Nestled against Granby’s northern border near the Southwick notch, is Kristal Fiorentino’s yoga studio. The property, home to Fiorentino’s family as well as horses, donkeys and pets, is accessed by a 1,000-foot driveway, its length shaded by trees. Clients loved the serene property so much that they rebelled when Fiorentino’s growth inspired her to consider a larger, offsite location.
Here, Fiorentino draws on her over 20 years of experience as a yoga therapist and life coach to help local people at a crossroads in their life. She has found that her business attracts two principal demographics: one, women of a similar age to herself; and two, young adults aged 17–30. “My demographic has always been my age,” Fiorentino notes, “because that’s what I know.” But she discovered that the young adult age group “really started to need something. I watched it with my kids. My children were sending me clients, and then my clients were sending me children.” She continues, “it’s interesting to work with the two different groups because they work so differently. They understand things so differently. Their bandwidth is different for information.”
For these younger clients, Fiorentino effuses the energy of a “mom,” without being their actual mom. Key to her message is the importance of regulating one’s nervous system and the connection between the body and the mind derived from eastern medicine teachings. Before starting hard conversations with her clients, Fiorentino spends time walking up and down her driveway to calm their nervous systems. “Nature is a natural stress reliever,” shares Fiorentino.
As she coaches young adults through their challenges, she will share stories, give tools, suggest physical movement such as the gym or yoga, and sometimes assign homework. As opposed to her older clients, Fiorentino keeps her appointments shorter and number of visits fewer with her younger clients. “We’re not looking to amend or change a ton of habits. We’re really just trying to teach them some tools for resilience and communication skills. Oftentimes, parents will join so I can help facilitate those uncomfortable conversations that create anxiety,” explains Fiorentino. The goal of these sessions is to set these young adults up for a successful life by helping them understand what messages their body is sending them, and what tools they can employ to achieve self-regulation.
To reach present-day youth, Fiorentino has needed to implement new strategies. Chief among these is a podcast hosted by Kristal and her mid-20s son, Gage. As a young adult, Gage found himself relying on his mom’s “unconventional” advice when western medicine failed to return answers for his vertigo episodes. During this time their conversations started and would eventually evolve into a podcast.
Each podcast episode is short, on the order of 15–30 minutes in length. The tone of the podcast is to-the-point and honest. Kristal and Gage both share their views on a subject with respect for their often-differing perspectives. “I’m not a podcaster,” Fiorentino declares, “but as long as my son will talk to me, I’m a podcaster.” Through discussing complex topics such as dating, finances, employment and health, the podcast has functioned to bring mother and son closer. With Gage over 3,000 miles away in California, the podcast has allowed them the opportunity to chat and share. As Fiorentino muses, “I know so much more about his life that he would never share if we weren’t having these conversations.” Oftentimes Kristal doesn’t know what topic they will be discussing during their Monday evening recording session until the day of, ensuring that her responses are raw and the conversation is unscripted.
While the podcast originally started as a means of connection, Kristal and Gage were surprised that their honest conversations attracted many listeners. “I think it is important to have the casualness of it, because that’s what makes it authentic,” says Fiorentino. Listeners also respond to the podcast’s ability to distill topics into short, thorough, informed synopses. For instance, one of the books the podcast covers is The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz. Fiorentino has found that she can empower her younger clients to understand intimidating topics through the podcast. “You don’t have to read the book,” Fiorentino tells her younger clients, “just listen to this 35-minute podcast.”
Keeping the information accessible allows a younger audience to build resilience. As Kristal puts it: “They can figure [life’s challenges] out by themselves when given the tools and that’s extremely empowering. And that’s what young adults want.” The podcast, returning for its second season, attracts a listening audience of roughly 50 percent parents and 50 percent young adults.
Kristal and Gage Fiorentino’s podcast, Advice is Optional, is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. More information on Fiorentino’s yoga therapy and coaching is available online at kristalfiorentino.com