Come home to the body
- Orientation, centering, and pendulation
- Embodied attention and nervous-system cues
- Self-regulation through breath, movement, and widened attention
Four-month foundational program
Somatic Consensus
Foundation
A somatic approach to Nonviolent Communication.
Centered on the Spiral Blend: a somatic map for embodying NVC.
Begins February 2, 20274 months10 modulesLive online + recordings
The Foundation in Somatic Consensus
You know the language.
Can your body find it?
Somatic Consensus is a somatic approach to Nonviolent Communication. It brings the distinctions of NVC into the living body through nervous-system awareness, movement, relational practice, and the cultivation of choice.
You may understand empathy, needs, observations, and honest expression—yet in the heat of a real moment, attention narrows and old patterns return. This Foundation helps you build a personal practice so presence, relationship, and choice become more available when they matter most.
“Somatic Consensus is an opportunity to transform how you communicate with yourself and the world—understanding the importance of love and empathy.”— Reggie Townsend
Central to the Foundation
The Spiral Blend: a somatic map for embodying Nonviolent Communication.
The Foundation centers on the Spiral Blend as a practical map within the wider field of Somatic Consensus. It helps bridge the gap between understanding NVC and having it available when you are activated, uncertain, or in conflict.
It is not a rigid sequence or the whole of the training. You learn to move among different vantage points—returning to the body, finding resources, listening for what matters, and responding with greater choice—until the map becomes a practice you can carry within you.
SenseTrack breath, sensation, emotion, posture, and impulse.
ResourceReturn to steadiness, support, and a wider field of attention.
RelateListen beneath words and meet difference with curiosity.
ActSpeak, set boundaries, repair, and choose what comes next.
In the Foundation, you use Spiral Blend to build a personal practice for deepening relationships and becoming who you want to become. Learning to share the map with others is developed in the Advanced Training.
Four months · Ten modules
A clear arc from inner awareness to compassionate action.
Each module combines concepts, demonstration, guided somatic practice, relational exercises, and time to integrate the learning into daily life.
Meet patterns with choice
- Recognize defending, withdrawing, appeasing, controlling, and freezing
- Ground in embodied self-empathy
- Resource through relationship, place, community, and nature
Relate, repair, and act
- Build an empathic listening field
- Practice the empathy–honesty pulse
- Discover mutual strategies and move into compassionate action
Explore all ten modules
01Entering the Spiral BlendOrientation, centering, S.U.R.F., resourcing, and pendulation.
02Come Home to the BodyNotice breath, sensation, emotion, posture, attention, and impulse.
03Wind—Self-RegulationCreate enough space to choose through breath, movement, and widened attention.
04Core StrategiesMeet defending, withdrawing, appeasing, controlling, and freezing with curiosity.
05The Ground You Stand OnListen for the need beneath reaction and stand for what matters.
06Resourcing Our RelationshipsReceive support from people, place, ancestors, community, and nature.
07Empathic ConnectionPractice deep listening, timing, humility, and the empathic guess.
08The Empathy–Honesty PulseMove between receiving and expressing, with boundaries and care.
09Mutual StrategiesBring inner and outer consensus into relationship and include concerns.
10Compassionate ActionChoose, speak, commit, and act with embodied power.
Your practice companionSPIRAL BLEND
WORKBOOK93 pages
WORKBOOK93 pages
Included with the program
A course you can return to between sessions.
The Kajabi learning space brings together the full practice workbook, short teaching materials, visual maps, recordings, and reflection prompts. The workbook helps you track what you notice, practice with real situations, and make the learning your own—week by week rather than all at once.
“The seeds planted during the training are still sprouting in my body, taking root and helping me navigate life with the deepest respect for all beings.”— Kirsten Elfandahl
The rhythm of learning
Practice over time, accelerated through community.
Embodied learning grows through repetition: learning something, trying it, receiving feedback, and returning again. A cohort accelerates that process. Others help us see what we cannot see alone, and relationship becomes part of the practice itself.
Weekly learningConcepts, demonstrations, guided practices, and integration with David.
Weekly practicePartner work, coaching, questions, feedback, and embodiment.
Two Foundation coursesThe first begins February 2, 2027. A second course will serve Asia-Pacific and other distant time zones; dates and times will be announced shortly.
20–30 peopleA cohort begins as the group forms, creating enough diversity and continuity for deep learning.
Morning Pacific Time sessions will be live and recorded. Participants receive course materials and recordings; additional support will make participation more accessible across time zones.
A dedicated support team of Certified Somatic Consensus trainers and experienced Nonviolent Communication practitioners will accompany the cohort. Practice sessions are cofacilitated by Amy Dyer and Ellen.
Two upcoming Foundation courses
Choose the course rhythm that can support your participation.
Both courses offer the same complete Somatic Consensus Foundation: four months of teaching, embodied practice, relational learning, and support centered on the Spiral Blend.
Foundation Course One
Americas / Europe
Begins February 2, 2027
Live morning sessions in Pacific Time, with recordings and all course materials included. Weekly teaching and practice create a steady rhythm for integration.
Foundation Course Two
Asia-Pacific / Global
Dates and times will be announced shortly.
This second course is being shaped around a more accessible time zone for Asia-Pacific participants and others for whom Pacific Time is difficult.
Who this is for
For people who want presence, not performance.
No trainer identity is required. Beginners and experienced NVC practitioners are welcome. What matters is a willingness to practice, listen, feel, and learn through the body.
Stay present when a conversation becomes charged
Hear needs beneath reactions and stories
Speak with clarity without leaving yourself
Work with conflict, boundaries, and repair
Build a steady personal practice
Prepare for deeper study and trainer development
Four streams · One living practice
Nonviolent CommunicationNeeds, empathy, honesty, and life-serving action.
SomaticsThe body as a source of intelligence, learning, and transformation.
AikidoCentering, blending, timing, and power without domination.
Consensus & CommunityHearing every voice while practicing conflict, accountability, and repair.
Study with David Weinstock
David is the founder of Liminal Somatics and originator of Somatic Consensus and the Spiral Blend. An international NVC trainer, somatic coach, fourth-degree Aikido practitioner, and author of Becoming What You Need, he brings more than four decades of embodied practice to the meeting of conflict, relationship, and compassionate action.
“It has given me an intrinsic trust in myself and the group, allowing me to open to parts of myself I was not able to open to before… so I’m not afraid of being afraid. So I can start to be free.”— Shana Deane
“In David’s Somatic and NVC training you will learn how to see your way through healthy conflict—and get inspired about life, meaningful relationships, and all that we can become.”— Emily Johnson
Tuition & enrollment
Choose the level that matches your capacity.
Every tuition option leads into the same complete Foundation experience.
Supported Tuition
$1,250For participants for whom the standard rate would create genuine financial strain.
Choose SupportedFoundation Cohort
$1,495The regular tuition for full participation in the four-month Foundation.
Pay in FullContributor Tuition
$1,950For those able to help sustain supported places for the wider community.
Choose ContributorFour Payments
$400Spread tuition across four payments while receiving the same full experience.
4 Monthly PaymentsReturning participants receive 50% off.
More practice can reveal greater nuance. If you have completed one of David’s Foundations—or an equivalent program—you are invited to return and deepen.
Access & tuition support
Choosing with care
We invite you to choose with honesty—caring for your own needs while also considering the resources required to sustain the teaching team, scholarships, and the wider learning community. Those who are able to choose a contributor rate help make supported places possible for others.
Requesting Support
Please send a brief note sharing:
- the program you would like to join
- the tuition amount or monthly payment you can realistically offer
- whether partial scholarship support would make participation possible
No lengthy application or proof of hardship is required. We will respond personally and look together for an arrangement that respects both your circumstances and the sustainability of the program.
If finances are the primary obstacle, please reach out before deciding that the program is not available to you.
To request tuition support, contact:
Foundation
Build your own embodied practice
Build your own embodied practice
→
Advanced TrainingDeepen and learn to share the work
Learn more →
→
Certification
Develop as a Somatic Consensus trainer
Develop as a Somatic Consensus trainer
How the path develops
Learning moves from the floor map into inner guidance.
Through a steady rhythm of learning, practice, reflection, and return, new choices become more available in the body. Community accelerates that learning as we witness one another, receive reflection, and discover possibilities we may not reach alone.
PracticeReturn to the work repeatedly.
IntegrateBring the map into daily life.
SharePractice responsibly with others.
TeachCarry the work forward with integrity.
A dedicated support team
Certified Somatic Consensus Trainers and experienced Nonviolent Communication practitioners accompany the cohort through practice sessions, questions, feedback, and integration—offering continuity and skilled support as the learning deepens.
Certified Somatic Consensus Trainers and experienced Nonviolent Communication practitioners accompany the cohort through practice sessions, questions, feedback, and integration—offering continuity and skilled support as the learning deepens.
“You create a beautiful container. These are seeds planted in my body that I believe will keep sprouting.”— Kirsten Elfandahl, Executive Director, Freedom Project
The learning pathway · Step two
Advanced Training in Somatic Consensus
Deepen the practice. Learn its nuances. Share it with care.
Six months of deeper embodiment and relational leadership.
Embodied learning continues to deepen over time. The Advanced Training offers sustained practice for sensing subtler patterns, staying present with complexity, and discovering what different moments ask of us.
For those interested in sharing the work, this is where personal embodiment begins to become relational leadership. You will work more fully with the Spiral Blend floor map and learn when to guide, when to pause, when to listen, and how to accompany others without losing the living quality of the practice.
- Complete Spiral Blend package, including the physical floor map
- Two teaching sessions and two practice sessions each month
- Foundation program—or an approved equivalent—is required
- Required preparation for the Certification process
Timing: We are anticipating a late-October start. To protect the quality of the cohort, the final date remains flexible and the program begins when a group of 20–30 participants has formed.
Advanced Training enrollment
Continue into deeper practice—and learn to share the work.
A six-month cohort for nuanced embodiment, relational leadership, and responsible practice with the Spiral Blend somatic map.
Standard Tuition
Six-Month Advanced Training
$3,250Standard tuition for the complete Advanced Training experience.
- Six months of guided advanced study
- Two teaching sessions and two practice sessions each month
- Complete Spiral Blend package
- Physical Spiral Blend floor map
- Preparation for the Certification process
Prerequisite: Completion of a Somatic Consensus Foundation program—or an approved equivalent—is required. The Advanced Training is itself a prerequisite for entering the Somatic Consensus Trainer Certification process.
Somatic
Consensus
Trainer
Consensus
Trainer
The learning pathway · Step three
Become a Somatic Consensus Trainer.
After completing both a Foundation program and the six-month Advanced Training, those who feel called may enter the Certification process. This individualized path supports you to deepen your embodiment, develop your teaching presence, create and lead your own program, and carry Somatic Consensus forward with integrity and care.
Certification unfolds through mentorship, monthly group sessions, demonstrated practice, and an individual timeline shaped around readiness rather than simply completing a fixed number of hours.
Prerequisites: a Somatic Consensus Foundation program—or an approved equivalent—and the Advanced Training. Continuation into Certification is confirmed mutually.
Begin with the Somatic Consensus Foundation.
Build the personal practice first. Continue into Advanced Training when you are ready to deepen and learn to share the work. Enter Certification when the calling, preparation, and readiness come together.
Choose your Foundation tuition