Gentle Somatic Yoga® events and trainings
Join us for upcoming trainings, retreats, and workshops to release tension, restore vitality, and deepen your somatic wellness journey…
A MONTHLY ongoing 2-hr Livestream experiential Gentle Somatic Yoga® (GSY) workshop
- October 18th, 2025, 10am-12pm (PDT) Theme: Cosmic Energy. Energization techniques (inspired by Paramahansa Yogananada) paired with Somatic Movement Flows® & Gentle Somatic Yoga®. Facilitated by James Knight and Julia Ivanovna Whillhite.
10am PDT San Francisco & Vancouver | 1pm EDT New York & Ottawa | 6p GMT United Kingdom
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This monthly series of livestream Somatic Sanctuary EXPERIENCIAL workshops, are designed to bring balance and nourishment to the whole-self (Mind, Body, Emotions, Energy, and Spirit). Learn and discover more what you soma craves for deep self-care.
In stressful life experiences, we can temporarily lose our ability to self-regulate and control our physiology. In Gentle Somatic Yoga we call this sensory motor amnesia (SMA). When we are in this state, natural everyday movement can become limited and less enjoyable.
With an attitude of exploration, we can learn how to listen to our inherent somatic intelligence and intuitively unwind from stressful life experiences stored in our tissues (muscles and fascia) and energy field. We can initiate this process through finding creative body shapes through Somatic Movement Flows® and meditation (soma scans).
All are welcome! These practices are designed and adaptable for most people and skill levels.
For more specific information on each month’s theme, please visit our landing page for Somatic Sanctuary HERE.
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Fee: Sliding Scale ~ $15, $20 or $25 USD
Each livestream Somatic Sanctuary workshop is approximately 1.5-hours of nourishing movement practices with an optional .50-hour Q&A session following. CEU’s available for yoga teachers and yoga therapists upon request.
RECORDINGS:
When you sign-up for this workshop, you will receive a Zoom invite via email. For those that live in other time zones that make it difficult to join us, you can still sign up and you will receive replay videos of the sessions for future practice. You will have access to the recordings for 30 days after the event. Beyond that timeframe, the follow-along videos will be available long-term in our ever-expanding virtual video library: Somatic Wellness TV.
In-person: October 10th – 12th ~ Gentle Somatic Yoga® Weekend: Practices for Deep Self Care. Facilitated by James Knight.
Join us for a weekend of whole-self nourishment and restoration! Enjoy taking part of the Ashram’s daily activities and accommodations: complimentary yoga and meditation classes, inspiring spiritual talks, organic meals, and walking forest trails on their 800-acre property.
*NOTE: If you want to deepen in your practice, you might consider staying on a few more days (ending Oct. 15th) at Yogaville and instead sign up for our GSY Level 1 training course. This retreat and training are happening individually, and in-tandem.
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- Friday, Sept 5th 6-8pm: Move with Ease and Pleasure Introduction to Gentle Somatic Yoga, restful Soma Scan™ Meditation, and sound healing journey
- Saturday, Sept 6th 3-5pm: Somatic Movement Flows® for Whole-Self Nourishment •Saturday Workshop – 1.5-hour movement class + 30-minute Q&A discussion
- Sunday, Sept 7th 12-5pm: Going Deeper into Gentle Somatic Yoga® for Whole-Self Integration & Inspiration • Sunday Full-Day Immersion – Includes two 1-hour experiential somatic movement classes + two 1-hour interactive learning laboratories
In-Person GSY Level 1 Training at Yogaville ~ Satchidananda Ashram, Virginia. October 10-15, 2025 ~ Facilitated by Gentle Somatic Yoga® (GSY) founder, James Knight.
Theme: Your Self-Care Journey Begins with a Supportive Foundation. Learn 25+ Somatic Movement Flows®, the neuroscience, philosophy, and method of GSY. This course is not only designed for yoga teachers, yoga therapists, bodyworkers, and health care professionals but also for the everyday person who wants to invest in learning how to develop a home practice of deep self-care.
*NOTE: When you sign up for this training, you will also be participating in the Spiritual Retreat Weekend at Yogaville, faclitated by James.
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Join James Knight, founder of Gentle Somatic Yoga® (GSY), for an unforgettable spiritual vacation while you embark on a Somatic Healing Journey.
Gentle Somatic Yoga is a simple, practical, and effective form of brain-to-muscle re-patterning (and strengthening) that goes to the root cause of persistent pain, stiffness, poor posture, anxiety, and lack of energy. Explore simple and reliable tools for self-care, self-healing, and also to share these gifts with others.
Although many participants attracted to this training are Movement Educators, you don’t need to be a yoga teacher/therapist or bodyworker to take this course. Anyone interested in learning new tools to take charge of their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health are welcome.
As an ADDED BONUS, when you register for this In-Person training, we’ll also give you complimentary access to our self-paced GSY ONLINE Level 1 Course.
What you will learn in this GSY L1 Training Course:
- 25+ Therapeutic Somatic Movement Flows® for self-care, resiliency, health, and wellbeing
- How and why somatic movements can significantly increase flexibility & mobility with long-term results
- Ways to practice nourishing movements that are adaptable for most body types. Emphasis will be on finding your own inner teacher and relying less on “doing it right” according to instruction or demonstration
- How to practice compassionate ways to move your body that inspires expanded states of self-awareness and inner confidence
- How GSY is firmly rooted in leading-edge neuroscience and balanced with heart-based wisdom
- Tips, guidelines, and modifications you can use to customize for your own body, students, or clients ~ both in group classes and private sessions
- How to replace static stretching with innovative brain-to-muscle re-education
This event is hosted by Yogaville and the Satchidananda Ashram.
Yogaville is a serene oasis in the heartland of Virginia. With a diverse community of heart-centered people and its world-renowned Yoga Academy ~ Integral Yoga, Yogaville opens doors to spiritual growth and self-mastery.
Enjoy taking part of the Ashram’s daily activities and accommodations: complimentary yoga and meditation classes, inspirational spiritual talks, organic vegan food, and walking forest trails on their 800-acre property including along the James River.
Continuing Education Units (CEUs) 32
- Yoga Alliance (YA)
- International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) *You must apply. GSY can give you the codes.
- Integral Yoga Teachers Association (IYTA) can provide you a CE certificate with your program’s total contact hours for a $10 fee (free for IYTA members.) For more information, email: ce@iyta.org.
Transportation:
The nearest airports to Yogaville are Charlottesville (CHO) or Lynchburg (LYH). You can rent a car, or hire an Uber or a taxi to get to Yogaville.
In-Person GSY Workshop ~ Gloucester, MA. October 17 & 18, 2025 ~ Facilitated by James Knight.
- Friday night. Theme: Restorative Gentle Somatic Yoga® workshop
- Saturday afternoon. Theme: Somatic Movement Flows® for Whole-Self Nourishment
This is James’ first time to Massachusetts! Hosted by GSY Level 1, 2 & 3 certified Teacher Roberta Gallagher, and Tree Top Yoga Studio
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Gentle Somatic Yoga is a simple, practical, and effective form of brain-to-muscle re-patterning (and strengthening) that goes to the root cause of persistent pain, stiffness, poor posture, anxiety, and lack of energy. Explore simple and reliable tools for self-care, self-healing, and also to share these gifts with others.
Although many participants attracted to this training are Movement Educators, you don’t need to be a yoga teacher/therapist or bodyworker to take this course. Anyone interested in learning new tools to take charge of their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health are welcome.
- Friday night’s workshop: Join us for an evening of to reset, renew, and rejuvenate! You will be guided into exploring Somatic Movement Flows®—therapeutic sequences that release muscular tension, calm the nervous system, and invite embodied awareness. The focus is not on traditional stretching. Instead you will learn to re-pattern and strengthen your brain-to-muscle connection and unwind from deep tension holding patterns. This session introduces the foundational principles of Gentle Somatic Yoga®, no prior experience needed.
- Saturday afternoon’s workshop: Reclaim a sense of ease and vitality through therapeutic Somatic Movement Flows® that help unwind chronic tension, enhance flexibility, and reconnect you with your body’s (soma) innate wisdom. After a short break, return for a Q&A integration circle to ask questions, explore how to personalize your practice, and reflect on your experience. Open to all levels and ideal for anyone seeking practical, empowering tools for everyday self-care. James Knight, E-RYT, CHSE, is the founder of Gentle Somatic Yoga®, a method that blends therapeutic yoga, and Hanna Somatic Education, and neuroscience-based practices to promote pain relief, flexibility, and embodied awareness.
My dear friend Roberta Gallagher is hosting me while staying in Massachusetts. She is a gifted Integrative Therapist, Movement Educator, and certified Gentle Somatic Yoga (GSY) Levels 1, 2 & 3. She lives in Rockport, MA and teaches GSY out of Tree Top Yoga Studio, and also sees clients out of her office. Check out her wesite HERE.
For more information and directions to the venu for these workshops visit Tree Top Yoga websute HERE.
If you are travelling from out of state, and would like hotel or other accomodation suggestions, please contact us. One of the hotels gave us a discount code you can use.
Livestream workshop: October 29, 2025. 3:30pm – 6pm PDT ~ Facilitated by James Knight.
The theme is: Supporting Aging Populations and Mobility Challenges
Everyone is welcome to join this experiencial somatic yoga session: yoga instructors, yoga therapists, bodyworkers, and anyone interested in self-care tools to age gracefully.
Click link below for more info. This is a public event.
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Livestream workshop series (on Monday’s): Dec. 1, 8, 15, & 22, 2025. 1pm – 2:30pm EDT ~ Hosted by YogaUOnline and facilitated by James Knight. Overarching theme for the series is: Connecting with Your Somatic Being
The individual themes for each workshop are:
- 12/1 ~ The Integration of Somatic Principles
- 12/8 ~ Cultivating Your Interoceptive Awareness
- 12/15 ~ Bottom-Up Movement for Healing and Integration
- 12/22 ~ Mindful Movement as Your Transformation
This is a public event, all are welcome. Click link below for more info.
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1st. Session: The Integration of Somatic Principles with Your Yogic Practice
Gentle Somatic Yoga® emphasizes your internal experience of movement rather than external form, helping you develop a more intimate and trustworthy relationship with your body’s innate intelligence.
This practice series represents a synthesis of traditional yogic approaches with contemporary somatic methodologies.
Join us for practices that honors both ancient wisdom and contemporary somatic methodologies. Unlike traditional stretching or strengthening exercises, somatic practices work through your nervous system to create lasting changes in how your muscles function and how you experience your body.
2nd Session: Cultivating Your Interoceptive Awareness
The somatic approach to yoga practice emphasizes the development of interoception—your ability to sense internal bodily signals including hunger, thirst, heart rate, muscle tension, and emotional states. This capacity for internal sensing provides crucial information for making choices that support your overall well-being.
3rd Session: Bottom-Up Movement for Healing and Integration
Somatic practices emphasize “bottom-up movement.”—. Rather than using your mind to control or direct bodily experience, you learn to allow your physical sensations and movement patterns to guide your movement.
This approach is particularly valuable for addressing stress, trauma, and chronic tension patterns that may not respond well to purely cognitive or top-down interventions. By working through your body’s own healing mechanisms, you can access deeper layers of integration and release.
4th Sessions: Mindful Movement as Your Transformation
The practices in this series emphasize slow, exploratory movements that prioritize your internal sensing over external achievement. Learn to move in ways that feel supportive and nourishing rather than forcing your body into predetermined positions or pushing through discomfort.
This approach cultivates a different relationship with challenge and growth, one that honors your body’s natural wisdom about timing, intensity, and direction. Rather than imposing external standards or goals, you learn to trust your internal guidance system and to find strength and flexibility through cooperation with your body’s natural tendencies rather than opposition to them.
Each session can be attended as a stand-alone practice, or you can take the entire series.
NEW Somatic Adventure and Wellness Retreat ~ New Zealand, South Island ~ September 4 – 11, 2027 (surprise add-on option to be announced later). Facilitated by James Knight and Tracy Aleksic.
This is a Soul Design Retreat ~ A Journey of Inspiration and Transformation!
Please click the link below to add yourself to our interest list. We will notify you when our registration page is published. With love, James and Tracy.
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More exciting details of this NEW Soul Design Retreat coming soon!
