Gentle Somatic Yoga®
GSY Level 1 In-Person
Training Starts June 12th 2026!
Training Starts June 12th 2026!
Since you are already exploring to see if this wellness course is for you, then you already understand the importance of investing in your health. GSY is a science-based AND heart-based method to empower you with easy and reliable every day self-care.
Who is this course for?
Who is this course for?
You’re living with chronic pain and other symptoms from an injury, disease or condition, including but not limited to:
- Chronic Lower Back Pain
- Stiff Neck and Shoulders
- Poor Posture
- Hamstring Tightness or Sciatica
- Knee or Hip injury
- Headaches or Migraines
- Overuse from Sports
You’ve experienced any stress based symptoms and want to relieve them, including but not limited to:
- PTSD
- Joint pain
- Insomnia
- Lack of energy or focus
- Anxiety or depression
- Muscle Stiffness or Spasms
You want to develop a home movement practice for ongoing self-maintenance and wellbeing
You are a yoga teacher, yoga therapist, bodyworker or health care professional and want to acquire new skills that you can implement into your classes or private sessions. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) available.
You would like to add-on our Certification Option to provide a credential, be promoted on the GSY Website, and expand your scope of practice (s). Learn more here.
When you sign up you will have immediate access to the 25+ Somatic Movement Flow Videos and along with downloadable PDF Handouts to create your own teaching manual.
About Your Facilitator: Rachael Shepherd
About Your Facilitator: Rachael Shepherd
Her healing journey led her deeper into trauma recovery, studying with leaders such as David Emerson and Peter Levine. In her Gentle Somatic Yoga Level 1 training, Rachael met James Knight, sparking a meaningful professional connection that has continued to shape her as an experienced movement educator.
Rachael went on to collaborate closely with James - co‑creating a new Gentle Somatic Yoga (GSY) inspired mehtod called Somatic Stability™. Somatic Stabilily blends classic mat Pilates with the neuroscience and principles of GSY. She later assisted him during a GSY Level 1 training in Sayulita, Mexico, further refining her somatic teaching and mentorship skills.
She has received over 1,000 hours of training instruction and has over 2,000 hours of experience teaching yoga and Pilates. She holds the following credentials – E-RYT500, YACEP, NCPT, Gentle Somatic Yoga L1, Trauma Sensitive Yoga, Pre/Post-natal yoga, YogaFit for Seniors, CPR/AED. Rachael is also certified in Traumatic Incident Reduction by Michelle Booth, LCSW. And in 2024, she added Thai Yoga Bodywork to her growing repertoire of therapeutic modalities.
As an instructor, Rachael develops and facilitates 200‑hr yoga teacher training certification programs, as well as 450‑hr Pilates teacher training certification courses. Her programs are known for their depth, accessibility, and integration of somatic principles.
What You Will Learn
What You Will Learn
During this training you will learn, explore, and embody:
- 25+ Therapeutic Somatic Movement Flows® for self-care, resiliency, health, and wellbeing
- How and why Somatic Movements get to the root cause of persistent pain, stiffness, poor posture, anxiety and lack of energy. Most people experience immediate and long-lasting results.
- Leading-edge neuroscience balanced with heart-based wisdom
- How to replace static stretching with a innovative brain-to-muscle re-education technique called pandiculation
- Discovering ways to practice that are suitable and effective for EVERY body. Emphasis will be on "finding your own inner YES" and relying less on “doing it right” according to instruction or demonstration
- How to develop an increased embodied experience of internal awareness that will build confidence for continued self-healing, and also a skill set to share with others
- How to practice mindful and compassionate movement in a way that inspires deeper connection with your body
- Tips, modifications, and guidelines to support your own niche of adaptive and nourishing movement into your group classes and/or private customizable sessions
Rachael's in-person sessions for this GSY L1 Training take place at:
Studio 120 Address: 210 East Stevens Street Suite 210, Culpeper, VA, United States, 22701
For more studio information, please visit: http://Studio120va.com
This easily accessible course is designed as an ideal beginning to learn the method of Gentle Somatic Yoga®
How it works:
In-Person Dates:
June 12th-14th, 2026
June 26th-28th, 2026
Scroll down to find more details about the schedule.
Certification is optional:
There will be opportunity at the end of the training to practice the teachback and to receive feedback from Rachael.
To complete the certification a student will then create and submit a teachback video via our online submission system. The teachback will be evaluated by Rachael. Learn more here.
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Continuing Education Unit's (CEU’s)
Without certification, yoga teachers and yoga therapists may claim 30 CEU's hours from this course.
With certification, yoga teachers and yoga therapists may claim 32 CEU hours from this course.
TUITION:
PLEASE NOTE WE NEED A MINIMUM OF 8 STUDENTS TO RUN THIS TRAINING
GSY Course Tuition: $995
Certification Add-on $300 (Option to add at checkout)
Advantages of Live Training with Rachael Shepherd
Advantages of Live Training with Rachael Shepherd
- Personalized interaction (can customize the practice for your soma).
- Coming together as a Collective Soma which allows Rachael to tailor this training course for your specific group.
- Interact with your peers and other like-minded people. We learn and evolve together through compassion, empathy, respect, and love.
- Rooted in the belief that a comfortable body and mind are better able to live peacefully, Rachael aims to promote global harmony through her work. She hopes that every class, session, and training creates a ripple effect of steadiness, compassion, and well‑being.
- Gentle Somatic Yoga® is constantly evolving as a method, therefore new enhancements have been added to the Somatic Movement Flows®. Often times these enhancements have not been published yet and you will be the first to learn them.
This Course Includes
This Course Includes
30- to 32-Hours of easy-to-follow instructions with Continuing Education Units (CEU’s) depending on the add-on certification being purchased or not.
Earn Yoga Alliance approved CEU hours for this Training course.
User-friendly technology offered in a format of personalized videos guided by James Knight, Founder of Gentle Somatic Yoga® & Somatic Wellness™.
Downloadable illustrated step-by-step instruction PDF handouts. These handouts can be used to create a manual for future reference.
Modifications and Props ~ Learn how to modify the GSY Practice so that if feels good in your body. After you embody the GSY practice you will, in turn, continue to learn how to modify the GSY practice to fit your niche. For example: Beginner yoga students, active seniors, desk workers, chair yoga, athletes who want to enhance their performance, individuals recovering from injury - pre and post-surgery, pregnancy, and much more...
Highlighting the neuroscience behind this revolutionary approach to self-healing and inspire you how to recognize and reprogram habitual patterns of holding stress deep within the body.
Philosophy ~ Discover the value of “Finding Your Inner Yes”.
Tips for building your business ~ For seasoned yoga teachers, near to retirees, and the budding entrepreneur wanting to inspire people. Learning GSY will give you strategies for marketing and client development for classes, workshops, and programs.
Access to our GSY Level 1 Online Course ~ Upon registration, you'll be granted access to our online course so you can print out and/or make a digital manual of all course PDF Handouts. You will also be able to start the first few chapters and watch the prerecorded Somatic Movement Flow® videos to get a better understanding of the method and the neuroscience.
Add-On Certification Option
Add-On Certification Option
Interested in Becoming Certified?
For those of you who are yoga teachers, yoga therapists, body workers, or healthcare practitioners, once certified, you are endorsed as a GSY Practitioner. Each certified GSY teacher has thier own web page on our GSY Directory.
You will be promoted as a GSY teacher and join the global trend of Somatic Movement Educators, acknowledged for your competency and skill level.
You will be able to incorporate Gentle Somatic Yoga in either one-on-one customized sessions or in group movement classes, as part of your professional instruction service(s).
GSY Level 1 Program Schedule
GSY Level 1 Program Schedule
Join Rachael Shepherd, Faculty for Gentle Somatic Yoga®, for an inspiring training
In-person sessions at: Studio 120. Address: 210 East Stevens Street Suite 210, Culpeper, VA, United States, 22701
For more yoga studio information, please visit: http://Studio120va.com
Friday, June 12th ~ 12:30pm - 6pm
Saturday, June 13th ~ 9am - 5pm
Sunday, June 14th ~ 9am - 5pm
Friday, June 26th ~ 12:30pm - 6pm
Saturday, June 27th ~ 9am - 5pm
Sunday, June 28th ~ 9am - 5pm
A more detailed curriculum will be emailed to you closer to the event. James Knight will be connecting with the group via Zoom towards the end of the training.
Testimonials
Testimonials
Practicing Gentle Somatic Yoga with Rachael has helped me move through life with more intention, mindfulness, and noticeably less pain. Her clear, skillful instruction integrates seamlessly with my other mind‑body practices, creating a truly holistic approach to well‑being. The slow, deliberate movements she guides release long‑held tension, reduce pain, and help prevent it from returning. Under her guidance, I’ve become stronger, more aware, and more capable in my daily life.
Tuition Fees
Tuition Fees