I went to NYFitMama today (one of my Event Picks) and was super impressed. Honestly, it was one of the highest quality, most genuine events I have attended in the last 3 years in parenting. The attending moms could do: yoga, cardio, pilates, swing class and hear informative panel discussions and meet quality vendors. There weren’t any “hard sells” which is generally the bane of these kinds of events. NYFitMama was directed by local Pilates instructor, Frances Darnell, who organized the project. She was in a leadership program where part of the coursework was to create a project that benefits the community. I think that’s why the event felt so authentic. It really was about serving the mommy community.

So, how about the fitness instructors and experts there? There were some excellent ones (and they teach near you too: Fort Greene, Park Slope, Williamsburg, Union Square, Cobble Hill). And, before I tell you about them, it reminds me that I should highlight the Yoga/Pilates Resource Page on the blog. I list both Baby and Me Classes and Standard Classes.

I got a good taste of a yoga instructor I had been hearing wonderful things about, Lara Kohn Thompson. She held a lovely, yet fortifying class with helpful visualization techniques. I was excited to take the cardio class afterwards to give my body a kick in the …. Charlotte Blake’s “Workout With Baby” class was totally high-energy and strengthening with Pilates mixed in. I sweated and sweated…and sweated. The babies all loved watching us flap our arms, draw big circles in the air and do our lunges. I sure can feel it tonight. It was helpful that the volunteers would jump in to hold a fussy baby so the moms could continue working out and one woman even fed Willow her banana while I lunged. We all got substantial, healthy snacks. I had, um, THREE pieces of whole grain nut bread. We heard about nutrition from the Senior Food and Nutrition Editor at Health Magazine, dyspareunia from Renew PT owner Isa Hererra(who my friend thinks are fantastic) and diastasis recti from RN and fitness instructor, Julie Tupler. They did health checks for us and we all laughed about how to use Babeland toys to help with some of those issues, which we got in a discreetly double wrapped goody bag! A lot of the moms walked away with awesome raffle prizes: including my personal favorite, Lululemon clothing. It was a very high quality event that I was depressed to hear would only run annually. I am trying to convince Frances to do it quarterly. Though I realize she is busy with teaching at the Pilates Garage (where her prenatal and postnatal pilates classes are popular), I hope she does more of these events- and soon- so all of you can go.

Related posts:

1. Lululemon opens in Brooklyn- with free yoga!
2. Lotus Therapy has free workshops
3. Yoga and Pilates