We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erica Whalen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Erica, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about your team building process? How did you recruit and train your team and knowing what you know now would you have done anything differently?
In the very beginning, we did so much of the work ourselves — two sisters with a shared vision and a whole lot of hustle. We were teaching classes, greeting students, cleaning mats, answering emails—everything. It was a beautiful and exhausting time, filled with learning curves, late nights, and that deep kind of fulfillment that only comes from doing something that feels aligned with your purpose.
When it came time to hire our first team members, we weren’t just looking for instructors—we were looking for people who felt like family. People who believed, like we do, that yoga can be healing and that a studio can be more than a business—it can be a sanctuary. We leaned on our local network, word of mouth, and community referrals rather than big job boards. The first few hires came through personal recommendations, and we relied heavily on gut instinct and shared values over traditional resumes or interviews.
Our “interview process” was often a heartfelt conversation—sometimes in the studio, sometimes over coffee—about what brought them to the mat, how they saw yoga as part of their lives, and what kind of space they wanted to help create. We didn’t have a rigid checklist. We were drawn to teachers who were authentic, grounded, and connected to their craft. Training was similarly informal—we shared our vision, offered mentorship, and let their unique voices shine through. We believe yoga should be a reflection of the teacher as much as the tradition.
Something that may be unconventional is how much trust we placed in our team from the start. Especially when Cynthia moved to South Africa and Erica started her family in New Jersey, we had no choice but to step back a little—and that turned out to be a blessing. It taught us to let go of control and empower our teachers and staff to truly take ownership. And honestly? They blew us away. They’re the soul of TYC, and we wouldn’t be here without them.
If we were starting today, we’d probably bring people on board a little sooner. We waited, thinking we had to have all the pieces in place before we could ask for help. But now we know: the right people *help* you build the puzzle. They don’t just fill roles—they help shape the whole experience.
All of these years later, we’re still growing, still learning. And we’re still deeply grateful for those early team members who believed in what we were building and helped us grow it into the community it is today.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
We’re sisters—Erica Whalen and Cynthia Rayner—and we co-founded The Yoga Common as a way to blend our passions, our values, and our desire to bring healing, creativity, and community into people’s everyday lives. Our journey is deeply personal, rooted in family, movement, and a belief that small businesses can be powerful forces for good.
Erica is a lifelong mover—a former professional dancer turned yoga teacher. She moved to New York City in her early twenties to pursue dance and, like many artists, began teaching yoga to supplement her career. What started as a side job quickly became a calling. Yoga wasn’t just about movement—it was about presence, purpose, and healing. Erica’s passion for embodied wellness has grown into nearly two decades of teaching, leading, and holding space for others through yoga.
Cynthia comes from a different but complementary path—she’s a thinker, writer, and business strategist with a background in consulting and hospitality. After earning her MBA, she wanted to do something that felt meaningful, something that helped people live better lives. When Erica invited her to help purchase a small yoga studio in Manhattan back in 2007, Cynthia said yes—and we’ve been building The Yoga Common together ever since.
At The Yoga Common (TYC), we offer in-studio and livestream yoga classes in New York City and Austin, TX. Our classes are joyful, soulful, and rooted in high-quality teaching. We focus on movement that feels good and sustainable for the long term—our goal is to help people feel better in their bodies and their lives. We serve everyone from busy professionals and parents to creatives, entrepreneurs, and anyone looking for a moment of calm and clarity in a chaotic world.
What sets us apart is our belief that yoga is not just a workout—it’s a form of care. It’s medicine for the nervous system. It’s a creative practice. It’s a way to come home to yourself.
We also believe in doing “small things with great love.” That means prioritizing quality over quantity, being deeply connected to our local communities, and creating studios that feel like sanctuaries—not scenes. We don’t chase trends; we cultivate spaces where people can breathe, move, and be fully themselves.
We’re incredibly proud of the community we’ve built over the past 15+ years. From our original space in Midtown Manhattan to our newer studio in Austin, we’ve seen thousands of students transform—not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. We’ve weathered huge challenges, from cross-continental moves to raising families to navigating a pandemic, and our community has grown stronger through it all.
What we most want people to know about TYC is this: we’re not trying to be the biggest, flashiest studio. We’re here to create something meaningful. A place where people can reconnect with themselves and others. A business built with heart.
Whether you’re stepping into a yoga class for the first time or deepening a longtime practice, we want you to feel seen, supported, and inspired.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
The most defining pivot we’ve experienced happened in March 2020—like so many other small businesses, we were suddenly faced with the unimaginable: closing our physical doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the time, our NYC studio was thriving. January 2020 had brought in more students than ever before, and we were riding the wave of what felt like a beautiful, expansive year ahead. Then everything came to a halt—overnight.
We had to make a decision: shut down completely and wait it out, or find a way to keep showing up for our community, even when we couldn’t share physical space. Within 24 hours of closing our doors, we pivoted to livestream classes. It was scrappy, imperfect, and totally new to us. We were setting up iPhones on tripods, lighting candles in our living rooms, and figuring out Zoom along with the rest of the world.
But what happened next was incredible. Our students showed up. Our teachers showed up. And together, we created this new kind of space—a digital sanctuary—where people could breathe, move, and connect during one of the most uncertain times in recent history.
That pivot didn’t just get us through—it reshaped how we operate. Today, we still offer hybrid classes, which allow us to serve students who live far away, who travel frequently, or who just need the flexibility of practicing from home. It’s opened up our reach, deepened our accessibility, and allowed us to stay true to our mission: to provide healing spaces, wherever they may be.
The pandemic taught us that while our physical studios are important, the true essence of The Yoga Common isn’t tied to a location—it’s in the care we offer, the community we cultivate, and the resilience we share.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
We met the day one of us was born—we’re sisters! We’re Erica Whalen and Cynthia Rayner, and our partnership is as rooted in family as it is in business. We grew up in a home that celebrated movement, music, service, and creativity, and The Yoga Common is a natural extension of those values.
Erica has always been the mover—the dancer, the creative, the one who can feel a room with her body before she even speaks. Cynthia has always been the thinker—the writer, the strategist, the one who brings structure, systems, and vision to the table. On paper, we’re opposites. In practice, we’re the perfect balance.
Our different skillsets and perspectives have allowed us to build a business that is both soulful and grounded. Erica brings the heart, the energy, and the physical artistry. Cynthia brings the strategy, the clarity, and the long view. We complement each other in the ways that really matter.
What makes our partnership truly special, though, is the foundation of trust, love, and mutual respect we’ve had from the start. Over the years, there have been so many moments where one of us has needed to step back—whether because of burnout, family, or life simply happening—and the other has stepped in without hesitation. We’ve always rallied for each other. There’s no scoreboard, no keeping track—just a deep sense of shared responsibility and care.
We’re not afraid to ask each other for help, because we know it’s safe to do so. That’s the beauty of our partnership—it’s balanced, respectful, and grounded in something deeper than business. We laugh together, cry together, dream together, and get back up together when things get tough. And we’ve learned that having a cofounder you trust—someone who sees your blind spots, believes in your vision, and stands beside you through all of it—is absolutely everything.
We know we’re lucky, and we never take that for granted.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yogacommonstudio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogacommonstudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yogacommonstudio
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-yoga-common
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-yoga-common-austin
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/31ikafuuylw2ufdskanmb56so6hm?si=9ef680d9fbf04f36
