Yoga(ish): Holiday rituals, neurodivergent needs & letting people have their feelings
Yogaland Podcast
Andrea Ferretti
4.8 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 23 December 2025
⏱️ 38 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The holidays can be joyful… and also a lot—especially if you’re introverted, neurodivergent, parenting a neurodivergent kid, or trying to manage family expectations without burning out.
In this episode, we share the holiday traditions that actually work for their family—and the boundaries that make those traditions possible. We talk about front-loading expectations, time boundaries, demand avoidance, and why it’s okay to let other people have their feelings when you don’t meet their expectations. You’ll also hear practical strategies for navigating social events (without forcing yourself or your child to “perform”), plus a few favorite holiday rituals—from cookie baking to Christmas Eve dinner to a Christmas Day zoo trip.
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by holiday gatherings, unsure how to set boundaries with family, or stuck between “being flexible” and “protecting your nervous system,” this conversation will help.
In this episode:
• Holiday boundaries for introverts and neurodivergent families
• Why time limits reduce anxiety (and increase participation)
• Setting expectations with relatives ahead of gatherings
• Demand avoidance, sensory overwhelm, and holiday rituals
• How to navigate parties with roles, structure, and exit plans
• Letting people be disappointed (without taking it on)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, everyone. I'm Andrea Ferretti. And I'm Jason Crandall. Welcome to Yoga-ish. |
| 0:11.6 | So we are back with one of our end-of-the-year episodes, and we thought we would bring some |
| 0:17.3 | joy and levity and talk about our holiday rituals and also how we navigate the holidays |
| 0:25.1 | as introverts slash neurodivergent people. |
| 0:28.6 | Slas semi-quarky. |
| 0:30.6 | Yeah. |
| 0:31.0 | Very quirky. |
| 0:31.9 | Yeah. |
| 0:32.2 | Yes. |
| 0:32.6 | Yeah. |
| 0:33.3 | Very neurodivergent quirky family. |
| 0:35.0 | So this is always, I would say for the whole year, I mean, this is probably pretty common |
| 0:40.0 | to others, but compared to the rest of the year, this is seasonally a really important |
| 0:45.6 | period of time for you. |
| 0:47.6 | And is it, and why is that? |
| 0:49.9 | Is there something about this time of year that reminds you of childhood? |
| 0:54.3 | What is it? |
| 0:55.5 | Why is it that this is such a, like, kind of a standout period for you? |
| 0:59.5 | Yeah. |
| 1:00.1 | Well, I would say, okay, so I, it's no secret that I feel as though I was a very anxious |
| 1:07.4 | child growing up. |
| 1:09.0 | And the one place where I was not anxious was with my extended |
... |
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