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® workshop
- May 30th, 2026 ~ 10am-12pm (PDT) Theme: Customizing Gentle Somatic Yoga® using props. This is an exciting new workshop that explores the use of a variety of props to support and expand your Gentle Somatic Yoga® Practice. By using props such as bolsters, pillows and blocks, we can find new possibilities, vectors and choice points that allow a deeper personal practice within Somatic Movement Flows®. Facilitated by James Knight and Shigeko Leveque
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 wisdom 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).
This month’s theme is: Somatic Harmony™ ~ Sound Sensing, Somatic Movement, with focus on the feet* for Whole-Self Nourishment
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 Sanctum HERE.
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Fee: Sliding Scale ~ $15, $20 or $25 USD
Each livestream Somatic Sanctum 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.
Somatic Wisdom: A Weekend Immersion with James & Shigeko
May 29 – 31, 2026 ~ Yoga Center of Denver ~ Facilitated by James Knight and Shigeko Leveque
Step into a transformative weekend with James Knight and Shigeko designed to reconnect you with your body’s innate intelligence, regulate your nervous system, and awaken your full energetic potential. Somatic Wisdom is a three-part immersive journey weaving together Gentle Somatic Yoga®, meditation, sound healing, Qigong, breathwork, and energy practices to support deep healing across physical, emotional, and energetic layers.
You’re welcome to take each workshop seperately, or as a series.
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Gentle Somatic Yoga® (GSY) Level 1 Training: Culpeper, Virginia
June 2026 ~ GSY Faculty Rachael Shepherd
Learn 25+ Somatic Movement Flows®, the neuroscience, philosophy, and method of Gentle Somatic Yoga® (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.
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Gentle Somatic Yoga® (GSY) 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.
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.
What you will learn in this GSY Level 1 Training:
- 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 mindful and compassionate ways to move that inspire deeper connection with your body
- 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
As an ADDED BONUS, when you register for this hybrid training, we will also give you complimentary access to our self-paced GSY ONLINE Level 1 Course.
Certification for GSY Level 1 is optional and encouraged for those who want to teach and share this method with others. Up to 32 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available upon request. Future livestream, and in-person GSY training courses can be mixed-and-matched depending on your learning preferences.
Somatic Yoga for Better Sleep, Metabolic Recovery, and Nervous System Regulation After 50 ~ Facilitated by James Knight
Wednesdays, June 3, 10, 17 & 24, 2026
3 pm ET / 12 pm PT
Hosted by YogaUOnline. Join Us Livestream or View the Recordings later!
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James Knight, founder of Gente Somatic Yoga® for this new livestram series on sleep health.
After 50: Why Sleep Matters More
After 50, sleep becomes more than rest—it becomes a key regulator of muscle preservation, glucose metabolism, and hormonal balance.
Research shows that age-related changes in muscle signaling can make strength gains and tissue repair less efficient over time. While the stimulus for growth begins during movement and resistance training, it is processed and integrated during deep sleep—particularly during slow-wave cycles when growth hormone release supports protein synthesis and cellular repair.
When deep sleep is disrupted:
- Muscle repair becomes less efficient
- Inflammatory markers may rise
- Insulin sensitivity can decline
- Glucose regulation becomes more fragile
Even short-term sleep restriction has been shown to measurably impair metabolic flexibility.
The Missing Link: Nervous System Regulation
Yet what is often overlooked is this:
The nervous system determines whether the body can access restorative sleep states at all.
Many adults carry decades of subtle muscular guarding and low-grade sympathetic activation. The body may be tired—but the nervous system has not fully downshifted.
Rather than stimulating the system further, this approach works neurologically—helping normalize muscle tone, support vagal regulation, and create the internal conditions necessary for deeper sleep and metabolic integration.
What Makes This Approach Distinct
Traditional “bedtime yoga” often focuses on stretching, but James Knight’s somatic method works at a deeper neurological level. These aren’t poses you hold—they’re movement explorations that retrain your nervous system’s habitual patterns. Many people over 50 carry decades of compensatory movement patterns and chronic muscle guarding that create a constant low‑level stress signal, keeping the body in sympathetic (fight‑or‑flight) dominance even when you’re trying to rest.
The somatic approach uses three key principles:
- Pandiculation: The natural contraction‑release pattern you see in animals stretching, which helps reprogram muscle length at the brain level.
- Slow, mindful movement: Speed and intensity trigger arousal; slowness signals safety to your nervous system.
- Internal attention: Shifting from “doing” to sensing, which activates the parasympathetic (rest‑and‑digest) system.
In this four-session livestream series, participants will explore:
- How nervous system regulation creates the conditions for deeper, more restorative sleep.
- The relationship between muscle tone, autonomic balance, and metabolic efficiency.
- Why pandiculation resets muscular patterns more effectively than static stretching.
- How somatic awareness shifts the body from sympathetic dominance toward parasympathetic regulation.
- Practical tools to improve restorative capacity—whether expressed as deeper sleep, more efficient recovery, or sustained daytime vitality.
Sleep is one expression of restoration. But restoration begins with regulation.
Through slow, mindful somatic movement explorations, participants learn to reduce chronic contraction patterns that subtly signal threat to the brain. As the nervous system experiences safety, the body becomes more capable of entering hormonal and metabolic states associated with repair and recalibration.
Educational Focus and Outcomes
By Week 4, participants will not only understand the connection between sleep, muscle, and metabolism—they will have embodied tools to:
- Improve self-regulation
- Support metabolic resilience
- Enhance recovery following strength training
- Develop greater trust in their own somatic rhythms and somatic intelligence
This series is designed for yoga teachers, therapists, healthcare professionals, and adults interested in longevity who wish to integrate nervous system science with practical, compassionate somatic tools. The emphasis is on exploration over performance and internal sensing over external achievement—guiding participants to rely less on imitation and more on embodied self-trust.
All are welcome. Click HERE for more info and to register.
Gentle Somatic Yoga® (GSY) Level 1 Training — England
September 10–16, 2026 | In-Person UK
Explore 25+ Gentle Somatic Yoga® Somatic Movement Flows® to relieve pain, restore mobility, calm the nervous system, and reconnect with your body. This immersive training integrates movement, neuroscience, and somatic principles for both professionals and everyday practitioners.
Certification optional • CEUs available • Bring a Guest • Audit pricing available for GSY graduates
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Gentle Somatic Yoga® (GSY) 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.
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.
What you will learn in this GSY Level 1 Training:
- 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 mindful and compassionate ways to move that inspire deeper connection with your body
- 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
As an ADDED BONUS, when you register for this hybrid training, we will also give you complimentary access to our self-paced GSY ONLINE Level 1 Course.
Certification for GSY Level 1 is optional and encouraged for those who want to teach and share this method with others. Up to 32 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available upon request. Future livestream, and in-person GSY training courses can be mixed-and-matched depending on your learning preferences.
Gentle Somatic Yoga® (GSY) Level 3 Training England — (Hybrid) Livestream + In-Person
In-person dates: September 18–22, 2026 UK
Facilitated by GSY Founder, James Knight
Livestream dates: Click “For more info” below
This Gentle Somatic Yoga® training focuses on assisted pandiculation for customized one-on-one sessions and adapting Somatic Movement Flows® for chair-based practice. Designed to expand your professional skill set, Level 3 bridges hands-on application with accessible modifications for diverse body symptoms and settings.
Ideal for certified GSY practitioners seeking to deepen therapeutic work and refine private sessions.
Prerequisite: Completion of GSY Levels 1 & 2
36 CEUs available • Guest-friendly in-person option • All livestream sessions are recorded
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2026 GSY L3 Livestream Training (via Zoom – live & recorded)
- Saturday August 22 & Sunday August 23
- Saturday August 29 & Sunday August 30
All livestream sessions take place from 9:00–11:00 pm (PDT). No worries if you need to miss a session, all sessions are recorded for replay and practice.
Highlights of this GSY L3 course. You will learn:
- 12+ Assisted Pandiculation sequences that are designed for use with one-on-one student & client sessions to address common physical complaints and conditions.
- 50+ Therapeutic Somatic Movement Flows® adapted for use in the chair.
James Knight offers his tried-and-true, long-term solution-oriented results for many common (and complex) physical conditions. These are hands-on techniques from successful case studies from over 35+ years James has been in clinical practice. He has helped countless people come out of chronic pain, stiffness, and other health challenges – and would like to pass the baton onto you for your practice.
These assisted pandiculation techniques are sought after for yoga teachers, yoga therapists, bodyworkers, and other health care professionals that offer customized on-on-one sessions.
Gentle Somatic Yoga® (GSY) is a simple, practical and effective form of brain-to-muscle re-education that goes to the root cause of most chronic muscular pain: the way in which the brain senses, controls, and organizes muscles with movement. The result is living life with an embodied sense of ease and freedom through everyday movement and vibrant health.
More details:
HYBRID MODEL FOR LEARNING: For the past couple of years, we at GSY, have been exploring different platforms to offer our training programs. A new one offers part livestream and part in-person experience. This not only cuts down on cost, but it also offers the best of both worlds: learning out of the comfort of your own home, and also the in-person experience where the direct transmission can come through hands-on exchange.
Another perk to the in-person training is that you are invited to bring a friend or family members as guests to join you as complimentary guests if they are not taking the training and the accommodation you are booking has the number of beds you want.
Prerequisite for this course is the completion of GSY Levels 1 & 2. Which, can both be taken online or in-person.
In-person: October 9th – 11th, 2026 ~ Gentle Somatic Yoga® Weekend Retreat: 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 gorgeous 800-acre property.
*NOTE: If you want to deepen in your practice, you might consider staying on a few more days (ending Oct. 14th) at Yogaville and sign up for our GSY Level 1 training course. This retreat and training are happening individually, and in-tandem.
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Enjoy taking part of the Ashram’s daily activities and accommodations: complimentary yoga and meditation classes, inspirational spiritual talks, organic vegetarian (vegan options) food, and walking forest trails on their 800-acre property including along the James River.
*Special NOTE: This is a stand-alone event, but is also part of the Gentle Somatic Yoga (GSY) Level 1 training. So if you would like to extend your visit by a few more days, you are welcome to stay and learn more Somatic Movement Flows, the history, method, neuroscience, and philosophy of GSY
In-Person Gentle Somatic Yoga® Level 1 Training at Yogaville ~ Satchidananda Ashram, Virginia.
October 9-14, 2026 ~ Facilitated by 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.
Introducing our NEW Somatic Wellness & Adventure Retreat™ ~ Japan
Facilitated by James Knight and Shigeko Leveque
Join us for a deeply nourishing journey through Japan — a unique cultural and somatic immersion co-facilitated by James and Shigeko, who was born and raised in Japan. Together, we will explore several beautiful regions and cities while experiencing the richness of Japanese culture, healing traditions, and nature.
This retreat will include daily Gentle Somatic Yoga® and somatic wellness practices, temple visits, tea ceremonies, restorative hot springs, delicious cuisine, and scenic excursions.
More details coming soon. Use the link below to join our Interest List and be the first to know when registration opens.
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More exciting details of this NEW Somatic Wellness & Adventure Retreat™ to Japan coming soon!
Our tenative dates are: November, 2026: All participants arrive in Tokyo and stay for 4 days for a cultural immersion: 11/14 – 11/17. Then, we travel to coastal town of Kamakura for 5 days 11/17-11/21. Optional add-on to Kyoto (Hot Springs and traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony) for an additional 4 more days.
Introducing our NEW Somatic Wellness & Adventure Retreat™ ~ New Zealand, South Island
September 4–11, 2027
Facilitated by James Knight and Tracy Aleksic
Join us for our Soul Design Retreat™ — a journey of whole-self nourishment set amidst the extraordinary beauty of New Zealand’s South Island.
Together, we will explore a thoughtfully curated blend of somatic wellness, adventure, cultural immersion, and restorative connection to nature.
• Ocean-view accommodations in a stunning natural setting
• Daily gentle yoga and somatic wellness practices
• Māori cultural experiences and local traditions
• Scenic trekking and nature excursions
• Dolphin and whale watching
• Farm-to-table cuisine, cooking classes, and wine tasting
This retreat has long been a dream close to our hearts, and we are deeply excited to share this adventure with you.
Please use the link below to join our Interest List. You will be the first to know when registration opens and additional details are added.
With love and anticipation, James & Tracy
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More exciting details of this NEW Soul Design Retreat coming soon!
