The Scent of Memory

A 2-hour Online Somatic and Art Journey into Smell, Memory, and Meaning through Somatic Art®, Body-Mind Centering®, creative writing, and sharing.

“Dandelion wine. The words were summer on the tongue. The wine was summer caught and stoppered...sealed away for opening on a January day with snow falling fast and the sun unseen for weeks...”

—Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine

Have you ever caught a scent that instantly transported you to a different time in your life?

The smell of baking bread, sun-warmed earth, a familiar perfume—these invisible threads can awaken deep emotions and vivid memories.

This workshop draws inspiration from Bradbury's poignant imagery—capturing the essence of summer in a bottle, to be uncorked in the depths of winter as a reminder of warmth and vitality.

As spring envelops us with its blooming scents and renewed energy, it's the perfect time to reconnect with our senses and inner landscapes. Through Somatic Art®, Body-Mind Centering®, and somatic awareness to explore the mysterious connection between smell and memory.

What to Expect:

• A playful scent-association game to awaken your inner archive

• A short, accessible dive into the science and poetry of smell and memory

• Guided scent meditations using your smells

• Expressive painting using water-based materials

• Associative creative writing

• Receiving reflection through drawing, sharing, and deep listening

Whether you are an artist, a therapist, a writer, or simply curious, this workshop invites you to reconnect with your inner landscapes, one breath at a time.

Recoring of the live workshop on June 5th, 2025

Contribution: €30 for replay, sliding scale for live participation

What to bring:

3–5 familiar or intriguing scents (spices, herbs, essential oils, coffee, tea, etc.)

Water-based art supplies and any paper

Notebook and pen

Curiosity

The recording does not include the sharing and final discussion part to preserve participants' privacy.

Why Experience Somatic Smell Work?

Smell is our most primitive, unfiltered sense. It bypasses the thinking brain entirely and plugs straight into the limbic system - memory, emotion, trauma, desire. Many people are completely cut off from this intelligence.

Think about it - when someone catches a whiff of their grandmother's perfume or their ex-lover's cologne, they're instantly transported. Their whole body changes. But we live in such a sanitised, deodorised world that we've lost this incredible navigation system.

So what can this experience give you?

1. Reclaim Your Body's Ancient Intelligence

Your sense of smell connects directly to emotion and memory, bypassing mental analysis. In this workshop, you'll learn to trust your body's immediate knowing - that gut feeling about people, places, and situations that your rational mind often dismisses. You'll discover how scent can guide you toward what nourishes you and away from what depletes you.

2. Unlock Memories and Emotions Beyond Words

Many of our deepest experiences - early childhood, trauma, profound joy - live in the pre-verbal realm where traditional therapy can't reach. Through guided scent exploration, you'll access and integrate body memories, allowing stuck emotions to move and transform. This isn't about talking through your past - it's about feeling and releasing what your body has been holding.

3. Awaken Your Creative and Sensual Self

When you reconnect with your sense of smell, you literally come back into your body and the present moment. This awakens creativity, sensuality, and aliveness that may have been dormant. You'll leave with practical tools for using scent to shift your emotional state, enhance intimacy, and access creative flow whenever you need it.