Amy Wheeler-Mantoan Ph.D., C-IAYT

Department Chair & Professor, Yoga and Ayurveda

Faculty School of Integrated Health School of Integrative Health
awheelermantoan@muih.ndm.edu
Amy Wheeler-Mantoan
This profile is currently being updated. Some information may be incomplete.

Biography

Amy Wheeler, Ph.D., C-IAYT, serves as Chair of the Yoga Therapy and Ayurveda Department in the School of Integrative Health at Notre Dame of Maryland University. She has spent more than 30 years advancing the fields of yoga therapy, integrative health, health promotion, and higher education through teaching, research, leadership, and clinical practice.

Prior to joining Notre Dame of Maryland University, Dr. Wheeler served for 25 years as Professor of Kinesiology at California State University, San Bernardino. Throughout her career, she has also held leadership positions in hospital wellness, corporate health promotion, nonprofit organizations, and international professional associations.

Dr. Wheeler is a Past President and Board Chair of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), where she helped guide the organization through a period of significant professional growth and the continued development of educational standards for the profession.

Her scholarship focuses on thoughtfully integrating the traditional wisdom of Yoga and Ayurveda into contemporary healthcare while maintaining fidelity to their philosophical foundations. She also has a growing interest in the use of artificial intelligence to enhance higher education, curriculum design, faculty development, and healthcare education.

Dr. Wheeler is an international speaker, consultant, educator, host of The Yoga Therapy Hour Podcast.

Education

  • Ph.D. Education (Curriculum and Design), Specialization in Educational Psychology
  • M.A. Health Education
  • B.A. Community Health Education

Certifications & Licensure

  • Polyvagal Institute Certification Courses
  • Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT)
  • Experienced Yoga Teacher (E-RYT) and Yoga Teacher Trainer
  • Advanced training in the Krishnamacharya/KYM (Viniyoga) tradition
  • Extensive experience in integrative health, therapeutic yoga, higher education, curriculum development, and educational leadership

Research

Interests

  • Yoga therapy in integrative healthcare
  • Indian psychology as the philosophical foundation of yoga therapy
  • Ayurveda in healthcare systems
  • Lifestyle medicine and behavior change
  • Clinical reasoning in yoga therapy
  • Stress physiology, autonomic nervous system regulation, and allostatic load
  • Artificial intelligence in higher education
  • Curriculum development and competency-based education
  • Interprofessional education

Publications

  1. Sullivan, M., & Wheeler, A. (2026). Applying Therapeutic Yoga in Integrative Health.
  2. Wheeler, A. (2021). Foundations of yoga as therapy: Assessment and healing approach. In D. Finlayson & L. H. Robertson (Eds.), Yoga Therapy Foundations, Tools and Practice: A Comprehensive Textbook.
  3. Wheeler, A., Quayhagen, K., Raines, A. M., Sullivan, M., & Prasad, S. (2026). Integrative therapeutic yoga for substance use and co-occurring symptoms: Outcomes and insights from a residential treatment program. International Journal of Yoga Therapy, 36.
  4. Cunningham, M., & Wheeler, A. (2024). Mental health and yoga therapy: The case for peer counseling. Yoga Therapy Today.
  5. Sohl, S. J., Strahley, A., Tooze, J. A., Levine, B., Kelly, M., Wheeler, A., Evans, S., & Danhauer, S. C. (2022). Qualitative results from a pilot study of eHealth Mindful Movement and Breathing to improve gynecologic cancer surgery outcomes.
  6. Sohl, S. J., Tooze, J. A., Wheeler, A., Zeidan, F., Wagner, L., Evans, S., Kelly, M., Shalowitz, D., Green, M., Levine, B., & Danhauer, S. C. (2019). Iterative adaptation process for eHealth Mindful Movement and Breathing to improve gynecologic cancer surgery outcomes. Psycho-Oncology, 28, 1774–1777.
  7. Criswell, E., & Wheeler, A. (2016). Establishing professional ethics in the field of yoga therapy. International Journal of Yoga Therapy.
  8. Wheeler, A., & Wilkin, L. (2007). A study of the impact of yoga asana on perceived stress, heart rate, and breathing rate. International Journal of Yoga Therapy, 17, 57–63.

Funding & Grants

  • Wake Forest National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP), Co-Investigator - Supports the development and implementation of cancer prevention, symptom management, and cancer care delivery research throughout the National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program.
  • RESPITE Study, Collaborative investigator on the study: Remotely Delivered Supportive Programs for Improving Surgical Pain and Distress (RESPITE). This randomized clinical trial investigates eHealth Mindful Movement and Breathing interventions for women undergoing surgery for suspected gynecologic malignancies.
  • American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society Diversity Development Award, Collaborative investigator on the adaptation of Yoga Skills Training for patients with Functional Dyspepsia and Gastroparesis, integrating yoga into brain-gut behavioral medicine.

Presentations

  • Wheeler, A. & Sullivan, M. (2026). Applying Therapeutic Yoga in Integrative Health: A Guide for Re-Imagining Well-Being.
  • Wheeler, A. (2021). Foundations of yoga as therapy: Assessment and healing approach. In D. Finlayson & L. H. Robertson (Eds.),
  • Yoga therapy foundations, tools and practice: A comprehensive textbook. Singing Dragon. Balayogi Bhavanani, A., Sullivan, M., Taylor, M. J., & Wheeler, A. (2019).
  • Shared foundations for practice: The language of yoga therapy. Yoga Therapy Today, Summer, 44–47. Criswell, E., & Wheeler, A. (2016, Summer).
  • Establishing professional ethics in the field of yoga therapy. Yoga Therapy Today, 12, 20–21.
  • 2024 Yoga Therapy for Emotional Intelligence, Self-Regulation & Self-Awareness. 25th Annual Vyasa Singapore Yoga Therapy Conference.
  • 2024 Polyvagal-Informed Therapeutic Yoga: Applying Yoga Practices. Taiwan Government Invited Lecture.
  • 2024 Embodied Resilience. Taiwan Government Invited Lecture.
  • 2021 Breathing and Pranayama for Working with COVID-19 Clients in Yoga Therapy. 5th Annual Asian Yoga Therapy Conference.
  • 2020 Resiliency for Body & Mind: A Yogic Perspective. National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, India.
  • 2020 Gen Z, Yoga and Hope for the Future. Global Yoga Therapy Day.
  • 2020 Yoga, Youth & Hope for the Future. Ranjit Gandhi University.
  • 2020 Yoga Therapy in the U.S. During COVID-19. Global Yoga Consortium.
  • 2019 Yoga Therapy Assessment and Therapeutic Planning. Korean Yoga Therapy Association Annual Conference.
  • 2019 Choosing Appropriate Individualized Yoga Approaches for Therapeutic Purposes. Korean Yoga Therapy Association.
  • 2019Yoga Therapy in the United States: An Experiment in Cross-Pollination. Japanese Yoga Society Annual Conference.
  • 2018 Yoga Therapy Assessment and Individualized Care Plans. Japanese Yoga Society Annual Conference.
  • 2018 How Yoga and Yoga Therapy Works: Theoretical Mechanisms of Yoga. Korean Yoga Therapy Association.

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

  • International Association of Yoga Therapy (IAYT)
  • Yoga Alliance (YA)
  • Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM)
  • Healing Yoga Foundation (HYF)
  • California Yoga Teachers Association (CYTA)