Circle Holders Journey
CIRCLE HOLDER CERTIFICATION
Thrive as a circle holder - facilitating groups and building connection.
Book your place for November 2025 Now and attend Circle Holding Fundamentals FREE in 2025 and save £150 - register by 30 June 2025
BECOME A LEADER - JOIN THE CIRCLE HOLDERS JOURNEY
CREATE YOUR CIRCLE
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BUILD YOUR COMMUNITY
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TAKE A BRAVE STEP
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CREATE YOUR CIRCLE • BUILD YOUR COMMUNITY • TAKE A BRAVE STEP •
Could you be the leader you have been searching for?
IS YOUR ANSWER YES?!
You want to create circle spaces where people can speak without interruption and listen without having to fix or judge
You have experience and want to share it in a meaningful way with others
You want to be part of a small nourishing community of facilitators that will cheerleader you as you build your skills and plan and run your circles
You would love for your confidence to soar as you practice new facilitation skills like Focusing for Embodied Listening and Story Exchange
You would love to practice skills for managing tricky personalities in a supportive environment. To test out the right words when raw emotions arise, to lift quiet voices, to compassionately intervene when necessary.
Join Certification for Circle Holding
Starts: November 2025
Leaders of 2025 discover why circle holding could hold the key to your success!
12-week Circle Holders Journey training:
why we put it together & what you’ll get out of the experience.
Why circle training now?
Would you love to:
Create and build a community for your students, clients, work colleagues, local community, school…
Create a space where there are clear guidelines for communication so every voice is heard
Learn advanced listening techniques so you can hold space a wide variety of personalities and needs
Have skills so that you can feel confident in challenging situations
Build a network of colleagues to support you on your journey towards circle facilitation
Overcome barriers including finding the right location, length of circle and number of participants
Receive practical templates you can use throughout the process of creating, marketing and running your circle
Replays available for all sessions. 80% attendance required for certification. Julia & Tessa will be available throughout the training to answer your specific questions. Whatsapp group available for participation throughout the training for specific training purposes.
Meet your guides
Tessa Venuti Sanderson
Co-founder of Circle Holding
Julia Davis
Co-founder
About Tessa
My special interests are rites of passage (menarche, pregnancy/ birth and perimenopause circles and ceremonies) and taking a trauma-informed approach to teaching and facilitation.
It’s through circle that I saw a demand for more knowledge about the body and have written a number of books for women and children, including Pearls of Birth Wisdom: An Inner Journey with Stories, Insights and Practices; Colour Your Cycle - Inner Season Mandalas; and the Ruby Luna series. I’m passionate about supporting anyone who can see an unmet need in the community and wants to fill that gap.
I enjoying mentoring those who are self-employed and want to create a heartfelt, sustainable business, but need some help with logistics, getting comfortable with marketing and boosting numbers. Whether you want to run standalone talking circles or want to incorporate them into workshops / retreats / talks, I can hold your hand through the process.
About Julia:
Transformative Group Conversations: Training in Circle Holding and Communication
Working with groups has been a transformative experience for me, and I believe it can be just as impactful for you. Whether you are a coach transitioning from one-on-one work to facilitating group settings, looking to improve communication within your workplace, or seeking to host a talking circle in your community, sometimes the right conversation is all it takes to clarify your vision.
I’ve been hosting and participating in circles since my teenage years, and these skills have only deepened as I’ve integrated them into my work as a yoga teacher, business trainer, and community builder. I’ve facilitated hundreds of circles within the yoga community and now train business leaders, yoga teachers, coaches, and community leaders in circle-holding techniques.
In addition to my circle work, I have overseen all training for the Yoga Teachers Forum, a community of 1,000+ individuals. I’ve co-created and facilitated many of these training programs, collaborating closely with instructors and contributing to course design, delivery, and marketing.
Together we co-founded The State of Birth Symposium, where we continue to explore and promote transformative conversations around birth and parenting.
We’ll be with you every step of the way.
We’re offering you the hand holding that we craved as we set out on our circle holding journey years ago.
We’ll be creating space for the community of circle holders that you will be part of. We hare here so you can hit the ground running - either with a group you are looking to grow or a brand new one you would like to begin. We’re there to answer all your questions; whether they’re conceptual, technical, about process or logistical.
We’ve got you.
This is the start of lasting relationships to sustain you on your journey to being a wise and skillful facilitator and we’re excited!
You will take your first steps towards circle holding and look at how to be inclusive within the boundaries of your choice of group.
You will learn how to set up your circle and create a welcoming environment for your participants. You will learn techniques for juggling different needs and look at practical considerations.
You will practice opening and settling your circle and co-create circle guidelines that reflect the specific needs of your group. You will learn techniques to lift up all the variety of people who will form part of your circle,
You will look at the nuances of running circles for specific groups and how that affects choice around themes and use of creativity.
You will learn how to manage a variety of challenges that can come up within a circle. You will also learn differences between incorporating circle into other group settings and running weekly or monthly groups either online or in person.
You will practice a variety of circle holding skills and take you next step as a circle holder with your bespoke audience.
“Fabulous and inspiring course. Run by two lovely people who made me feel safe and supported as well as being encouraged to take risks and try new things/skills. I feel empowered to take these new offerings into my community.”
Join us for a comprehensive journey into circle holding:
Facilitating a circle of people, with a non-judgemental and brave space, is an enriching experience. It looks easy when it is done well, but there is a lot going on behind the scenes to make it a place that people trust to share. This training will enable you to facilitate talking circles in person or online.
This training is for you if you wish to facilitate a circles or have begun and would like a supportive community to work with. Previous attendees have included coaches, therapists, those who work in charities and organisations, yoga teachers, rites of passage celebrants, sound therapists, environmental activists and those who wanting to support the LGBTQIA+ community, carers, postgraduate students and more.
Full terms and conditions and privacy information can be found HERE
The training will model the principles of holding a circle as well as explicitly detailing the factors to consider when setting one up. Each week you will build your confidence in a specific aspect of circle holding:
Practical Skills You Will Learn:
Setting your intention for running your circle and finding your audience
Understanding the fundamental guidelines of circle
Preparation, welcoming, opening & settling
Addressing the challenges and managing circle dynamics
Deepening connection with listening partnerships
Practical considerations of in person and online circles
Closing your circle
Embodiment circles and special group
TESSA has been running her in person women's circles for 10+ years, mostly in person, and girls / mother and daughter circles for 5 years. She has run online women's circles throughout the lockdowns and this format can work very well, including the use of breakout rooms.
JULIA is an experienced circle facilitator running in person and online circles often with a focus on women’s health therapy and menopause. She has expertise in integrating circle into yoga classes, workshops and retreats.
By the end of this training you will have:
Experienced the benefits of sitting in circle
Gained practice in circle holding
Understood how to manage some of the major challenges of circle holding
Created a plan for running your own circle with clear steps you can take
Experienced running circle yourself to build your confidence in the different aspects of circle holding
Essential Pricing Details
EARLY BIRD - book by 30th June 2025 - SAVE £150
and gain free access to Circle Holding Fundamentals or a free one to one session with Julia or Tessa
Scholarships - These are available for people with low household incomes. Just as we don’t want anyone who wants to participate in a circle who feels like they could benefit to be left out if possible, we also want to support those who wish to be circle facilitators. The World needs circles and we want to enable facilitators to bring this work to those who need it where we can. Please email.
Apply Today!
If you would like to apply or discuss this course please fill in your details below and we’ll get back in touch with you to iron out the finer details. Our courses sell out quickly, so don’t delay. We look forward to welcoming you.