The Cairns A-Team recently had the pleasure of taking part in a relaxing yoga class at the beautiful Kynd Studio, with owner Claudia Fregona. We had the chance to chat with Claudia about her inspiration behind the studio and her ambitions for the future...
Tell us about Kynd Studio and where your inspiration came from?
It has been my dream to open up a studio in Cairns that brings together my favourite practices: yoga, Pilates and barre together all under one roof. I have been practising since I was a teenager and never found a studio or a place that I truly loved here in Cairns, where I felt like I belonged. I am lucky enough to have lived on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane whilst studying and going to yoga and Pilates classes was honestly what got me through the stress of being away from home, working through a long-distance relationship, being away from my family, uni and working up to four jobs at a time. So I decided if nobody else was going to put my favourite forms of movement together in a beautiful space in my favourite place (Cairns), perhaps I should! I've been teaching "pop-up" style since 2015 every time I came back home to Cairns and I am so grateful to be settled here now and have the support to chase my dreams!
How did you develop your team?
I have a very small team at the moment, which is slowly expanding. For teachers, it's very simple. I choose people who are genuine and who have actually stepped foot in my studio. I get emails and DMs all of the time from yoga or Pilates teachers asking to teach for me but have never come to a class to try it out or to support the business. This approach to me is really inauthentic. I want to see how potential teachers move. I want to see how potential teachers interact with other people and I also want to see whether they commit to their classes and arrive on time/early.
We have just finished our first round of Pilates Teacher Training and for me, training teachers in-house is essential. There are so many styles of yoga and Pilates now and I want all of my clients to have a similar experience regardless of the teacher. You can expect to see a lot more teacher trainings from us...
What do you find rewarding about running your own business?
Seeing, hearing and feeling the transformation that other people get to have as a result of my business. Whether that is physically, mentally or whether they have been inspired to get out of a crappy relationship or unfulfilling job as a ripple effect from feeling amazing from just attending a few yoga and Pilates classes per week! Our classes are open-level and progressive - which means that they get harder/more challenging as a result of the level of the clients in the class - and this is purely because they work so hard every single week that myself and my teachers have to throw in new challenges and continue to inspire them to be better than they were the day before! It's honestly magic!
How do you feel empowered as a female business owner?
I feel so blessed to be doing business in a time like now! There are so many inspiring women going out there and getting it, breaking away from the stereotypes - being the carers, nurturers but also boss-ass women inspiring their clients/teams and families. I also am so incredibly fortunate to have a beautiful finacè who encourages me daily even when I have moments when I feel like it's all too much or want to break down crying because someone sent me a mean email, and amazing close family and friends who do the same! I think the business game is really changing now and more women are starting to step up into their passions! I also try to remind myself that I can't go a million miles an hour every day of the month like a man could, we're just not designed to work that way. So when I feel flat, I do my best to honour my body but also knowing that I have people (my members and clients) depending on me keeps me going!
What makes you happy and how do you find happiness?
The simple things in life! My days fly by because of everything I do but I love the fullness and the feeling of actually living! At the moment, I am finding happiness by putting myself first - as selfish as it sounds I think we need to do something every day to fill up our own cups and now that the studio is kicking along nicely, I am again able to prioritise myself! For me, that looks like early morning meditation, a walk outside now that the weather has cleared up again and also cuddling my big pup!
Tell us about what Kynd Studio offers and your plans for the future?
We offer yoga, Pilates and barre classes 7 days per week now. Our Pilates is unlike any other Pilates class in Cairns - it's fun and energetic! We offer a few different yoga classes - yoga is our stronger, flow-style class; yin is our chill and bliss-out class and yoga beginners is a nice entry-level class. Barre is our most cardio-focused class with a few ballet positions and moves thrown in to make you feel graceful.
The future looks like us steadily growing the timetable so that you have even more opportunities to practice each week to ultimately feel amazing in your body and in your mind. Like I said, we will be running more teacher trainings as well and these aren't just for people who want to teach but they are so beneficial for people who want to break things down, learn more about themselves and their bodies! I have a few other secret projects that I'm building at the moment, but you'll just have to follow along to watch them unfold!
We have an intro offer, which is only available to new clients. It's $69 for a month of unlimited classes at the studio and you can get this offer by simply booking in for your first class through https://www.kyndstudio.com.au/timetable