A gating device for a magnetic resonance imaging device, the gating device comprising: a physiological monitor (12, 14); an electronic processor; and a non-transitory storage medium storing a navigator pulse sequence, a gated MR imaging sequence, and instructions readable and executable by the electronic processor to perform a gated MR imaging method including: operating the MR imaging device to repeatedly execute the navigator pulse sequence to generate navigator data in image space as a function of time; extracting a motion signal of an anatomical feature as a function of time from the navigator data; concurrently with operating the MR imaging device to repeatedly execute the navigator sequence, acquiring a concurrent physiological signal as a function of time generated by the physiological monitor; determining a gating time offset by comparing the motion signal of the anatomical feature as a function of time and the concurrent physiological signal as a function of time by computing a time corresponding to a phase shift between the motion signal of the anatomical feature and the concurrent physiological signal; and operating the MR imaging device to perform the gated MR imaging sequence using gating times defined as occurrence times of gating events detected by the physiological monitor modified by the gating time offset; wherein the gated MR imaging employs retrospective gating in which MR imaging data are acquired continuously while recording the gating events detected using the physiological monitor (12, 14) and retrospectively gated using the recorded gating events modified by the gating time offset, wherein the physiological monitor (12, 14) comprises a respiratory monitor and the gated MR imaging is respiratory-gated MR imaging. a physiological monitor (12, 14); an electronic processor; and a non-transitory storage medium storing a navigator pulse sequence, a gated MR imaging sequence, and instructions readable and executable by the electronic processor to perform a gated MR imaging method including: operating the MR imaging device to repeatedly execute the navigator pulse sequence to generate navigator data in image space as a function of time; extracting a motion signal of an anatomical feature as a function of time from the navigator data; concurrently with operating the MR imaging device to repeatedly execute the navigator sequence, acquiring a concurrent physiological signal as a function of time generated by the physiological monitor; determining a gating time offset by comparing the motion signal of the anatomical feature as a function of time and the concurrent physiological signal as a function of time by computing a time corresponding to a phase shift between the motion signal of the anatomical feature and the concurrent physiological signal; and operating the MR imaging device to perform the gated MR imaging sequence using gating times defined as occurrence times of gating events detected by the physiological monitor modified by the gating time offset; operating the MR imaging device to repeatedly execute the navigator pulse sequence to generate navigator data in image space as a function of time; extracting a motion signal of an anatomical feature as a function of time from the navigator data; concurrently with operating the MR imaging device to repeatedly execute the navigator sequence, acquiring a concurrent physiological signal as a function of time generated by the physiological monitor; determining a gating time offset by comparing the motion signal of the anatomical feature as a function of time and the concurrent physiological signal as a function of time by computing a time corresponding to a phase shift between the motion signal of the anatomical feature and the concurrent physiological signal; and operating the MR imaging device to perform the gated MR imaging sequence using gating times defined as occurrence times of gating events detected by the physiological monitor modified by the gating time offset; wherein the gated MR imaging employs retrospective gating in which MR imaging data are acquired continuously while recording the gating events detected using the physiological monitor (12, 14) and retrospectively gated using the recorded gating events modified by the gating time offset, wherein the physiological monitor (12, 14) comprises a respiratory monitor and the gated MR imaging is respiratory-gated MR imaging.