ivivva Sweat Ride

Where are all my Lululemon fans out there? (I’m raising my hand! Because duh, I live in these) Well did you know that Lululemon has a brand for girls, ages 4-14? If not, let me introduce you to ivivva. When I heard about the brand my first reaction was, “where were these kinds of clothes when I was a girl?!” If you remember, I was rocking some sweet, solid-colored sweatsuits and Adidas sambas all through grade school. (It’s as scary as it sounds!) However, after spending the day with the team at ivivva and 70+ girls, I realized that this brand is about much more than just gorgeous athletic wear. It’s a company that cares about community and inspires girls to be active, brave, supportive and adventurous.

Our day started at Fusion Fitness in Mission Farms. The girls flooded in in their ivivva tanks and an overall excitement filled the room. Of the girls that I talked to, most were involved in organized sports, but very few had done a workout class before…so this was new territory! When the music started playing, the chatting stopped and they were all focused on the instructor. It was a challenging 20-30 minutes, but no one gave up–and there were even some smiles!

From there, the girls filed onto the bus and we headed towards our next stop. The music was bumping and there was plenty of sweaty-faced snapchatting going on, but my favorite part of the ride was hearing everyone’s answers in a game of “would you rather”. Would you rather live without your phone or sweets for an entire year? Most chose to get rid of sweets…no surprise there! And would you rather be a famous athlete or find the cure for cancer? Almost every hand went up to find the cure for cancer. Now that’s pretty awesome.

Stop #2 was Pure Barre. A lot of the girls had taken ballet before, so they were really excited about this class. The instructor shared some words with the group before they began: “Do what you love. Live healthy.” In a time in their lives when body image and insecurities are weighing heavy on their minds, I love that they’re hearing messages about finding their passion and living healthy lives instead.

Our final stop was the newly opened Yoga Six at Town Center. The room was warm and the mood was relaxed. Again, I was so impressed by all of the girls’ attitudes and overall focus. They enjoyed being together, but they weren’t talking during the classes and they only giggled once during the “happy baby pose”…but that’s to be expected, really 😉

Then came my favorite part of the day: a 30 minutes goal-coaching session. The girls were given a bag of ivivva goodies, which included a notebook and pen that they could use to record their 2016 goals. They started off thinking about the big picture (some wanted to work on their tennis skills, others improve their self-confidence) and by the end they had narrowed it down to one word that they wanted to focus on for the year. I saw happiness, confidence, friendships, lead, and faith…just to name a few. All of these words will soon be on display in the front window at ivivva, which I know the girls are excited to see!

On my drive home from the sweat ride, I couldn’t help but think about Arden and what she might be like at 11 or 12. I won’t lie, the thought of having a middle school girl is slightly terrifying…only because I’ve lived it and I know how tough those years can be. Navigating friendships, keeping up with school, and trying to figure out who you are and where you fit in. It’s big, scary stuff. So when I see a company like ivivva that encourages girls to be themselves, to dream big, and to support each other…well, that encourages me.

A special thanks to the team at ivivva Kansas City for inviting me and allowing me to be a fly on the wall for this event. I’m your newest fan 🙂

*This post is sponsored by ivivva, but the thoughts and opinions are all my own.