Flex-n-Fly is a new wellness offering to open this fall at JFK Airport. These 35-minute group classes incorporate stretching, deep breathing, core work and restorative yoga.
The company was founded by multi-talented artist and entrepreneur Youmie Jean Francois. Meeting her I couldn’t help but notice her big smile and infectious positive attitude. I sat down with her somewhere cool in New York last week to hear all the hot details about her new “The Flex 35” storefront launching at JFK Airport this coming fall.
Youmie is an avid traveller and a health and wellness enthusiast that loves to build a community wherever she goes. Throughout our conversation, she mentioned community as central to healing and her vision to help make travel a healthier pursuit.
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Her love of travelling has taken her to China, England, Thailand, Israel, Portugal, Morocco, Haiti, and more. One of her biggest struggles when travelling is a lack of time and space to slow down and reconnect to herself. “There wasn’t a place that I could recover and reset my body at the airport,” she says.
She often experienced long delays and back pains from travelling. She also noticed she would experience an increasing amount of anxiety at airports.
“It was in Morocco when the idea of Flex-n-Fly first came to my mind,” she says. She decided she had to do something to make her long haul travel a healthier experience.
How Flex-N-Fly fitness classes will make travel healthier for JFK passengers
Flex-N-Fly is already known for its pop-up classes around New York City. Now Youmie will bring the classes to a needy new space: the chaotic airport.
What is The Flex 35?
Youmie: The Flex Formula is our company’s customized 35-minute stretching class that was created for travellers. The formula is infused with deep breathing, stretching, core work and restorative yoga. This is a group class with an instructor that travellers can take before they fly out.
What do travellers need to bring to the class?
Youmie: Just themselves, and comfy clothing. We provide the mats. The Flex|Mats are our company’s customized luxury yoga, pilates and prayer mats. The mats were created for travellers and come in travel and regular sizes.
Many yoga mats are made of foam, however, these are made of a micro-fibre suede blend. They’re very soft to the touch. They’re made with eco-friendly materials, are anti-slip and machine washable.
Flex-n-Fly is all about diversity and breaking barriers
Flex-n-Fly has two important certifications that make it stand out in the airport wellness world. The first is a WBE certification for being a business that owned, managed and controlled by a woman. The second is an MBE certification for being a minority-owned business.
This kind of diversity is a really important step forward for the wellness airport industry, and we’re glad to see it being embraced by JFK airport.
Youmie is bringing a true sense of community to the airport in a place that has traditionally felt like anything but. She has a goal to help make the airport, a place where many of us spend so much time, a happier, healthier space.
We’re on board!
