If you've been searching for yoga therapy in Toronto, you might be looking for something gentler than a bootcamp class and more supported than following along with a video.
At Vistas Psychotherapy & Wellness, there are two distinct ways to bring yoga into your care: yoga-informed psychotherapy with a Registered Psychotherapist who is also a certified yoga teacher, and one-on-one yoga instruction with our yoga teachers. In person in Toronto, by appointment in Ottawa, and virtually across Ontario.
You're welcome to book a free consult to explore which path, or combination, fits your body, your schedule, and your nervous system.
Think of this work a little like tuning an instrument. Not smashing the guitar and starting over, just slowly learning which strings feel too tight and which need a bit more support.
"Yoga therapy" is used in a lot of different ways online. In Ontario, yoga therapy is not a regulated health profession, and no one on the Vistas team holds a yoga therapist certification. So we don't advertise a stand-alone "yoga therapy" service.
What we offer instead is clearer about who's doing what:
Both sit inside the same integrative, body-aware, trauma-aware approach that runs through everything at Vistas. They're just different services, with different purposes, different credentials, and different receipts.
Psychotherapy that may include breathwork, grounding, and simple postures as part of a broader, nervous-system-informed treatment plan for concerns like anxiety, trauma, and burnout. Talking, noticing, and moving are paced together, and nothing physical is ever required.
Documented and billed as psychotherapy. Learn about somatic therapy at Vistas →
Individualized sessions with Amanda Carver, RYT-200, Natalie Anthony, or Mark Atherton, ERYT-500, focused on building a yoga practice that suits your body, energy, and goals. Educational and movement-based.
Yoga instruction is not psychotherapy and does not involve clinical assessment or treatment. Meet our team →
You can choose one, or combine them with different practitioners. Your free consult is a good place to sort out which fits.
| Compare | Yoga-informed psychotherapy | One-on-one yoga instruction |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Psychotherapy that may include breath, grounding, and simple postures | Individualized yoga teaching |
| Who provides it | Amanda Carver, R.P., RYT-200 | Amanda Carver, RYT-200 (for people who aren't her psychotherapy clients); Natalie Anthony, Yoga Instructor; Mark Atherton, ERYT-500 |
| Regulated by | College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) | Not a regulated health profession; yoga teacher training standards |
| Main focus | Your mental health goals: anxiety, trauma, stress, burnout, and how they live in your body | Building a personal practice: movement, breath, mobility, and ease |
| Assessment & treatment plan | Yes | No |
| Billed as | Psychotherapy, under Amanda's R.P. credential | Yoga instruction, under the teacher's yoga credential |
| Extended health coverage | Often eligible under Registered Psychotherapist coverage; check your plan | Generally not covered under psychotherapy benefits; some plans have separate wellness or fitness coverage |
| Fee | $140–170 per session | $80 per session |
| Format | In person in Toronto, by appointment in Ottawa, virtual across Ontario | In person in Toronto with Amanda; virtual across Ontario with any of our yoga teachers |
For current fees across all services, see Services & Fees. Coverage varies by plan, so it's always worth checking your specific policy.
Amanda holds two separate credentials: registration with CRPO as a Registered Psychotherapist, and an RYT-200 yoga teacher certification. Vistas keeps them in two separate service categories.
Within psychotherapy. CRPO recognizes a range of activities, such as instruction and teaching emotion regulation, that fall outside the controlled act of psychotherapy on their own but that a Registered Psychotherapist may use as an ancillary part of their psychotherapy practice. When Amanda brings a breathing practice or a grounding posture into a session, it's offered within an existing therapeutic relationship and treatment plan, and the session is documented and billed as psychotherapy.
As yoga instruction. A stand-alone yoga session is yoga teaching, whoever teaches it, including Amanda. It's booked, documented, and billed as yoga instruction under her RYT-200 credential, and it won't produce a psychotherapy receipt.
For the full breakdown of how every service at Vistas is documented and billed, see How We Bill Our Services.
Amanda offers one-on-one yoga instruction only where it fits the relationship, with care to avoid dual relationships. She doesn't take her current psychotherapy clients on as yoga students. If you're in therapy with her and would also like stand-alone yoga sessions, those are arranged with Natalie or Mark, so your therapist stays your therapist and your yoga teacher stays your yoga teacher.
If you're not her psychotherapy client, you're welcome to book yoga instruction with Amanda directly. Before you start, you'll talk together about any existing or past connection that might make another teacher the better fit.
Read CRPO's guidance on activities outside the controlled act.
You might be exploring yoga-informed support because:
People often come to yoga-informed psychotherapy while navigating:
People often come to one-on-one yoga instruction wanting:
Whichever path you start with, first sessions at Vistas tend to be quieter and slower than most group classes.
In yoga-informed psychotherapy, you and Amanda might:
There's space to explore your history, current stressors, and goals, with movement woven in only when it feels safe enough. EMDR may also be explored when appropriate, with readiness assessed together.
In one-on-one yoga instruction, you and your instructor might:
You might leave not with a perfectly tuned instrument, but with a clearer sense of which strings to start with, and the reassurance that pacing is a shared decision, not a demand.
Over time, this work usually looks like gently layering small pieces rather than overhauling everything at once. You and your practitioner might:
For some people, psychotherapy stays the main space for processing stories, emotions, and patterns, with yoga-informed pieces as brief check-ins. For others, one-on-one yoga becomes the main practice space, with psychotherapy as a separate option if and when it's needed.
Cultural safety means we honour your autonomy and your relationships, your family, community ties, and the knowledge systems that support you, if and when you choose to bring them in. You're welcome to request an Indigenous therapist or a culturally informed therapist if that feels important for your comfort or connection.
Whether you come in from down the street in Cabbagetown or log on from elsewhere in Ontario, the aim is the same: helping you listen to your system, not override it.
| Service | Fee | Billed as |
|---|---|---|
| Yoga-informed psychotherapy (Amanda Carver, R.P.) | $140–170 per session | Psychotherapy |
| One-on-one yoga instruction | $80 per session | Yoga instruction |
| Workplace yoga (groups) | $120 per hour | Workplace wellness |
Curious how this fits with other services? See our billing breakdown and Services & Fees.
Not exactly. Yoga therapy isn't a regulated health profession in Ontario, and no one at Vistas holds a yoga therapist certification. Instead, we offer yoga-informed psychotherapy with a Registered Psychotherapist who is also a certified yoga teacher, and one-on-one yoga instruction with our yoga teachers. They're separate services, each clearly labelled and billed.
Yoga-informed psychotherapy is psychotherapy: it's provided by a Registered Psychotherapist within a therapeutic relationship and treatment plan, and it's billed as psychotherapy. Yoga instruction is educational movement teaching, provided by certified yoga teachers, and billed as yoga instruction. It isn't psychotherapy and doesn't involve clinical assessment or treatment.
Yoga-informed psychotherapy is billed as psychotherapy, so it's often eligible under Registered Psychotherapist coverage. Yoga instruction is generally not covered under psychotherapy benefits, though some plans have separate wellness or fitness coverage. It's always worth checking your specific policy.
No. Receipts reflect the service actually provided. A stand-alone yoga session is billed as yoga instruction, even when Amanda teaches it. For a session to be billed as psychotherapy, it has to be psychotherapy, with the therapeutic relationship, assessment, and treatment purpose that involves.
Yes, if you're not currently in psychotherapy with her. Amanda teaches one-on-one yoga as an RYT-200, in person in Toronto or virtually, and those sessions are billed as yoga instruction. If you are her psychotherapy client, stand-alone yoga sessions are arranged with Natalie or Mark instead, and breath and grounding practices can still be part of your psychotherapy with Amanda when they fit your treatment plan.
Yes. Many people prefer to start with present-focused practices for breath, tension, or grounding, and decide later whether to explore past experiences in psychotherapy. Yoga instruction doesn't involve exploring your history at all.
Yes. Sessions are one-on-one and can be adapted for beginners, people returning after injury, or anyone who has felt uncomfortable in group classes. You set the pace and can adjust as you go.
Trauma-aware support at Vistas is paced and consent-based. You might start with very small practices, use anchors like sight or sound instead of the breath, or stay with talking until your system feels steadier. Nothing is mandatory, and psychotherapy at Vistas never involves touch.
Yes. Both yoga-informed psychotherapy and one-on-one yoga instruction are available virtually across Ontario. Amanda also sees psychotherapy clients in person in Ottawa by appointment; see yoga-informed therapy in Ottawa for details.
These sources explore how body-aware practices, yoga, and mindfulness may interact with stress, trauma, and self-regulation, and some of the ethical questions that come up when contemplative practices meet clinical care.
If yoga-informed psychotherapy, one-on-one yoga instruction, or a combination feels like it might support you, you're welcome to reach out. A free consult is the first step.
This page is for general information only and does not replace individualized mental health care or medical advice. It does not establish a therapeutic relationship. Yoga instruction is a non-regulated wellness service and is not a substitute for psychotherapy; outcomes vary and are not guaranteed. Amanda Carver's psychotherapy and yoga instruction services are offered separately and delivered as appropriate to each relationship, with care to avoid dual relationships. Vistas is not an emergency or crisis service. If you are in crisis, at risk of harm, or unable to stay safe, please call or text 9-8-8 (Suicide Crisis Helpline), call 9-1-1, or contact your local crisis service before reaching out for non-urgent care.