For one local Latina-owned company, International Women’s Day meant taking care of the most important woman in one’s life: yourself.
Respira Counseling and Wellness’s self-care retreat in Hartford covered a range of ways to celebrate the holiday — making personal charcuterie boards, practicing pilates, even caring for plants.
“Oftentimes, we associate self-care with going out to get your nails done, or a massage, or petty drinks and all, but self-care is in all the day-to-day things,” said Shasterin Valentin, Respira’s founder.
Shasterin is a licensed clinical social worker who was born and raised in Hartford in a tight-knit Puerto Rican family. So she started her holistic mental health service with the plan to include her siblings.
Her sister, Shay Diaz, traveled all the way in from Pennsylvania to lead fitness workshops at the retreat. Her brother, Luis Cruz, did makeup and skincare for the women. And the eldest sister, Jaynie Valentin, helped fill whatever gaps Respira needed at the event.
“It was about less, like, ‘This feels so good when we are together that we need to create these spaces to invite people into … our sisterhood,’” Shasterin said.
It was more about creating sisterhood, in general.
Respira redefines what ‘sisterhood’ can mean
Shasterin was a young mother entering her graduate program to become a psychotherapist when their mom died suddenly in her 40s.
Rachel Iacovone
/
Connecticut Public
The siblings behind Respira Counseling and Wellness, (from left) Luis Cruz, Shay Diaz, Shasterin Valentin and Jaynie Valentin, pose for a photo at the mental health service’s self-care retreat for International Women’s Day on March 7, 2026 at S.P.L.A.S.H. Project in Hartford. The event included makeup done by Luis and fitness sessions led by Shay, as well as all-natural face mask making, a plant care station and a therapist giving massages.
“I didn’t know her favorite color. I don’t know her favorite song or favorite movie, what kind of humor she had,” Shasterin said. “This is where I kind of started to realize my mom was just Mom. My mom was just caregiver. My mom was the go-to person. She played a supportive role. And I was just like, ‘This is not okay.’ I want my children to know who I am as a person.”
This was top of mind for Shasterin as she started to form ideas for what would one day become Respira. She said she wanted a broader service for women that considered the whole person.
“My reason why, a big part of it is not only my mom, but my big sister over here,” Shasterin said, pointing to Jaynie across the room.
When their father died at the age of 53, just a year after their mother, eldest sister Jaynie took in their two teenage brothers.
“We’re such a close family, but the way that that has glued us together is ridiculous,” Luis said. “In a way, she’s become our mother as well. She’s a mother to all of us, you know, she’s not just a sister.”
Much like his choice to join Respira overall, Luis said helping at the International Women’s Day retreat was a no-brainer for him.
“These are my girls,” Luis said. “A lot of the people in my life who have built me up, a lot of people in my life who have taken me to where I am now are women, my backbone, the people who hold me up every single day.”
Rachel Iacovone
/
Connecticut Public
Luis Cruz applies false lashes on former Respira intern, Whitney Agyeman, who is now a psychotherapist, during Respira Counseling and Wellness’s self-care retreat at S.P.L.A.S.H. Project in Hartford on March 7, 2026.
Reflecting back on Jaynie’s role in the family since childhood, Shasterin said she recognized the weight women carry every day.
“I’ve always valued her and loved her, second mom in the home,” Shasterin said. “But once I was old enough to make that realization of ‘Oh, there’s so many things that she took on so that I can still be that kid and nurture that curiosity,’ it became this motivator.”
Now, the siblings behind Respira, or “breathe” as its name means in Spanish, are inviting women to take a well-deserved breath.