In a client's home, suitable surfaces for cuddling include couches, beds, and the floor using pillows for cushioning. Professional cuddlers may also have camping pads or other padding they can place on the floor and cover with a sheet to provide a comfortable space for cuddling.

Have you ever heard that hugs start to have a bigger benefit when they last 20 seconds or more? With professional cuddlers, you have the opportunity to share in hugs and other extended touch that can lead to an increased sense of calm and well being in your life.

One of the primary benefits of professional cuddling is a general lowering of stress levels through the reduction of cortisol and the release of oxytocin within your body. Oxytocin is, of course, the cuddle hormone! Oxytocin release is a natural effect of extended physical touch.

Professional cuddlers in general are well versed in concepts such as bodily autonomy, consent based touch and interaction, setting healthy boundaries that serve their clients and themselves, and active listening. We love sharing our knowledge and skill sets in order to bring you a relaxing, beneficial experience of being safely held or safely holding us.

What allows cuddling to be consensual, healthy, and therapeutic is trust between both people involved that

1. both parties will use their voice
2. what is expressed will be respected, without question.

As the professional cuddler, I promise to take responsibility for my own boundaries. If at any time I am uncomfortable with something that is happening during the session (this could be as simple as my arm falling asleep), I will speak up and tell you, the client, that I need to make an adjustment or change what we are doing. This is my commitment to you that I will only engage with you in ways that I am wholeheartedly happy with.

As part of the opening agreement, I will ask you if you are willing to respect my needs and limits, and I will ask for your verbal agreement to this.

The next part of the opening agreement is for me to ask you to notice for yourself what you may want to change about a cuddle session while it is in progress. I want you to tell me when anything about the session at all becomes uncomfortable, including your physical comfort and the way we are interacting. It's ok if you are not perfect at doing this, as I will proactively check in with you throughout the session. But I would like you to do your best to bring anything like this up with me as soon as you can in the moment. I also would like you to actively notice and ask for anything you want during the session.

If you verbally agree to both respect my needs and limits, and to do your best to express your own needs, limits, and wants, then the opening agreement is complete!

If you've never been to a professional cuddling session before, you might think it will be like appointments for other specialties where the professional tells you what they want you to do and how they want you to position your body. Professional cuddling is not like that.

It is important that you, the client at a professional cuddling session, decide how you would like any touch interaction to proceed. The question I will ask you is, what does the cuddling you want in the moment look like to you?

And it's ok if you don't know the answer to that right away. We can work together to figure that out. Remember also that it is still a valid cuddle session if you choose not to have any physical contact for part or all of the session. There is a cuddle position I call companioning, which means we are sitting side by side without any touch.

The short answer is: nothing!

Here is the longer answer. We are all human and we all experience feelings and sensations in our bodies. Particularly when cultural messaging or our prior experiences may tell us that close physical contact is associated with s*xual intimacy, it is only natural that such feelings might arise. There is no shame in experiencing arousal during a professional cuddling session. But just because a person experiences such feelings, does not mean that they have to act on those feelings. What we can do is notice the feelings, acknowledge them, and talk about them. We can also make changes or take actions to increase our physical or emotional comfort at any time, such as moving to a different cuddle pose or taking a break from cuddling.

Professional cuddling may also be referred to as:

• Cuddle therapy
• Platonic touch therapy

Professional cuddlers may also be referred to as:

• Therapeutic touch practitioners

Professional cuddling is very much a real and thriving phenomenon. You can find a directory of over a hundred practicing Cuddlists from around the world at Cuddlist.com