Note: Brooke and I were given a Yogimax to review. Last Thursday evening, I got a message via Twitter from a gentleman at Yogibo. (I’m sure there’s a cool way of saying “message via twitter” that would make me sound less like a Grandma, but I’ve no idea what that might be. It went something (or exactly) like this .. Hi Jess, I work at Yogibo Bean Bags used sometimes by those with sensory issues. Would you like a review unit for your girls? I don’t do reviews. Despite constant requests, I’ve done exactly one in the history of the blog, and they didn’t ask, I sought them out. It’s just not what I’m about here, for a lot of reasons. This was what I wrote back:I’d LOVE Yogibo to review. I know, that seems totally contradictory to what I just said., Keep reading. Full disclosure — we are already fans. My older daughter has one that she got as a gift (her eight, yes eight grandparents chipped in for her birthday) but we haven’t been able to afford one for our younger kiddo (Brooke, who is autistic.)
She LOVES crashing into them in the store and at my friend’s sensory gym (SenseAbility Gym in Hopedale, MA) so I know she’d be thrilled to able to do some crashing at home! So that was the start. But here was the condition: I’d love to offer my readers a discount as well. Your products are fabulous, but they aren’t cheap (hence us not already owning one for B!) So if that’s something that you’d consider, I’d love to help make Yogibo accessible to everyone! And then I held my breath, because he’d have every right to tell me that he was offering me something for free and I could take my condition and shove it, but he didn’t. And we were off and running. My new friend Michael asked me to choose what we’d like from the catalog and set up delivery instructions, but I had another idea. I asked if we could go to the store to let Brooke choose. And so it was that on Saturday afternoon, we found ourselves at the mall doing this: {Image is a photo of Brooke diving onto the Yogibo Double, which might be the most awesome thing ever.}
{image is a photo of Brooke chilling out on the Yogibo Double with assorted pillows and Yogidudes* . She looks ludicrously relaxed.} *I made that up but I think it’s catchy. Yogibo, feel free to use it. {image is a photo of Brooke looking at the world upside down on the Yogibo Support, which is kinda like a huge neck roll. } I gotta tell you, that dang thing is COMFORTABLE on top of a Yogianything. I plopped myself down on one on top of a Yogimax while Brooke was playing and I kinda thought about never getting up. {Image is a photo of Brooke climbing onto a Yogimax in order to …} {Image is a photo of Brooke crashing the Yogimax onto the ground. This is one of her favorite Yogitivites*.} *Yogibo, you guys paying attention here? This stuff is gold. While we were playing, something awesome happened. We made a new friend. His name is Jordan* and his mom is a reader of Diary. She was as sweet as could be and he was just completely awesome.
He saw Brooke burying herself in Yogibo (her other favorite Yogitivity) and jumped in to help. *The name we decided would be his blogonym. {Image is a photo of Brooke before the pile-on} {Images are photos of Jordan piling Yogibos on top of Brooke. She loves the feeling of the weight on top of her; it’s extremely soothing for her.} Once Jordan had the idea of what we were going to do with the pictures, he started telling me what to shoot. Did I mention he was awesome? First, he insisted that I get a shot of him in the Yogibo Fly. {Image is a photo of Jordan hangin out in the Yogibo Fly, a hammock swing that, in the display, is attached to a free-standing base. It can also be attached to the ceiling. Either way, Jordan clearly approves.} He also insisted that we get a picture of him with the Hugibo. Would you have said no to this kid? {Image is a photo of Jordan hugging the Hugibo, a kid-sized Yogidude that kind of looks like a giant Weeble with hair.}
And then, of course, we needed a shot of him somersaulting onto the Yogimax … {Image is a photo of Jordan mid-somersault.} This was right around the time that, while I could hear Brooke’s voice, I couldn’t see her. Unless you count that foot. {Image is a photo of Brooke, having once again sandwiched herself between Yogibos. She’s a … wait for it … Before we left, I asked Brooke to try on A Yogibo t-shirt for a photo. {Image is a photo of Brooke in a pink Yogibo t-shirt.} Full disclosure, she did not love this idea. But here is why I asked her to do it .. {Image is a photo of the back of the shirt. When we got home, I fully intended to put Brooke’s new Yogibo in the basement where her other sensory stuff is — a not-remotely-as-fancy-as-the-YogiFly hammock swing, a mini trampoline and Luau’s heavy bag. Little Miss had another idea. “It will go in the den,” she said. Luau put it on the floor. She walked into the room, put Godspell on the tv, and then did this.
{Image is a photo of Brooke sitting on top of her new (pink!) Yogibo Max, which she has partially propped up onto an ottoman. {Image is a photo of Brooke flying on top of the Yogibo, which is now partially folded over while standing on end, which it does quite easily. Note: I was across the room the whole time, so everything she did here, she did on her own.} {Image is a photo of Brooke on her belly on top of the Yogibo.} {Image is a photo of Brooke hugging her Yogibo, looking over her shoulder at the tv.} So here’s the deal .. The kids at SenseAbility Gym love theirs. I wouldn’t have agreed to take it if I didn’t already know all of those things. I wish I could dispose of the couches in our basement and replace them with a whole set of Yogibo. I would in a heartbeat. But they’re not cheap. They’re extremely well made and durable, so I understand the prices, but for many of us, the products will still be out of reach. As per my condition on writing this, the company has been kind enough to offer us a 10% discount on everything they sell through the end of the year.