create a choir group.

  2. Together, choose 4 songs and rehearsal times once a week for 4-weeks and the party date. Practice 1 song per week and leave one song for a sing-a-long at your party.

  3. In an email, send out the weekly Zoom link, schedule, and the chosen song lyrics and karaoke MP3s.

  4. Invite your guests to your party via email and attach the sing-a-long song lyrics.

  Tips: The host should enable audio sharing and screen sharing for the song lyrics. Participants should try to connect microphones to their devices so that they can hear each other over the music. At the party, all of those performing should have their cameras on only. During the sing-a-long portion, ask guests to unmute themselves and turn on their cameras.

2. Wreath Making Party on Zoom

Goal: to enhance creativity, hand/fine-tuning skills, and to bond with friends and family through craft making.

Supplies: a plain wreath, glue gun, clear glue sticks, scissors, twist ties or string, and any decorations to dress your wreath with (cranberries, fake flowers, feathers or pine cones, tree branches, cinnamon sticks, gift wrapping paper, wires (be creative),

For a low-cost wreath, Dollarama has some under $3. To make your own, cut 2 large circles out of thick cardboard box and glue them together.

Cost: $10 & up

Time commitment: at least 2 days – factor in time to get the supplies and to distribute them if buying in bulk for a group. Time to create an email invitation and with design ideas, and a day for the festivity along with preparation and clean up.

How:

• 1.Set a date and time for the party and a time length

  2. One-week before the event, send out an email containing the Zoom link and a list of the supplies. Include templates for different wreath designs to encourage creativity.

  3. Towards the end of the party, ask everyone to show their wreath unfinished or finished, share what they're thought making process was, what they liked about the activity, and take a group picture for your social media!

  Tips: If you're hosting this event for the first time, do practice making a wreath beforehand to get a sense of what issues your guests may face. Have a Christmas song list ready during the craft-making portion to set the mood. If sharing from your device, enable audio-sharing so the guests can hear the music clearly. You can also record the session on Zoom if you have a premium account.

3. Gingerbread Home Making Party on Zoom

Goal: to enhance creativity, to eat delicious candy and chocolate, and to bond with friends and family online through food building.

Supplies: 6 gingerbread squares (6 x 6 preferably), lots of icing bags, and tons of fun candy, chocolate, gift wrapping, whole spices (cinnamon sticks, cloves, etc). A gingerbread kit may be cheaper than buying the supplies individually but the designs are usually limited.

Cost: $15 & up

Time commitment: up to 2 days to get supplies/distribute if buying in bulk, to draft email and ideas and a day for the festivity.

How:

• 1.Set a date and time for the party and a time length

  2. A week before the event, send out an email containing the Zoom link and a list of the supplies. Include templates for different gingerbread home designs to encourage creativity.

  3. Towards the end of the party, ask everyone to show their home unfinished or finished, share what they're thought making process was, what they liked about the activity, and take a group picture for your social media!

  Tip: If you're hosting this event for the first time, do practice making a home beforehand to get a sense of what issues your guests may face. Have a Christmas song list ready during the craft-making to set the mood. If sharing from your device, enable audio-sharing so the guests can hear the music clearly. You can also record the session on Zoom if you have a premium account.

Masking Wearing and Exercise - During COVID-19

While some gyms and studios are encouraging participants to wear masks while exercising, I have some concerns. Especially for those with existing respiratory and heart conditions, like my grandfather and grandmother that live with me, and for women who are pregnant.

According to The World Health Organization, "Sweat can make the mask become wet more quickly which makes it difficult to breathe and promotes the growth of microorganisms. The important preventive measure during exercise is to maintain physical distance of at least one meter from others."

With that in mind, do continue exercising outdoors as much as you can this August. Come September when the weather becomes cooler and our programs re-open in-person, we promise to take your health, your children and families, and our instructors, seriously by reducing class sizes, keeping 2 meters of distance between peers, and additional rules to reduce the spread of the virus before and after classes. See below.

Should you want to wear a mask or visor, however, please listen to your body. If you need to go slowly, that’s always fine with us! We like to have fun the safe way!

We're Back & Ready To Do Our Part In Fighting Discrimination

WE'RE BACK & READY TO DO OUR PART IN FIGHTING DISCRIMINATION

By: Sumera Garcia-Quadri

Along with protesters calling for justice for George Floyd's murder and for the just treatment of black and indigenous lives in Canada and America, it is important for me to take a step forward and address the issue of discrimination on the basis of skin colour in the Bollywood industry and how I've been trying to change it within my own company.

After all, our Women's Bollywood Dance and Fitness Programs were the fastest-growing programs we've ever had, with over 150 women registered across 4 centers back in March

In the midst of the vibrant colours and intoxicating dances and beautiful songs that Bollywood is loved for worldwide, lies the toxic realities of the Bollywood industry. Directors and producers place a priority on recruiting actors that are fair-skinned for leading roles. Having a fair complexion is a requirement in some roles and has pushed aspiring actresses to seek skin-altering creams or surgeries in order to be considered. It is no wonder why the word Gori (fair-skinned girl/woman) is commonly heard in songs. There's then the factor of physical features (size and facial and body features) and age. Unfortunately, Bollywood like many entertainment industries reflects the local cultural and social norms of what is considered ideal and will only start to shift into a more equitable industry if challenged at a micro-level, such as by small businesses like mine and well, dare I say it, within in our own families.

Bearing this in mind, I still adore Bollywood dance and songs. As a girl trained in Hiphop and Afro-Latin dance (both a part of the black dance culture), I am happy to see Bollywood regularly incorporating black dance culture. I think we can have a positive impact on changing the face of Bollywood by how we deliver our programs in Toronto.

In the past few years, I have made it a priority to recruit a passionate, caring, and qualified team of instructors to support our community programs. A team that understood the importance in delivering Bollywood programs that were inclusive to women and girls from all back rounds.

The colour of an instructor’s skin and/or where they were from was not a factor in deciding whether they were recruited or not.

If you have taken programs with us before or are thinking too, our team consists of instructors of all sizes, ages, shades of WHITE, BROWN, and BLACK, and educational back rounds from engineers to doctors – we're a team just as diverse as our members.

If you're looking for instructors that look like the actors you see in Bollywood movies, you probably won't find that here as that isn't our focus!

If you're looking, however, for a place where you can have fun, burn a sweat, and meet awesome people in a community setting, you'll find that here.

DIY 6-Ingredient Coffee Sugar Scrub -Hands/Feet/Body

Coffee Sugar Scrub - Hands/Feet/Body

Recipe by Sumera Garcia-Quadri

• Ingredients 

• 2 cups brown sugar

• 1/2 cup sea salt (or fine salt)

• 2 TBSP ground coffee (I used a Brazilian brand) - optional

• 1/2 cup Coconut Oil (soft compressed) OR any oil

• 1/4 cup Olive Oil Or any oil

• 10 drops Peppermint essential oil - optional (if you are sensitive to strong scents like me you may want to use less or none)
  
  Method
  In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients together until the mixture becomes somewhat slushy and darker in colour. Pour the mixture into a glass jar or plastic container and seal tight. Best to place the mix in thick plastic or metal container if you’re leaving it in the shower. The mixture usually stays soft for about 2 weeks.

  CAUTION: If you use it in the shower, like me, the tub may become slippery which can cause you to slip and fall. Be careful.

10 Things We've Done Since Social Distancing Began

By Sumera G. Q.

When I hear some say that they are not affected by the Coronavirus, I'm lost for words!

Like us, some of our class participants have lost their jobs or their partners have, some are living with the pain of losing a parent and not being able to attend the funeral and grieve physically with their family members, and for those with kids, some have had no choice but to home school their children and help them with their homework assignment which can take hours to finish.

Keeping these realities in mind, I felt it was important to shed some light on 10 that we have done to try to keep our participants, family, and friends moving and feeling less stressed out at home since we officially stopped in-class programs on March 17. We are also coping with the effects that the virus has had on our families and personal lives at the same time.

1. In March, we created over 90 videos to replace the remaining classes for the 2020 Winter session for mom and baby Ballet workouts, kids fitness and games march break camps, and women's Bollywood dance and Bollywood fitness programs offered across 4 locations.

2. Implemented 3-weeks of free trial online classes for feedback and to encourage current and new participants to get used to the new normal. These included: Zumba Fitness, Pound Fit, Mom and Baby Ballet, Bollywood Dance, Classical Indian Dance, Stick Dancing, Bollywood Dance Fitness, and Strength Training workouts

3. Implemented our first online kid's programs for May in under a week with 2 free trials and 2 instructors

4. Contacted participants to provide credits or refund options if necessary - We are very lucky in that many of our clients were generous and supportive during this time

5. Created a COVID-19 gift package to support both a friend and us at home

6. Made the tough decision to proceed with 3 locations this Fall, and to give up one

7. Planned for a fall return with basic programming and 3 primary instructors

8. I decided to strengthen our current partnerships and relationships with fellow instructors in hopes of supporting each other where possible and just to say, you're not alone! So often when we're doing well or on the go, we forget to do small things like say hello or thank you!

9. I'm proud to say that where many large gyms and studios have failed (by freezing memberships, refusing to correspond with customers in a timely manner, and not provide other alternatives) we stepped in. With the city changing the rules on a daily basis, so did we!

10. I applied to a hand full of grants for artistry and to run virtual youth dance and fitness sessions for those living in unsafe communities and violent homes - I have been fortunate to have received some support due to my volunteer work and supportive partnerships with youth and community organizations

2 things that let us know that what we're doing is needed in some capacity is first, the sweet notes and reviews we've gotten, and two, some of our friends and family members from Edmonton to Spain that aren't into the home workout thing have signed up for our online classes to bond and sweat with us. That's something we don't get during normal times!

We have high hopes of returning both in-person and online (if necessary) this September.

To stay in the loop, follow us on Instagram and Facebook @fusioncardiotoronto or join our mailing list on the home page here.

Stay home and stay well,

Sumera

We're More Than Dance & Fitness - We Promote Wellness & Livliness!

During this time of social distancing and “homeness,” it’s the heartwarming reviews that have reminded me why I’m still here after 6 years.

I believe that instructors/owners that listen to and incorporate feedback from their clients, where reasonable, are more likely to grow over things like how beautiful their logo or space looks! Although I still find fancy studios super exciting - don’t tell anyone!

I’ve come to realize that what I was looking for in a dance and fitness class for myself in my 30’s was what many other women were looking for too. Weight-loss wasn’t the main reason!

Here are some of the reasons

• A supportive environment - we always welcome women of all abilities, ages, and health conditions, most of our participants were looking for a space for women over 40+

• A caring team - our small team of instructors thrive to be reliable, fun, energetic, safe, and extremely creative in our instruction and ability to adapt to different needs

• A weekly outlet - we provide a class that allows participants to workout while they relieve stressors from work and daily life

• Positive connections - our classes provide participants with the opportunity to connect, should they want to, in a friendly space before, during and after class - we don’t allow bullying!

• A unique workout experience - we provide fun low impact workouts that are unique to the market, filled with sweat, and beat working out on any old treadmill

• A female-only space - we provide an alternative option for women & girls that are not comfortable working out in a unisex environment

• Accessibility - our classes are now offered at 4 locations across the GTA and are located close to the Bloor subway line to make our programs accessible to a wider group

• Feedback - we ALWAYS welcome constructive feedback (even when it is difficult to hear) to help us improve our class experiences and keep our participants happier!

If any of what I’ve mentioned above speaks to you and you’re looking for a fun workout in a community and female-only setting, we may be for you.

To take a class, please go through the Class Schedules Menu at the top of the page.

Sumera