As autumn deepens, trees do not struggle to hold on to their leaves. They let the leaves that gathered sunlight all year fall under their own weight, then face winter with lighter branches. The human body does not manage this as easily as a tree. As the end of the year approaches, the shoulders gradually rise, the back stiffens, and the weight of everything held onto throughout the year builds up, vertebra by vertebra. Many people think their minds grew tired first, only to look back and realize that their bodies had been sending signals much earlier.
Body Garden: The Body of the Seasons, a group somatic expressive arts therapy program held at Poom Mind-Body Integrated Healing Center in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi province, begins at precisely this point. Over four Saturdays bridging autumn and winter, participants encounter the flow of the seasons through the language of the body. After opening with the Sept. 12 Harvest session, the program continues with its second session, Fallen Leaves, on Oct. 10.
Somatic expressive arts therapy: When the body speaks before the mind
Somatic comes from the Greek word soma, meaning body. Unlike conventional exercise or stretching, it focuses not on the body's appearance in a mirror but on sensations felt from within. Somatic expressive arts therapy stays with these inner sensations and uses sensory-awakening media and creative work to bring the stories held by the body to the outside.
Body Garden is led by Won Jeong-eon, a somatic psychotherapist and expressive arts therapist. Each of the four sessions centers on a different part of the body, medium and question. September's Harvest session focused on the hands, arms and front of the upper body, using natural materials as its medium. October's Fallen Leaves session explores the shoulders, back and spine with aroma oils. November's Frost and Roots session addresses grounding in the pelvis, legs and feet through singing bowls, while December's Seeds and Dormancy session uses tarot cards to explore whole-body integration and the center. The organizers said their guiding principle is to first identify internal and external resources that allow the body to feel safely supported before beginning deep relaxation and letting-go work.
September's Harvest session: Stories participants discovered in their bodies
The first session asked, “What have I cultivated?” The participant testimonials released by the organizers record a series of personal discoveries. Pebble said that working with movements of the hands and arms helped them realize they had struggled in life with pushing, reaching and pulling things toward themselves. Releasing long-stored energy brought a sense of refreshment and liberation, they said. Slowpoke said that staying with a prickly chestnut burr made them feel that appearances are not everything, while also bringing up simultaneous feelings of apology and gratitude toward their body. Sparkle recalled feeling deeply happy after dancing with complete abandon to release energy and then experiencing the pleasure of surrendering their body to the floor. Marigold, who is at a turning point in life, said choosing to be there so decisively was the right decision and that everything about the day inspired them as they searched for a direction in life ahead.
Among these testimonials, the words that stayed with me longest were Joy's: a confession that they wanted to carry into their life the realization that it is OK to simply play, and that it is still OK. Noticing how tense the body has been, and giving oneself permission to play for a while. Perhaps these are the two lessons meditation ultimately teaches us.
October's Fallen Leaves session: Learning to let go through a drifting fragrance
The weight of a year's burdens in the shoulders, back and spine
The second session asks, “What can I let go of?” After moving through the season of reaching out and gathering in, participants ask their bodies what has remained on their shoulders for too long and how they can set it down. Anyone who has stood before a mirror at the end of the day can probably understand that the shoulders are often the first place to stiffen when we try desperately to hold on to something.
Cypress and cedarwood: Autumn scents chosen directly by the body
The primary medium in October is seasonal aromatherapy. Oils reminiscent of the deep scents of fallen leaves and soil, including cypress and cedarwood, will be prepared. The organizers explain that when participants close their eyes and quietly take in the scents, their bodies can choose the fragrance that resonates with what they most want to release right now.
There is a reason fragrance is especially well suited to this session. No matter how tightly we try to hold it, scent flickers between our fingers before dispersing into the air. Watching something fade beyond our ability to grasp it becomes, in itself, an exercise in letting go. The message of this session is that there is no need to force anything away; simply entrusting the breath to the movement of the fragrance is enough. Participants will receive a healing kit containing seasonal aroma-blending oils, inspirational poetry, reflection cards and a pouch. Tea and snacks will also be provided.
An invitation to know that you do not have to force yourself to let go
The organizers recommend the session for people who want to look back on the year but feel too emotionally tangled to sort through it, those who want to release tension in body and mind, and those who want to encounter through the body what they need to let go of and what they want to newly take in. The group will be limited to eight participants. The small size is intended to create an intimate setting where everyone can respect one another's pace. After October, the journey continues with the Nov. 14 Frost and Roots session and the Dec. 12 Seeds and Dormancy session, asking alongside the body what to protect and what to plant in the space created by letting go.
When a tree lets go of its leaves, it is not giving up; it is preparing for the next season. The message of this session—that letting go makes room to be filled again—speaks to the same truth. If you have made it this far this year while holding tightly to something in a corner of your heart, perhaps this autumn you can allow your shoulders to grow a little lighter first. What were your shoulders holding on to today?
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