Bodywork for Depression & Anxiety

Sep 12, 2025 – Sep 14, 2025

Bodywork for Depression & Anxiety: Nelson County, VA

Hold your spot with a $100 deposit

Learn simple, body-centered practices to help people feel more alive, connected and embodied through breath, bioenergetics, massage and compassionate presence.

Virginia
9:30am - 5:00pm EDT
18 NCBTMB CE hours
Tracey J. Moon, LMBT, Sharon Nash, MA
All-inclusive early registration begins at $750 depending on accommodation choice (before 7/29/25)

Recalibrate & Restore

Depression and anxiety is an epidemic in our society with more people than ever seeking relief from dysregulated physical and emotional symptoms through conventional medicine, complementary treatments and self-care. Trauma, stress, loss, uncertainty and everyday challenges can manifest in the body through tension, pain, exhaustion and discomfort. Our physical state significantly influences our mental wellbeing, affecting our mood, emotions, focus, and overall vitality.

In this training, we actively work to regulate the nervous system, alleviating the symptoms of depression and anxiety and bringing balance to the physical and emotional body through evidence-based, body-centered practices. You will learn specific hands-on massage techniques that focus on restoring the nervous system to a regulated state. We work through the lens of Polyvagal Theory as a central concept that explains resilience and flexibility in the nervous system. We look at the science behind depression and anxiety, the brain’s role and the importance of understanding conventional treatments. The course covers emotional anatomy, examining how the body is shaped by thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, and discusses how mindfulness practices can help free us from negative or ruminating thought patterns. We incorporate movement and grounding body-centered practices to support a distressed emotional body system.

I didn’t expect how great and effective this course would be. I wish I had gained this knowledge years ago. So many people will be positively affected from these new skills that I’ll be incorporating in my work.

T. Carter, LPN, LMT

A highly experiential training

This three-day Bodywork for Depression and Anxiety training and retreat is being held at Sanctuary Retreat Center situated in the foothills of the Shenandoah mountains in Nelson County, VA. It is a place of depth, wholeness and presence – where you can truly restore. The staff at Sanctuary is impeccable with their attention to detail, kindness and care. You will be deeply nourished by the abundance of healthy food with tastes for every palate and dietary needs being accommodated. The Sanctuary Retreat Center has on-site wellbeing services available as well as walking trails and beautiful meditation spaces on its 120 acre tranquil forest.

You will learn simple yet powerful body-centered practices to help people feel more alive, connected and embodied through breathwork techniques, bioenergetics, massage, reflexology and acupressure. The course includes a foundation of mindfulness techniques and emphasizes a compassionate and non-judgmental presence. Through these transformative embodied practices you will discover the body’s innate ability to recalibrate, reset and restore to its natural flow, moving beyond depression and anxiety.

The Details

All Inclusive Packages

All-inclusive with the CE training, accommodations and meals begins at $750 depending on accommodations choice
Come in a night early starting at $95* including meals
Delicious, healthy meals with most dietary restrictions accommodated
On-site Wellbeing services available (massage and bodywork, energy work, mental/emotional balancing)
Woodland trails, comfortable accommodations and plenty of places for solitude
Optional high-tech (sound) meditation each morning
Massage therapists receive 18 NCBTMB CE hours

This is the most important work I have learned thus far in my bodywork career.

Tiffany Rodriquez, LMT in Norfolk, VA

Extraordinary with enormous depth to the material. The instructors are informed, thoughtful and create a profound space for students.

Bodywork for Depression & Anxiety Participant

Awakening from start to finish! I enjoyed not only learning about the effects depression and anxiety have on the body but how to help clients through a variety of breathing, meditation, movement and bodywork techniques. What valuable tools for my practice.

N. Green, LMT in Douglasville, GA

I spend so much of my life holding space for others, this past weekend reminded me to hold space for myself.

Janice, LMBT in Charlotte, NC

So many people will be positively affected by these new skills that I’ll soon be incorporating in my sessions.

T. Carter, LPN, LMT in Anniston, AL

Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Bodywork for Depression & Anxiety is NCBMTB Approved and massage therapists will receive 18 CE hours. You will receive a certificate of completion electronically to submit to your state licensing board or for recertification with the NCBTMB.

This hands-on and highly experiential training is designed with for the massage therapist, mental health professional, nurse, physician, yoga teacher or other health care professional to better understand the tools and latest research available for depression and anxiety. Because depression and anxiety affects a wide population of people, this training is open to anyone with an interest in the topic.

Single and double accommodations are available including meals. All rooms have full bathrooms sharing with one other room. Accommodations are for two nights beginning on Friday, the first day of the training. You have the option to add additional nights.

Couple (one queen bed), per person $750
Double room, per person (two twins) $775
Single, small room (twin bed), $885
Single, large room (two twin beds) $925

*Early registration price before 7/29/25

For those staying two nights, meals begin with lunch on Wednesday and end with lunch on Friday. For those staying three nights, meals begin with dinner on Tuesday and end with lunch on Friday. Meals are healthy, abundant and delicious! If you have any serious food restrictions, allergies or dietary needs, please let us know when you register.

We highly recommend taking advantage of this retreat location and staying onsite even if you live locally. You must live within 30 miles of the retreat center in order to commute (only 3 commuter spaces available). The commuter cost for the certification training, lunch each day plus a facility fee is $625. If you live outside of 30 miles of the retreat center, on-site accommodation rates apply (see above).

The training runs from 9:30am-5:00pm each day. Early mornings and evenings will be available for personal time. We will provide a link a few weeks prior to the training to schedule your wellbeing services in advance of your arrival. For those of you who would like to extend your retreat experience, you may wish to arrive a day early.

Yes. You have the option to add an additional night on Tuesday and/or Friday to this training during the registration process. We highly recommended you arrive on Tuesday night if you live more than 30 minutes from Faber, VA since class begins promptly at 9:30am on Wednesday. The Tuesday extra night price includes dinner and breakfast on Wednesday (before the training begins). The Friday extra night price does not include dinner however accommodations can be made if you are staying on-site that evening. Breakfast is included on Saturday.

The cost for adding additional nights are:

Couple (one queen bed), per person $95
Double room, per person (two twins), $100
Single, small room (twin bed), $150
Single, large room (two twin beds), $170

We need one massage table for every two people attending. You will receive a welcome email after registering with a list of what to bring. This email arrives within 24-48 hours of your registration. If you didn’t receive it, please check your spam box and add the email [email protected] to your contacts.

The Sanctuary Retreat Center is located 30 miles outside of Charlottesville, VA and 3 hours southwest of Washington, DC. Address is: 2610 Adial Rd, Faber, VA

Reach out to Tracey at [email protected] or Sharon at [email protected] or call 919-907-0579. We look forward to hearing from you!

You can also visit our Policies & FAQs page for more information.

Location

Sanctuary Retreat Center

Virginia

2610 Adial Road, Faber, VA 22938
Website

humpback rocks

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