What is Yoga Therapy?
I think of Yoga Therapy as lifestyle coaching for your whole self: physical body, physiology, mind, unique personality, and spirit. These 5 interlocking pieces constitute the Vedic understanding of the human constitution and your work with a Yoga Therapist might touch on one or more of these layers in your practice. Yoga Therapy works through 1 - on - 1 sessions, where you and your therapist work together to create a personalized daily practice for you to practice at home or on the road to support your needs. This practice is tailored specifically to your current health status, life circumstances, age, type of work, level of anxiety, interests, family situation, and more.
Yoga Therapy integrates traditional yoga practices (eg, poses, philosophy, breathing practices, and meditation) with Ayurvedic lifestyle practices, and can function very well as a holistic or complementary medicine modality alongside other medical and psychological practice modalities.
Yoga Therapy integrates traditional yoga practices (eg, poses, philosophy, breathing practices, and meditation) with Ayurvedic lifestyle practices, and can function very well as a holistic or complementary medicine modality alongside other medical and psychological practice modalities.
Whether you're dealing with trying to find time to take care of yourself as a caregiver to children or an aging parent, arthritis that keeps you from hobbies you used to enjoy, post-concussion symptoms that make you more at risk of falls and vertigo, anxiety or PTSD that amps up your blood pressure, encountering daily systemic transphobia or racism that keeps you feeling stuck and trapped, Yoga Therapy coaching can support you to uncover ways that you can systematically move towards living a more vibrant, resilient, peaceful, trusting, and joyful life.
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Read this article for a great description of the differences between a yoga class and a yoga therapy session:
https://yogainternational.com/article/view/The-Distinction-Between-a-Yoga-Class-and-a-Yoga-Therapy-Session
What Are My Goals for You In Sharing This Work?
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Usually clients/students come to me with specific concerns – a desire to ease pain, reduce anxiety, manage their arthritis, improve their breathing, heal from surgery, lose weight etc. They have often seen many practitioners and feel curious, stuck, or overwhelmed with information. Maybe they have read an article about breathing or their doctor mentioned yoga. When we meet, I listen as the client/student shares their hopes, concerns, and challenges. Once I get to know them a bit I listen to my intuition and offer a few directions our session might lead, and/or some practices we might explore together. Often here my clients have an "aha!" moment here, an "Ah yes, now THAT I could do for myself!". I want to build you a practice that feels doable in your real life, excites you, and hopefully feels like a sigh of relief.
As Yoga Therapy is person-oriented, not disease oriented, your Yoga Therapy sessions and practice will look completely unique to you.
Your practice may look like any of:
I have seen peoples pain reduced, fertility change, and medication dosages lowered when they have checked in with their doctor after a period of time doing their practices. I have students who's outlook on life have shifted completely, and who have felt empowered enough to make better choices for themselves: to leave situations that aren't working for them anymore, to speak up against inequities, to stand more proudly in their identity.
Each practice I develop is tailored to address a clients/students needs that are most prominent at that time, with a suggestion and encouragement to practice daily or as often as possible. Just like a medication won't work if you only take the pill one time, Yoga Therapy is most effective when you bring it into your life daily. Check-ins are scheduled where we deepen practices that are working well, answer any questions that have arisen, adjust things that aren't quite working for you, completely change course if something is keeping you from practice, address a new injury, or get you back on track with your practices if life has gotten in the way. And remember, any practice done for the appropriate amount of time can save your life, any practice done for too long can ruin your health. I will continue to be here to support your health and wellbeing as you need. Please connect with me if you feel called to this work.
As Yoga Therapy is person-oriented, not disease oriented, your Yoga Therapy sessions and practice will look completely unique to you.
Your practice may look like any of:
- 5 minutes of ball rolling between online client sessions
- Oiling your arthritic joints and then dynamically waking up your body with movement before you begin your day
- A strategic plan that we build together, write down, and/or create art around, that you can follow when you are anxious
- A prayer you say to your meal as you prepare it
- An audio recording of an evening relaxation practice to wind you down from your day
- A reflective drawing activity that you do when you are bed bound after a symptoms flare
- Mindfulness practices you can do on your daily walks
- Exploring eliminating potentially triggering foods from your diet and journalling about their effects when you re-introduce them
- A combination of many or these
I have seen peoples pain reduced, fertility change, and medication dosages lowered when they have checked in with their doctor after a period of time doing their practices. I have students who's outlook on life have shifted completely, and who have felt empowered enough to make better choices for themselves: to leave situations that aren't working for them anymore, to speak up against inequities, to stand more proudly in their identity.
Each practice I develop is tailored to address a clients/students needs that are most prominent at that time, with a suggestion and encouragement to practice daily or as often as possible. Just like a medication won't work if you only take the pill one time, Yoga Therapy is most effective when you bring it into your life daily. Check-ins are scheduled where we deepen practices that are working well, answer any questions that have arisen, adjust things that aren't quite working for you, completely change course if something is keeping you from practice, address a new injury, or get you back on track with your practices if life has gotten in the way. And remember, any practice done for the appropriate amount of time can save your life, any practice done for too long can ruin your health. I will continue to be here to support your health and wellbeing as you need. Please connect with me if you feel called to this work.
Who can benefit?
Yoga Therapy as part of the healing process is often used in chronic or long term conditions like:
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What Should I Expect in a Session?
Free 15 Minute Consultation
If you'd like to connect with me to chat and see if you think we'd be a good fit to work together, please book a free 15 minute consultation to discuss your concerns and hopes, and you can ask me any questions you might have about our work together.
Intake
When you decide to book a first session with me, you will need to fill out an intake online before we meet. It goes over relevant personal information and should take between 10-20 minutes to fill out. You can choose how much information you'd like to share in the intake. You can always add more information when we chat in session. You can also email me any supporting documents that you'd like to add to the intake form to my email at [email protected].
First Session
We will go over your intake form together and I may ask you some clarifying questions. We will then do a few simple assessment movements and observe your breathing.
Session offerings
TKV Desikachar speaks of his father, Krishnamacharya (my lineage's founder) and the art of designing a practice for the specific individual as thus: “My father had adapted underlying principles of Yoga to the specific problems, not merely drawn upon a traditional repertoire.” With that in mind, we don’t only look at using āsana familiar from pictures we may see on the internet, we may do any number of things to address your long-term health goals as they are appropriate, including:
Take-Home
After your session you will take home a diagram of your suggested practices or an audio/video recording of your practice, plus notes on lifestyle shifts to practice daily as suggested. Specific effects cannot be guaranteed, but if you practice, be assured, something will happen!
Follow Ups
As you deepen in your practice, we can meet and make shifts to refine it as you need. Many people do this every 3 or 4 weeks, but sometimes weekly or bi-weekly is beneficial if you are committing to quick changes in habits, or are working with mental health concerns. My ultimate longterm goal for each student is for them to know themselves well enough that they understand how to modify their daily practice as needed to keep themselves in balance. This will look different for every single individual I meet depending on their goals, commitment to practice, and stage in their journey towards healing.
If you'd like to connect with me to chat and see if you think we'd be a good fit to work together, please book a free 15 minute consultation to discuss your concerns and hopes, and you can ask me any questions you might have about our work together.
Intake
When you decide to book a first session with me, you will need to fill out an intake online before we meet. It goes over relevant personal information and should take between 10-20 minutes to fill out. You can choose how much information you'd like to share in the intake. You can always add more information when we chat in session. You can also email me any supporting documents that you'd like to add to the intake form to my email at [email protected].
First Session
We will go over your intake form together and I may ask you some clarifying questions. We will then do a few simple assessment movements and observe your breathing.
Session offerings
TKV Desikachar speaks of his father, Krishnamacharya (my lineage's founder) and the art of designing a practice for the specific individual as thus: “My father had adapted underlying principles of Yoga to the specific problems, not merely drawn upon a traditional repertoire.” With that in mind, we don’t only look at using āsana familiar from pictures we may see on the internet, we may do any number of things to address your long-term health goals as they are appropriate, including:
- Individually tailored and appropriately sequenced yoga movements (āsana)
- Diet and lifestyle recommendations based in the wisdoms of Indian Naturopathy: Ayurveda
- Conscious breathing practices (prāṇāyāma, chanting sounds or mantra-s)
- Therapeutic ball rolling (tissue release / self massage)
- Mindfulness and visualization practices and potentially guided meditations, prayers, or affirmations as appropriate
Take-Home
After your session you will take home a diagram of your suggested practices or an audio/video recording of your practice, plus notes on lifestyle shifts to practice daily as suggested. Specific effects cannot be guaranteed, but if you practice, be assured, something will happen!
Follow Ups
As you deepen in your practice, we can meet and make shifts to refine it as you need. Many people do this every 3 or 4 weeks, but sometimes weekly or bi-weekly is beneficial if you are committing to quick changes in habits, or are working with mental health concerns. My ultimate longterm goal for each student is for them to know themselves well enough that they understand how to modify their daily practice as needed to keep themselves in balance. This will look different for every single individual I meet depending on their goals, commitment to practice, and stage in their journey towards healing.
Yoga Therapy Scope of Practice
Yoga Therapy is not yet a regulated profession in Canada but the framework it works within has been used to maintain health and wellbeing for thousands of years. A Yoga Therapist works towards holistic health in body, physiology, mind, and personality with a combination of movement, and breathing practices, ball rolling self massage, body oiling, visualization, mantra/affirmation, sound or chanting, meditation, and mindfulness techniques depending on each client's unique needs. Basic dietary suggestions might be made when appropriate within the framing of Ayurveda, and my Yoga Therapist can refer me to another health care provider if I’d like to learn more. A Yoga Therapist cannot diagnose conditions, prescribe medications or supplements, perform manual adjustments or any invasive procedures, interpret test results, or interpret or another Health Care Provider’s suggested treatment. A Yoga Therapist is not a psychotherapist and if mental health concerns outside the scope of a Yoga Therapist’s purview arise, my therapist can help me find local, qualified counselling support. I understand that I am encouraged to continue meeting regularly with my physician/primary healthcare provider to track any changes in my health status as I add these Yoga Therapy practices into my care routines, so that they might adjust any medications, order needed tests for me etc.
Because of Kassandra’s prior career and creative training, they may also (if and when appropriate and desired by the client) offer creative exercises or explorations outside the scope of Yoga Therapy within a session or for home practice. These tools are usually used to work with the deeper parts of the self (mind and personality) and might include things such as improvisational sound or movement to find fluidity of voice or body, using photography to search out joy in the world, journal prompts or tarot readings to support inquiry into the mind etc.
Because of Kassandra’s prior career and creative training, they may also (if and when appropriate and desired by the client) offer creative exercises or explorations outside the scope of Yoga Therapy within a session or for home practice. These tools are usually used to work with the deeper parts of the self (mind and personality) and might include things such as improvisational sound or movement to find fluidity of voice or body, using photography to search out joy in the world, journal prompts or tarot readings to support inquiry into the mind etc.
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Rates
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90-120min "Intake"
(Online or The Junction, Toronto) Market Rate: $110-140+hst Benefactor Rate: $150+hst or more Community Rate: $90+hst *Includes a take home audio/video recording of your personalized breath and movement practice PLUS personalized lifestyle suggestions for optimal health* |
60min "Follow Up"
(Online or The Junction, Toronto) Market Rate: $70-90+hst Benefactor Rate: $100+hst or more Community Rate: $60+hst *Includes a take home audio/video recording of your new or modified personalized breath and movement practice PLUS personalized lifestyle suggestions for optimal health* |
30min "Check In"
(Online or The Junction, Toronto) Market Rate: $40-50+hst Benefactor Rate: $60+hst or more Community Rate: $30+hst *Includes adjusting your personalized breath, movement, and lifestyle practices according to changing health or life circumstances* |
**please email me if you're hoping to book in your own home. I have some availability to travel to clients in the GTA**
Travel Time Costs: Calculated by distance and added to fee
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Market Rates – suggested for those with livable income and can meet basic needs
Benefactor Rates – suggested for those with a salary, health benefits, property ownership, savings, family/spousal support
Community Rates – suggested for those on minimum wage or precarious work, on social assistance, no family financial support
**If the community rate is still out of reach, please connect and we can discuss an exchange that feels mutually abundant**
Travel Time Costs: Calculated by distance and added to fee
~ ~ ~
Market Rates – suggested for those with livable income and can meet basic needs
Benefactor Rates – suggested for those with a salary, health benefits, property ownership, savings, family/spousal support
Community Rates – suggested for those on minimum wage or precarious work, on social assistance, no family financial support
**If the community rate is still out of reach, please connect and we can discuss an exchange that feels mutually abundant**
Testimonials
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"Kassandra & their Yoga Therapy practice gifted me with a renewed sense of hope and a beautiful reconnection to myself. I struggled through so much pain & despair for three months resulting from a shoulder injury. Even with regular online physiotherapy sessions (owing to Covid-19) I experienced so many setbacks, heightened feelings of isolation and, at my lowest point, a deep severance between my physical self and myself as a spiritual and emotional being. After just one session with Kass I felt a resonant, radiant mind-body-spirit reconnection. My shoulder started to heal steadily. Kass breathed light, strength and balance back into my life, reminding me to listen, trust, and let go. My sense of self was restored. I cannot overstate how much I believe you should book a session with Kass … they are the BEST. Period. Learning to work with instead of against yourself physically and emotionally is such a gift!! THANK YOU KASS!!"
Joëlle
"Kass noticed that I have a problem breathing through my nose (I broke my nose almost 30 years ago). Kass gave me some specific breathing exercises for it, and in 10 weeks I've gone from 75% blocked to 25% blocked! I feel that Kass really cares about my whole well-being. Kass took the time to understand the many problems plaguing my body and mind, and has crafted a series of routines to help me fix them. We've met for 10 weeks, and Kass evolved my routine from very gentle and simple actions to more advanced ones as I've progressed. This is the longest I've ever done daily activities in my life! Thanks Kass!"
Matthew G
"Yoga therapy really works but you have to do the exercises. If you need amendments, they can be done. Don't be afraid to ask for those adjustments. This therapy helped me so much. Its hard for me to imagine that now I sleep in when before I started this therapy, I couldn't sleep much and not well. Invest in yourself. You are worth it. You will receive lots of tips and guidance. Explore it all."
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Mary-Ann L
