After 30 years in the world of Corporate IT marketing roles, Rachel Henley from Newbury was faced with redundancy at the end of 2024. She evaluated what she wanted her life to look like and her conclusion was: more local, more rewarding, with a connection to others and the opportunity to give back.
Rachel has always been passionate about keeping fit, participating in a wide range of classes and activities all her adult life, despite being “the reluctant last pick in school PE”. So the next bold step was to turn her passion into a business by retraining as a fitness instructor. She embarked on training to coach some of the classes that she found most rewarding and interesting herself, namely Zumba and Tai Chi.
Rachel now runs daytime Zumba and Tai Chi classes across West Berkshire from her new business Zen Fitness with Rachel. Her classes have been an instant success with over 150 participants attending across eight venues, and over 70% of participants choosing to continue with the classes. Rachel has been delighted with the feedback from her students like Michelle who said “today was my first class for over 5 years and it was really easy and comfortable. Definitely good for beginners or re-starters and Rachel is lovely.”
The Tai Chi that Rachel instructs is the QiGong Shibashi form, which is accessible for anyone to participate in regardless of physical health or limited mobility and can even be practiced seated. It integrates physical postures, breathing techniques and mental focus to develop balance, flexibility, stability and relaxation.
Zumba is a dance-based fitness programme, designed to be flexible and accessible to all. It’s about being active while having fun, with a strong influence of Latin American music and dance styles.
Rachel’s classes are informal and suitable for beginners, returners and the exercise-anxious. Following the success of her West Berkshire classes Rachel is now expanding to Andover, taking on a Tai Chi class from an instructor who recently moved away.
If you are interested in either format, are free in the daytime and would like to try out a new fitness activity, Rachel offers First Class Free for new participants and welcomes drop-ins to join for a taster session. Her full schedule and more details can be found at www.zenfitnessrachel.co.uk
