Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaitlyn Cautero.
Kaitlyn, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I could not touch my toes until I turned 30, but here I am now on the brink of 40 and the founder of a yoga and mindfulness business for all ages! I have always had a passion for fitness, education and community-building. After graduating college in 2007 from UC Santa Barbara, I moved to Washington, DC as a Teach For America Special Education teacher. During that time, I taught elementary school and also coached our school’s soccer team and Special Olympics program.
As a former athlete, I have always believed in the mind-body connection and the importance of moving our bodies. I continued to teach and dabbled in operations management through jobs in Philadelphia, my hometown of Los Angeles and Dallas, where my husband and I had our two beautiful children in 2017 and 2019 along with our dog Ernie. While teaching high-needs students in Dallas, I introduced “animal yoga” and deep breathing to our daily morning meetings. I realized that no matter my students’ ability levels, yoga was accessible and calming to each of them.
It wasn’t until I stepped back from my career as a special education school administrator and teacher to be a stay-at-home-mom that I really committed to my yoga practice. Fast-forward a few years to 2020, now at home with a toddler and infant, a pandemic and a husband who traveled(s) nearly every week. During the pandemic, my mental health suffered more than I could have imagined, and I found myself turning to my daily workouts and at-home yoga more than ever to find some peace of mind. Above all, yoga was the most grounding and my young kids loved emulating my movements and trying out the poses as well!
In 2022, my husband accepted a job here in Austin and I longed to create something that could connect parents and children to help us bolster our physical, emotional and mental well-being after Covid. I spoke with a neighbor about my children’s yoga and wellness community concept, and she invited me to join a women’s business accelerator program to incubate my idea and connect with other female entrepreneurs.
While my “imposter syndrome” was on high-alert, I took the plunge, and it was the best decision I could have made for my self-confidence as well as my business. My original business concept incorporated children’s and family yoga with fellow local wellness practitioners, but after more reflection and trial in error in 2023 and early 2024, I pivoted to go all-in with yoga and mindfulness for children, family and adults. In September, I re-branded my company as Zen Youth Yoga! Our goal is to nurture lifelong wellness with yoga and mindfulness.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Founding my own business has been so much more of a learning curve than I imagined! At the end of the day, I am still a full-time mom and, with a husband who travels, my kids still come first. I have had to learn to be better at time-management and manage my kids’ expectations when I have yoga opportunities and classes to teach. Early on, I made the decision that I do not want a brick-and-mortar location for classes and events, which poses another set of challenges. I have had to lean-on friends and colleagues with backgrounds in social media marketing, tap-in to our new South Austin community and most of all, put myself out there to build brand-awareness and attract clients.
There have been times I have spent hours creating a flyer for Instagram and more time developing the yoga class lesson plan, only to have one, two or no people show up to the class! The first time that happened, my ego was wounded and then I realized it’s part of the process.
This summer, I reflected on my progress to date and enrolled in a Children’s Wellness Business Mastermind program with fellow children’s yoga entrepreneurs to reevaluate my business plan and strategically plan for the future. It was an invaluable experience and reminded me that I’m not alone in this work. After trying and failing to build my own website, I worked with an amazing web designer and just launched our new site. Again, self-realization has been key in this process and committing the time to our strongest skill sets…web design not being one of mine!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Zen Youth Yoga?
At Zen Youth Yoga, our mission is to bring the transformative power of yoga, mindfulness, and movement to everyone—from kids and families to teachers and adults of all ages. Through our thoughtfully crafted programs, we nurture physical health, mental clarity, and emotional balance, creating a supportive space for growth at every stage of life.
I am currently the sole teacher, specializing in incorporating yoga, mindfulness and positivity in each of our classes and events. Specifically with our kids and family classes, my experience as a special educator with a Masters in Teaching and Special Education allows me to utilize my knowledge and skills with students as well as the personal connection and empathy with parents. I aim for all of our students to leave classes and events feeling fulfilled, calm and connected to both themselves and those that they came to class with. In our children’s programs, I also incorporate a mindfulness craft connected to our class theme, so that students have something tangible to take home with them to either remind them of a breathing strategy or a calming technique long after class is over. Our family classes allow for parents to engage in fun and sometimes challenging poses and calming breathing exercises with their children.
I love pairing fun and engaging music with all of our classes – my “Old Man Yoga” Zoom class has Classic Rock Tuesdays and our kids Taylor Swift class rocks Taylor’s music linked with corresponding poses and affirmations! Check out my Spotify playlists for inspiration!
While I have only taught at a handful of local festivals and events, I strive to share more of our yoga and mindfulness offerings whether it be at your school’s PTA meetings, a company wellness event or community festival. I promise you will be laughing during partner poses and feel zen by the end.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I find the most joy when I am authentically connecting and sharing with my family, friends and community. Our rescue poodle-mix, Ernie, has a way of making me smile and appreciate the simple things even on the hardest of days!
As a family, we love traveling and exploring new countries, cultures and foods. And, as a recovering people-pleaser, I find that the more I work on my own personal well-being, the more that peace and positivity is contagious. I used to feel that going above and beyond for others is what made them like me, but I’ve learned that being my authentic self is the most rewarding. It makes me so fulfilled to set this example for my children and those I teach. Seeing our community work together despite our differences also brings me joy.
Pricing:
- * Community Classes start at $15/person
- * Zoom monthly memberships – $100/month
- Event and after school programs – available upon request
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zenyouthyoga.com
- Instagram: @zenyouthyoga
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552763397783
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlyn-cautero-m-ed-ba88a712/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/zenyouthyoga
Image Credits
Michelle Simmons, Prism Field Studios, @prismfieldstudios
