Singing From My Body, Singing From My Soul
Join me for this 8-week container, beginning Sunday, July 6th, 2025.
We will gather in person (for those local to San Diego) and Zoom (for everybody else) every Sunday, from 9-11am PST.
If you live locally and would rather join on Zoom, that works too.
As a community, we will learn singing as it relates to nervous system wellness & polyvagal theory, practice somatic inquiry & healing, as well as write many songs. Additionally, together we will learn over 20 new songs!
Every student will walk away from the container with at least four songs they have written, as well as one song they can sing in their original language.
You can follow me on instagram to learn more about the course or schedule a free call with me to learn if this group is a right fit for you.
The course dates for our Summer 2025 cohort are listed below,
on Sundays from 9-11am PST:
July 6th, July 13th, July 20th, July 27th, August 3rd, August 10th, August 24, August 31st
$347
Meet your instructors
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Meet your instructors ✳
IRENE CASTRUITA
QUINCY SANDERLIN
SARAH KNAPP
JESUS GONZALEZ
Sarah Knapp (SEP) is the facilitator of this course, teaching 6 sessions and all of the monthly free, community song circles to follow. Irene Castruita & Quincy Sanderlin and Jesus Gonzalez are guest teachers, facilitating a total of 3 sessions for each group of students.
What you’ll learn
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Each human nervous system is different and there is no ‘fix all’ for our individual healing processes. However, learning how to track your nervous system and support it through the many challenges of life is a gift that keeps on giving. Throughout this container, we will learn the basic principles of Somatic Experiencing and how to take care of our bodies in an often overwhelming world.
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Many of us are disconnected both from our homelands and our Original Languages. Learning to sing a song (or two, or three!) in your Original Language throughout our time together is a beautiful, rich journey into the musical world of your ancestors. You will also receive several songwriting classes from myself, as well as Quincy, Irene & Jesus, guiding practices and giving lots of space and time in class to write your original songs.
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The most important intention I had in creating this container was providing a community space for people to relate, share, connect to their bodies and sing. Of course we are grateful to learn theory, practices and information, but there is nothing quite as magical as sharing our time, space and songs with each other. We will focus largely on the Ventral Vagal Complex of the Nervous System in this course- our social engagement system- as a pathway for healing.
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Throughout our time together, you will build and organize an original songbook of the songs you’ve written in the past, as well as the songs you’ve written during the course. You can bring this songbook with you to ceremony, around the campfire, at your Children’s Nature School or community gathering. A goal we will work on together is getting you sharing your songs with your family or community regularly!
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We will also be organizing and compiling a songbook of Songs by Other Artists. We will only sing & share songs that are public or have been given consent for us to sing & share. This songbook can also travel with you to any gathering, or can be brought out at home around the dinner table to bless a meal or greet the sunrise.
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We will have 8 weeks together, cycling through 2 phases of our menstrual cycles. Each participant will have the opportunity to write a song during the 4 phases of the menstrual cycle. If you do not or no longer bleed, you can write a song for each season, direction or songs about your journey through the phases of life.
Course FAQ
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We begin on Sunday, July 6th and will be together for 8 sessions, from 9-11am PST on Zoom and in person (for those that are local to San Diego.) All sessions will be recorded and you will have lifetime access to the recordings. Our closing session will be Sunday, August 31st.
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The cost of the course is $347. A 5-month payment plan of $69.50/month is also available above. I offer 5 scholarships each cohort, email me at griefisariver@gmail.com to apply for a full or partial scholarship.
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Each week, we will gather on Zoom and in-person for two hours every Sunday morning to learn somatics, singing & songwriting practices. Each student will have lots of creative time in class, as well as suggested homework assignments outside of class.
Included in the price is a private, ongoing community virtual space, discounted Somatic Experiencing sessions with me throughout the duration of the course, and free monthly song circles after completion of the course with our growing community of alumni.