Our Story
“We believe in the healing effects of yoga for the individual body as well as the collective whole.”
- Erica & Cynthia, Co-Owners
A Sweet Sanctuary
The Yoga Common was started by two sisters with a passion for movement and a heart for healing. When Erica Whalen & Cynthia Rayner discovered the studio, it was a tiny community in Midtown Manhattan in need of some love and inspiration. Today, we have grown to two studios in New York City & Austin, serving busy cities with healing sanctuaries full of heart and soul.
A Passion for Movement
A Heart for Healing
Erica is a former professional dancer with a BFA in ballet and modern dance. She has been teaching yoga for nearly 20 years. Cynthia is a recovering management consultant who believes small businesses can do great good in the world.
Erica was a “mover” from an early age. As a child, she never sat still. Her family called her Tigger because she bounced everywhere. She watched TV while hanging upside down from the back of the couch. One day, her Mom found her unknowingly standing on her head. Cynthia, on the other hand, was a “thinker” who always had her head stuck in a book. She loved to write and think up new business ideas, most of which never made it past the brainstorming phase.
We delight in beautiful and expressive classes that blend movement with breath
In 2007, Erica was running around New York City teaching at various studios, gyms, and living rooms. At the same time, Cynthia was in business school in France, dreaming of starting a business that could blend creativity and meaning. To merge their interests and passions, they purchased and reinvented a small studio in the heart of Manhattan.
The Yoga Common was founded on the belief that people are happiest and healthiest when they are moving with mindfulness in a supportive community. We believe passionately in the connection between body and mind, and in pursuing lives that blend creativity with purpose. We also believe local businesses should serve their communities, making people’s lives better and allowing people to achieve their passions and purposes.
What’s in a name?
When we bought the studio in 2007, it was called Mang’Oh. Since the studio had three owners before we arrived, the origin of the name is unfortunately lost to us. However, in 2022, we made significant changes to our business operations (in part due to the pandemic, of course). We took the opportunity to dig deep and examine the values of our community.
Our yoga studio has always been a community-focused space, emphasizing yoga as a simple and regular practice that’s widely accessible and welcoming to anyone. This process brought us to a clear outcome: we needed to change the name to something that more accurately reflect our values.
We chose the name: The Yoga Common.
A “common” is a shared, community-centric space with a spirit of inclusivity. A common is a welcoming environment, owned by all, and encouraging daily, communal practices that are part of everyone’s daily routine.