ivivva Sweat Ride 2016

Raising a young girl these days is no picnic, you guys. I love my Lucy something fierce, but there are so many challenges, especially as we inch closer and closer to the preteen years. Actually, in my opinion, we are already there! My girl will be ten in a few short months, and we’ve begun the conversations about changes in her body and mind over the next few years. It’s honestly a scary time…I remember so many formative things that happened to me over the years between 4th and 8th grade, and I’m not sure how to navigate it all as a parent on the other side of the story.

That’s why I was so excited when ivivva contacted me and invited Lucy and I to participate in their 2016 Sweat Ride. ivivva is a company that is inspired by active girls. They design beautiful athletic wear and provide experiences that connect girls through movement. ivivva (which was created by lululemon) encourages girls to be adventurous, compassionate and brave, and promotes community support to help girls reach their goals.

The team from ivivva Kansas City took 70+ girls on a bus tour of several fitness locations around Kansas City. The girls started at Fusion Fitness in Mission Farms, where they took a 30 minute cardio class to get their blood pumping.

We then hopped on the bus, where the music was blasting and the girls had a ball. DJ James Barr from Raise the Barr provided some high energy tunes to get the girls excited, and the entire bus participated in a fun game of “Would You Rather…” I was so impressed with this giving group of young ladies. When asked “would you rather…be a famous athlete or cure cancer?” the overwhelming answer (which could probably be heard outside the bus due to the force with which it was pronounced!) was to cure cancer.

The girls then headed into Pure Barre in Overland Park, where they participated in a full body barre workout. Many of the young ladies were dancers, and definitely were in their element at this beautiful studio. The low impact strength and stretching exercises were a hit among the crowd.

The crew hopped back on the bus, and in between sharing their fun on social media, the girls chatted about their lives. There were soccer players, dancers, basketball stars, artists and gymnasts, all excited to be spending the morning with their friends. Ages ranged from 10 to 14, and the group was lively as we headed to the last stop.

At our final destination, Yoga Six, the girls were escorted into a hot yoga room, where the emphasis was on breath and relaxation. After a morning of workouts, the girls were pretty excited to stretch out! The hot yoga room also felt pretty fantastic compared to the 15 degree Kansas City day outside! After all the high energy fun and chatter on the bus, it was really awesome to see the girls dig into the yoga practice and just be themselves.

After yoga, we all sat in a circle and talked about setting goals for the new year. The ivivva team led the girls in a goal setting exercise, where they took a big goal and broke it down in to a manageable and measurable goal for the next few months. While some of the goals focused on athletics, like scoring more goals this season in soccer, others focused on life lessons, like working toward gaining more confidence or being there for friends. My Lucy, who started ice skating a few months ago and just loves it, decided to work toward passing her next ice skating levels by the end of this class session.

I was so inspired by this fun, active day with such a lovely group of young ladies. The best part was watching how the girls supported and lifted each other up, encouraging their old and new friends as they worked together. When you’re a young girl, learning how to be connected and raise your sisters up is a life skill that will not only benefit you, but the world around you as you grow up. I am so grateful I was able to be a witness to it!

This post was sponsored by ivivva, but all throughts and options are my own. ivivva sparks and connects a global community of brave, compassionate and adventurous girls – to get involved, support each other and impact the world around them in their own unique way. Learn more and sign up for future community events at ivivva.com! Group photo by Vanessa Calcara.