Gentle Release Therapy

20/05/2026

New course dates announced for the Gentle Release Vagus Nerve Training.

Day 1 - Tuesday 14th July

Day 2 - Tuesday 28th July

Day 3 - Tuesday 11th August

Day 4 - Tuesday 1st September

The course runs from 9.30am to 2.30pm each day focuses on a different area of our vagus nerve protocol. Ventral, dorsal, areas of the brain associated with the vagus nerve and the HPA axis. On each training day you give and receive the treatment over zoom, so that you get to benefit from it too! Accredited by the FHT and Thinktree.

The vagus nerve training builds on the Gentle Release Practitioner Training which needs to be attended first. We have a course coming up 9.30am - 2.30pm on Monday 8th to Friday 12th June. So you could book for both and jump straight in. We only have a few spots left so please contact us ASAP if you are interested.

15/05/2026

I think many therapists spend years believing they need to do more, fix more, know more, push harder.

Gentle Release asks something different.

It asks us to listen. To trust what we're feeling. To slow down enough to notice what the body has been trying to say all along.

When I host the Practitioner Training, I'm helping people build confidence in what they already sense, but may have learned to ignore. Over three days we work with the abdomen, the cranial system, the endocrine system, lymphatic system and an introduction to the vagus nerve. You learn which points connect to which organs, which emotions those organs tend to hold, how to read what the body is telling you, and what to do with what you find.

There's a framework when you need one but your own intuition is what I help you to find, sense and trust.

Much of this work can't really be understood through words alone. It has to be experienced. That's why the courses stay small and practical, with plenty of time to ask questions, reflect, practise, and grow into the work gradually and safely.

And one of the things people often say afterwards is how much they themselves shift during the week. Because you won't just be learning the treatments, you'll be receiving them too. Many people leave feeling lighter, clearer, calmer, and more connected to themselves than they have in a long time.

13/05/2026

How does the zoom training differ from the in-person Gentle Release Practitioner Training?

The format is very similar to how we work together on our in-person retreat trainings. We move through 7 sections of the course, and each section includes a demonstration and explanation, followed by a treatment swap so you can experience both giving and receiving the work.

After each section we come back together for a cuppa (cake entirely optional), and we talk about everyone’s experiences. The feedback and reflection part of the training is such an important aspect of the learning, as it helps deepen both understanding and confidence in the work.

Each morning we also take time to check in with everyone and see how they’re doing. I gently encourage people not to take on too much outside of the course while we’re training online, as we can’t quite keep everyone wrapped up in our little retreat bubble in the same way we can during the in-person trainings.

One of the loveliest things is seeing people relax into the process. I always encourage everyone to take the pressure off themselves and not overthink things, because that can sometimes make it harder to settle into the work naturally. Even people who have never done any energy work before often surprise themselves with what they experience during the treatments — both when giving and receiving.

For each treatment swap, pairs move into private Zoom breakout rooms so they can work together quietly and without distraction. I’m always available if anyone needs support, guidance, or reassurance, and I’ll pop into the breakout rooms from time to time to make sure everyone is doing okay.

Although, from our observations so far, the in-person retreats do seem to involve significantly more cake consumption than the Zoom version…but maybe you can correct me on that?!

Our next Virtual Practitioner Training Retreat runs from Monday 8th to Friday 12th June, 9.30am–2.30pm each day.

12/05/2026

✨ Practitioner Spotlight ✨

Today we are shining a light on Tranquillity Therapies, run by Ged Lockyer-Sinden — a down-to-earth, straight-talking therapist with over 20 years in practice and a whole lot of heart.

Ged describes herself as kind, caring, truthful, nature-loving, and — in her own words — a bit sweary. She's a mixed martial arts enthusiast, a bulldog walker, a coffee lover, and a woman who appreciates a nice bobble hat (bonus if it's a double bobble). She runs her practice from a purpose-built therapy cabin in Norton, Kent.

Her therapy background is rich. Ged is trained in Reflexology, Reiki, Indian Head Massage, EnerQi Facial Rejuvenation, Vertical Reflex Therapy and Neuroflexology, and has recently been recognised by the Association of Reflexologists for 20 years of membership — something she's quietly proud of, alongside the simple fact that she's still practising and still passionate.

What drew her to Gentle Release Therapy? Ged had always been drawn to approaches rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine and loved the idea of acupuncture, but the time and cost of training weren't realistic. When she found Gentle Release, something clicked. She describes it as a powerful alternative that just made sense to her — one that floats her boat and that she now waxes lyrical about to anyone who'll listen.

She describes the work as: "Powerful yet gentle. Gets to the crux of things. Subtle."

Her clients certainly feel it too. After sessions with Ged, people often say things like: "Why haven't I tried this before?!", "I feel safe," and "I'm so relaxed I feel drunk."

Ged has a particular interest in working with neurological imbalances, and brings a real warmth and honesty to everything she does. There's no pretence with Ged — just genuine care, a steady pair of hands, and a deep trust in the work.

🌿 Based in Norton, Kent (purpose-built cabin) | Also available online
🌿 Website: tranquillitytherapies.co.uk

We're so glad to have Ged as part of the Gentle Release community 🤍

10/05/2026

We've had a fantastic week at Ashlin Farm Barns with a lovely group returning to do the Advanced Practitioner Training 🤍

I don't think its right to share photos of the people that join our practitioner training retreats as I want to create a safe place to unwind. However this last week at the Advanced Practitioner Training we were joined by some extra visitors in the garden! It was lovely to see them munching away as we went through the course.

Faye has kindly taken the time to write a testimonial:

'I find Gentle Release Therapy very useful for my own wellbeing and a wonderful tool to offer others in assisting them to feel calm. This support often gives people whatever they need to get started in changing their own lives for the better.

The advanced course has given me an infinite opportunity to be able to really personalise my energy treatments for my clients, both those I meet in person or in distance treatments.

The actual course was a real treat, with beautiful, comfortable accommodation and super tasty food and drinks ( Helen is very attentive to different diets that people may have). Helen is a clever lady having combined many different elements from other energy techniques ( much of which is from TCM) into Gentle Release Therapy which is then more accessible to us the therapist.

Its been a pleasure to learn the techniques and I'm not over stating it when I say its been life changing.'

29/04/2026

Our next Virtual Practitioner Training Retreat runs Monday 8th to Friday 12th June, 9.30am to 2.30pm each day. Three days of intensive practical training, spread over five to fit around school hours. Live on Zoom, with no more than 8 students.

This isn't about fitting another modality on top of what you already do. It's an invitation to slow down, retreat into your own practice, and learn something that will sit alongside the work you already love.

You'll receive a course pack ahead of time, then over five days we move together through demonstration, treatment swap, feedback, and again. You'll experience the work in your own body as much as you'll learn to hold it for others. By the end, you'll have a new therapy to offer in person and virtually.

Small. Personal. In your own home. With others doing the same.

Accredited by FHT, AOR, Thinktree, and CThA.

£595 for existing therapists or healthcare providers. £655 for those with no prior training. You are welcome to pay by instalments.

If the timing is right and your practice is asking, we'd love to have you with us.

25/04/2026

For anyone who has been humming, cold-plunging, and trying every breathing app, and still feels like something underneath hasn't quite let go, this is for you.

The vagus nerve doesn't always need more stimulation. Sometimes it needs permission to release what it has been quietly holding.

Sara Agnew and I have been developing the Gentle Release Vagus Nerve Protocol together for the past few years. The blog tells the story of how it came to be, inspired by trying to help my daughter.

Read here: https://www.gentlereleasetherapy.com/blog/gentle-release-vagus-nerve

23/04/2026

If you trained in Reiki, and your practice has been asking you a bigger question lately, you might find something in this one.

I've just updated a piece I've been meaning to rewrite for a while. How Gentle Release Therapy is different to Reiki. And why, for a lot of practitioners, Gentle Release has become the next chapter of the same work, not a replacement for what they already love.

It's not a critique. Reiki is beautiful, and I have huge respect for the lineage. Many of the practitioners now working with Gentle Release trained in Reiki first. Their practice didn't fail them. It just started asking for more specificity, more structure, a language for what was happening in the body.

The word that keeps coming up in their reflections is "empowering." For the client. For the practitioner. For what you can actually do with your hands.

Gentle but powerful. Specific but intuitive. Grounded in Traditional Chinese Medicine, without needing an attunement or symbols to begin.

If you want to know more the blog is on our website. https://www.gentlereleasetherapy.com/blog/reiki-v-grt

15/04/2026

✨ Practitioner Spotlight ✨

Introducing As If A Phoenix Ltd, founded by Tracey Cutler — an intuitive mentor and Gentle Release practitioner whose work is rooted in curiosity, depth, and a genuine desire to understand.

Tracey describes herself as someone who seeks to get to the bottom of things — a problem-solver and reason-finder — supporting those who feel they haven’t yet found answers through more conventional routes.

Her work weaves together spiritual life coaching, nervous system awareness, trauma-informed learning, and Gentle Release Therapy — creating space for both the body and the deeper layers of experience to be acknowledged.

What’s especially beautiful is how her journey with Gentle Release unfolded.

Tracey first experienced the Introduction to Gentle Release Therapy course, and describes how it gently shifted a number of things for her — not in a forceful way, but in a way that created movement and momentum within her own development.

She speaks about the experience of it being both gentle and powerful, and the way it was held — peaceful, supportive, and steady — allowing her to deepen her connection to her own work and path.

That experience naturally led her into training more fully — and she has now completed her Gentle Release Practitioner training, bringing this work into the heart of what she offers.

Tracey now supports clients who are looking for clarity, understanding, and relief — particularly where things feel complex or unresolved — holding space with care, thoughtfulness, and depth.

Clients often describe her as caring, supportive, and thorough, and there’s a quiet steadiness in how she works.

She describes Gentle Release as:
“gentle but powerful.”

And perhaps most simply, and most truthfully:
“It’s a privilege to do this work.”

🌿 Based in Oxfordshire, working online
🌿 Website: asifaphoenix.org

We’re so glad to have Tracey as part of the Gentle Release community 🤍

30/03/2026

This is the story behind Gentle Release Therapy 🤍

This is the story behind Gentle Release Therapy.For years, I worked in a very structured, technical world… until life took me in a different direction.What I...