Teachers Lori Graham, Julie Sullivan and Sarah Jensen take a break from everyday life with some Latin flavor

When the bell rings, students aren’t the only ones eager to leave.

Physical eduaction teachers Lori Graham, Julie Sullivan and Sarah Jensen treat their bodies as their temples—and every temple loves spicy Latin flavor. All three take Zumba classes, a fusion of "cardio fitness" dance moves with Latin music created in Colombia.

"My husband works at Apple, so we’re able to use the Apple fitness facilities," Jensen said. "There’s a teacher there that teaches Zumba and she’s fantastic. In addition to her working at Apple fitness, she also works at Almaden Valley Athletic Club."

After experiencing the one-of-a-kind, enthralling workout for six months, she convinced Graham to come and join her.

"She came, she tried it, she loved it," Jensen said.

Another six months later, Sullivan joined the other two teachers and all three became students.

"Zumba is energetic—everyone screams and has fun," Sullivan said. "We work our social life around Zumba."

It’s true. Although they don’t share the same schedule, they always make an effort to go to their Zumba classes. On Mondays, Sullivan heads to the athletic club without Graham or Jensen.

"We get really sad when we can’t go to Monday Zumba," Graham said.

Last year, Zumba Day at Santana Row made up for all of Graham and Jensen’s absences. From teenagers to seniors, 200 people showed up to Zumba in the fresh air, heedless of the gawkers and the pointers. It wasn’t about putting on a show, it was about passion.

"I always want people to find some sort of exercise you like doing, because you’ll never stick with the exercise if you don’t like it," Jensen said. "We all love Zumba, it’s something we look forward to and of course it’s good for us."

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