Welcome to Drop Anchor

Yoga, Meditation, Mindfulness, and Retreats supporting Stillness, Strength, and Self-Discovery.

*Drop Anchor is an HCAI-registered and FSRA-authorized service provider*

Come as you are.

Drop Anchor.

Begin again.

Logo for Drop Anchor Yoga & Meditation featuring a stylized figure in a yoga pose rising above a lotus flower.

About

A studio born from practice, purpose & peace

Drop Anchor Yoga & Meditation is more than a name. It is a gentle reminder to pause, breathe, and return to what is steady within.

Hello, I’m Carey. I’m so glad you’ve found your way here. I am a presence-based yoga practitioner devoted to helping people uncover limiting beliefs, release tension, and expand awareness through movement, mindfulness, and meditation. I founded Drop Anchor in 2017 to create a space where we can meet ourselves with presence, curiosity, and patience. At the core of my work is the understanding that we are already whole, and that through mindful and loving presence, positive changes in both body and mind become possible.

Over the years, my work has naturally evolved to support people navigating chronic pain, life after brain injury, nervous system stress, and the physical and emotional transitions of midlife. Many students come to Drop Anchor feeling cautious in their bodies, tired of pushing, or unsure where they belong. This is a space that invites you to come as you are and to move at a pace that honours where you are today.

My Background & Training:

  • Degrees in Psychology and Biology, earned with Highest Honours

  • 350-hour Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT 350) through the Canadian Yoga Alliance

  • Specialized training in Yoga for Traumatic Brain Injury through the LoveYourBrain Foundation

  • Advanced training in Hatha, Yin, Ashtanga, and Yoga for Chronic Back Pain and Scoliosis

  • Over a decade of experience in public health and education

  • A devoted student of A Course in Miracles

At Drop Anchor, you’ll find thoughtfully designed programs for a wide range of bodies and life stages, including small-group yoga, functional strength training, 1:1 private sessions, mindfulness and meditation workshops, and offerings designed to support people navigating injury, including brain injuries, chronic pain, neurological changes, and life transitions. Classes are intentionally paced to support joint health, mobility, balance, and nervous system regulation, making them especially supportive for those in midlife or living with ongoing tension or pain.

Drop Anchor is proud to be an authorized (non-regulated) health care facility under the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) and Health Claims for Auto Insurance (HCAI). I offer direct billing for motor vehicle accident claims to help make care more accessible for those recovering from injury. In addition, Drop Anchor is proud to be a registered Mindfulness & Meditation school accredited through Canadian Yoga Alliance

Whether you are here to build strength, experience calm and ease, support your body through midlife changes, or simply carve out space for yourself in the midst of a full life, you are welcome here.

A little yoga studio with a big heart

Drop Anchor’s boutique yoga studio offers a calm, welcoming space designed with care and accessibility. Located in the heart of Carleton Place, this cozy gem of a studio accommodates small group classes and private sessions. Mobile sessions available! Travel within 15 minutes is included; a small fee applies for distances beyond 15 minutes (up to 30 minutes).

Mindfulness & Meditation Coaching & Small Group Workshops.
Welcome to Drop Anchor Yoga & Meditation — a cozy, light-filled studio in Carleton Place where movement meets mindfulness.
Welcome to Drop Anchor Yoga & Meditation — a cozy, light-filled studio in Carleton Place where movement meets mindfulness.

Whole Self Wellness

  • Explore mindful coaching and meditation sessions in the heart of Carleton Place.

    1:1 Private Yoga Sessions

    Personalized 1:1 yoga sessions are designed to meet you exactly where you are, both in person and online.

    Each session is thoughtfully tailored to your body, needs, and intentions, with a focus on supporting strength, mobility, nervous system regulation, and overall well-being. These sessions are especially supportive for people navigating chronic pain, injury recovery, neurological changes, and life transitions.

    As a certified CYA E-RYT 350 yoga teacher, I bring extensive experience across multiple yoga styles, including Yin, Ashtanga, Hatha, Prenatal, and specialized practices for Back Pain and Scoliosis. My background in psychology, biology, and public health further informs a grounded, practical approach to care.

    Each session is created with care, blending skilled guidance with a calm, heart-centered presence so your practice feels safe, effective, and supportive, without pressure to perform or push beyond your limits.

    Private Session Rate: $120/hour + tax

  • Presence-Based Mindfulness & Meditation

    1:1 Presence/Mindfulness Coaching Sessions

    Through presence and mindful inquiry, these private mindfulness coaching sessions guide you past the beliefs and patterns that limit how you see yourself and the world. Together, we explore emotions and thoughts not as problems to fix, but as doorways to clarity, calm, and inner truth.

    Each session offers a supportive, embodied space where you can soften habitual patterns of stress and tension, access emotional balance and clarity, and reconnect with a deep sense of love, wholeness, and presence.

    These sessions are ideal for anyone navigating stress, life transitions, chronic pain, or simply seeking a more peaceful and authentic relationship with themselves and others.

    It’s not about fixing. It’s about remembering who you truly are, and experiencing that truth directly.

    Private Session Rate: $85/hour + tax

  • A woman with blonde hair smiling and touching her chest, sitting against a wooden background.

    1:1 Support for Acquired Brain Injury

    These 1:1 sessions combine movement and stillness practices for people living with brain injury.

    Sessions are delivered in person or online and integrate movement, breathwork, meditation, and nervous system support techniques to support a deeper sense of well-being.

    My approach is trauma-informed and LoveYourBrain-certified, blending gentle Yoga, Meditation, and Mindfulness to support meaningful recovery from acquired brain injury (ABI). Research shows these practices can foster functional changes in the brain, helping with emotional regulation, memory, pain perception, balance, self-awareness, and overall quality of life (LoveYourBrain Foundation, 2025).

    Drop Anchor is an authorized health care facility under the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) and Health Claims for Auto Insurance (HCAI), offering direct billing for motor vehicle accident claims.

    Private Session Rate: $120/hour + tax

  • Woman performing a yoga pose in an arched stone alcove, wearing a black top and patterned pants.

    The Strength Ritual: Your Mindful Strength Training Yoga Program

    Move with purpose. Breathe with strength. Transform with ritual.

    The Strength Ritual is not your typical gym workout. It is a mindful strength training yoga program designed to help you build strength, balance, and confidence in a warm, supportive studio space. You will attend two small-group classes each week and commit to one powerful ritual each month that supports real, lasting transformation.

    Classes are paced slowly and intentionally to ensure safe, injury-aware movement, making them suitable for people at any fitness level or life stage, including those navigating midlife, chronic tension, or past injuries. Each session integrates functional strength training with yoga-based movement to improve posture, stability, flexibility, and confidence in daily life. Small group settings allow for personalized guidance and careful attention to form and alignment.

    By combining consistent practice with mindful reflection, the Strength Ritual helps you cultivate resilience, body awareness, and strength that carries beyond the studio into every part of your life.

    Sessions run at 6:30 am, 9:30 am and 12:00 pm, Monday to Thursday.

  • Drop Anchor's evening yoga classes focus on strength and balance at the Carambeck Community Centre in Carleton Place

    Tuesday Night Community Yoga Classes

    February 3 – April 28, 2026 (no class March 17).

    Recharge your week on Tuesday evenings from 6:15–7:15 PM at the Carambeck Community Centre, Main Gymnasium. This beginner-friendly class is thoughtfully designed to build strength safely, increase flexibility, and leave you feeling energized and stretched. Perfect for anyone looking for a welcoming, supportive, and rejuvenating midweek reset.

    Pricing: Drop-in: $20/class | Full 12-class series: $186 + tax

  • A woman sitting cross-legged on a black couch, writing in a notebook with a blue pen, with a wooden wall in the background and a pink blanket nearby.

    Mindfulness & Meditation Small Group Workshops

    Approval Detox Workshop

    Starting this February, join a 6-week workshop designed to help you release stress, reclaim your energy, and explore practical ways to move beyond approval-seeking patterns that can drain your energy and impact overall well-being.

    Through guided mindfulness and meditation exercises, this themed series provides a supportive space to notice thoughts and beliefs as they arise, and to experiment with choosing differently. By shifting how we respond to habitual thinking, participants often experience a profound sense of relief, clarity, and lightness in both mind and body.

    These workshops are especially beneficial for people navigating midlife stress, persistent tension, or patterns that keep energy and confidence stuck.

    Series Registration Fee: $165 + tax

    Browse upcoming workshop themes and dates.

  • A person sitting cross-legged indoors, holding a brass singing bowl in one hand and a mallet in the other, with smoke rising in the background.

    Day Retreats

    Coming Soon!

  • Nature-based silent retreat for deep rest and mindfulness in Ontario

    Silent Retreats

    Drop Anchor’s silent retreats unfold in a breathtaking sanctuary surrounded by forest and embraced by three tranquil shorelines on Big Gull Lake in the heart of North Frontenac.

    2025 Retreat Status: FULL

    Stay tuned for 2026 dates!

Silent Retreats

Large gray house with a curved turret, multiple windows, and a wraparound porch, surrounded by garden rocks and trees.

2025 Fall Silent Retreat

September 29 – October 5, 2025
Clarendon Station, North Frontenac

A Week of Deep Rest, Silence, Yoga & Mindfulness

Drop Anchor’s silent retreats unfold in a breathtaking sanctuary surrounded by forest and embraced by three tranquil shorelines on Big Gull Lake in the heart of North Frontenac.

Each retreat begins with a virtual orientation to help set intentions and gently ease into stillness. From there, the days flow with grounding practices such as mindfulness, yoga, meditation, and quiet time in nature, coupled with cold plunges, sauna sessions, nourishing meals, and daily sharing circles. Optional massage and hot stone therapy are offered for those interested.

Imagine meditating by the water’s edge as loons call across the lake, journaling on a screened-in porch with the scent of pine in the air, or watching the sunrise ripple across the surface as you sip warm tea in silence. These moments become portals to deep reflection and inner clarity.

Our 7-day silent retreat is designed to help you reconnect with yourself through stillness, nature, and meaningful inner work. Held on a private peninsula with 2,000 feet of shoreline and a castle-like lodge, this retreat offers a rare opportunity to step away from daily distractions and return to the heart of what matters.

Retreat Theme: Forgiveness

True forgiveness isn’t about letting others off the hook or forcing ourselves to feel positive. It’s about bringing awareness to the limiting beliefs we carry and gently letting them go. As those beliefs shift, so does our experience of life. This retreat is about exploring that shift (in the mind) and experiencing the expansion of freedom and joy that results! It's powerful to witness how profoundly our experience of life and of ourselves transforms as our perceptions shift.

Why Silence?

Silence allows us to turn inward and listen deeply. With the exception of group sessions and activities, the retreat is held in silence to support self-reflection, self-inquiry, insight, and deep rest.

What’s Included

  • Six nights of shared accommodation (2 guests per room + ensuite)

  • All meals and snacks prepared by our in-house chef

  • Daily yoga, meditation, mindfulness practices & group programming

  • Access to walking trails, forest, lake, and sauna

  • One-on-one coaching sessions

  • Pre-retreat virtual orientation

Retreat Cost

$1,852.50 (no taxes)
Includes accommodations, meals, full programming, coaching, and unlimited sauna access.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel before July 1, 2025:
A $600 cancellation fee applies. The remaining balance will be refunded.

If you cancel on or after July 1, 2025:
You may transfer your spot to someone else, provided both parties inform us in writing. If no replacement is found, your payment is non-refundable.

If we cancel the retreat:
You will receive a full refund of all payments made.

Sunlit living room with large windows overlooking a lake and trees with fall foliage, featuring a floral armchair, a lamp with a bird figurine, a side table, and a flower arrangement on a table.
A bedroom with two beds, wooden floors, windows with blinds, and a small desk with a fan and a lamp.
A person hiking on a dirt trail in a forest with tall trees and green foliage during daytime.
Dining room with wooden furniture, a family portrait, and a view of trees outside through large windows and sliding doors.

Testimonials

Contact

A smiling woman with long wavy blonde hair wearing a tank top with a graphic design, in front of a wooden background.

Interested in any of my program offerings? Fill out the contact form below or contact me directly:

Carey Carty

  • Email: dropanchoryogaottawa@gmail.com