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.
Our story began in New York City, where sisters Erica Whalen and Cynthia Rayner discovered a tiny yoga studio in Midtown Manhattan in need of a little love and inspiration. They transformed it into The Yoga Common—a warm, welcoming community built around beautiful movement, meaningful connection, and the belief that yoga should feel like coming home.
Nearly two decades later, that same heart and soul lives on in Austin. The Yoga Common ATX is a neighborhood studio where exceptional teachers, thoughtful classes, and genuine community come together to create a sweet sanctuary in the midst of everyday life.
A Passion for Movement
A Heart for Healing
Erica is a former professional dancer with a BFA in ballet and modern dance and 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 hanging upside down from the back of the couch, and 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 dream up new business ideas—most of which never made it past the brainstorming phase.
Together, those two very different instincts—movement and ideas, creativity and purpose—became the foundation of The Yoga Common.
Beautiful, Expressive Yoga, Rooted in Community
In 2007, Erica was running around New York City teaching yoga in studios, gyms, and living rooms. At the same time, Cynthia was in business school in France, dreaming of creating a business that could blend creativity with meaning. They brought those passions together by purchasing and reinventing a small yoga studio in the heart of Manhattan.
The Yoga Common was founded on a simple belief: we are happiest and healthiest when we move with mindfulness in a supportive community.
That belief still guides us today in Austin.
We delight in beautiful, expressive classes that blend movement with breath. We believe deeply in the connection between body and mind, in teachers who bring their own heart and artistry to the practice, and in creating a space where people feel known, welcomed, and cared for.
Most of all, we believe a local yoga studio should truly belong to its community—a place to move, breathe, connect, and come back to yourself.
What’s in a name?
When we first opened our doors in 2007, our studio was called Mang’Oh—a name inherited from the owners before us. For 15 years,
we made it our own, building a community around movement, mindfulness, and connection.
In 2022, we took the opportunity to look closely at who we had become and what mattered most to us. We kept coming back
to one idea: yoga as a simple, regular practice that belongs to everyone. And so, The Yoga Common was born.
A common is a shared space—a place where people gather, connect, and belong. Traditionally, it is something held for the good
of the whole community rather than the few. That felt exactly right.
The Yoga Common is your space to move, breathe, connect, and simply be. A neighborhood gathering place where yoga
is welcoming, accessible, and woven into the rhythm of everyday life.
And where, we hope, you always feel at home.