The Touch Ambassador

Bits and pieces in cuddle-land!

My friend reported that while sitting on an inter-city train, she overheard the passengers behind her discussing the phenomenon of the Cuddle Party!!  Exciting!

The lovely presenter on Radio 4's Saturday Live paid lip service to Cuddle Party in the two weeks following the feature on us.  Thanks, Fi!

REiD - the grand-daddy of Cuddle Parties was on The Ugly Phil Breakfast show on Kerrang Radio last week.

And some national reporters wanted to sit in on yesterday's Cuddle Party - but we ended up putting that on hold.

So, it's been a busy time!

We had a party yesterday which left me exhausted.  Sometimes I can be totally energetic and euphoric after a party.  Other times, I'm slurring my syllables (too much oxytocin being released!) and can think only of sleep.  That was yesterday!!!  Just as I never know how I'm going to feel when a party finishes, we can also never know how we'll respond to touch.  Somedays, we want to be snuggly and touchy and other days we want to be in our own space.  There is definitely such a thing as too much touch.  Definitely such a thing as not enough touch.  The best thing to do is honour wherever we are!

By the way, I just did a google search for "hug" and "e-card" and over 90,000 options came up!  If you have a favourite site for sending hugs by e-mail, please share with us all!!!!

Acceptance

Three people have had conversations with me in the last day or so based along the same theme: that we've become disconnected from each other in our busy, urban, get-ahead lives ergo (I like that word, Latin I believe for "therefore") we need Cuddle Parties.  A student journalist from Vietnam put it to me beautifully when she said that it's "mending a hole". 

I really am feeling a shift in attitudes and feel that the message that "safe, pleasant and welcome touch is a VERY good thing" is being met with nods of heads and acceptance. Could my work as Touch Ambassador be done??

How Touch Can Help Us Heal (and a plug for my book!)

Hi!!!  I wanted to share an excerpt from my book.  The book is called "Getting Through To The Other Side" and is a dip in, dip out book with short items related to transcending barriers, shifting, changing life direction and so on.  All in all, it contains the voices of some 40+ people from all over the world.  Listen to what Veronica from Chicago had to say ...

I lost both my parents to cancer. It was because of my dad that I thought about becoming a massage therapist. When he was in the advanced stages of his illness, and in a lot of pain - I’d warm up smooth river rocks and use those to massage his feet with lavender oil and he’d almost always feel better.  With the help of my mom and a friend I decided to go to massage school. Not too long after, mom's cancer returned. My instinct was to resign from work and school to take care of her. I forced myself to stay in massage school, but dreaded leaving her each time I went to class.

When she passed away, my life came to a halt. I wanted to go with her. I was ready to leave massage school again because who would now receive my loving touch if not my mom or my dad?  Even though I was heartbroken, sad and hurting, I knew that my parents weren’t quitters and neither was I.  I had my kids, my siblings and those in physical pain that I could do massage with.

I now work at a medical office with fibromyalgia patients.  Many are so sensitive that even the lightest of touches is cause for severe pain

Every time I massage someone, I listen, I learn and I am compelled to improve. I want to continue learning. Massage has contributed to my healing process and I hope that it helps others with their own healing too.

Do you have a story about how touch changed your life or helped you to heal?  If so, do post a comment!

If you'd like a copy of my book (pictured above).  Please e-mail cuddleparty@hotmail.co.uk .  It sells at £8.99 plus postage.

Huggin' Fever!

The computer was having a strange day yesterday!!!  I attempted twice to post about Spring Huggin' Fever and both times my post came out blank - altogether now gggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr (actually I have found that having someone to hug post computer frustration is a great way to get back to equilibrium!)

So what I wanted to tell you about yesterday was that Spring hugging is in the air!

Firstly, the video website YouTube, in it's first annual awards, gave the "Most Inspirational Video" award to the "Free Hugs" clip.  If you've not seen it, do click here!  The soundtrack from the clip was released last week as an album (for true devotees!) Twelve million people have viewed it since it was uploaded in the autumn and it's YouTube's 13th most watched film!  It tells the story of a young man in Sydney who gives out free hugs to strangers to spread the love!!  In the last few months, free huggers have taken to the streets the world over (yes, even I've done it!!!)

If you prefer to be part of an organised hugging initiative, mark May 6 in your diary.  It's Random Huggers Day www.randomhuggers.com .  The promoters say that the purpose of the day is "to spread the love, warmth and wonderful energy that is in a great hug, around the world".  Events are taking place in London, Brighton and Birmingham -- and if you live somewhere else, feel free to create your own event (the organisers can help you)!!!

I definitely feel that hugs are in the air and that the benefits of touch are becoming more and more a talking point in the media.  Ya - hoo!!!  After all, that is what this blog is all about - to spread the word that welcome, safe and pleasant touch is the most wonderful, life-enhancing, health promoting, feelgood thing!

Spring hugs to all and computer please post this !

Cuddle Party's Great Media Weekend!

It's been a great weekend for Cuddle Party in the media with the word out to millions more people about the many emotional and psychological benefits of touch!

Radio 4's Saturday Live breakfast programme featured us as their "Guerilla Reporter" item.  Go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/saturdaylive/ to listen in or add your thoughts to the blog.  FYI, the Cuddle Party feature starts 23 mins and 45 secs into the show!  After the feature, the two studio guests (both cuddle-sceptical offer some thoughts and related poetry).  It's worth listening in again at 45 mins and 40 secs to hear views from those in the pro touch/ cuddle camp.  Happy listening!

And on Sunday, the May edition of Men's Health came out with a great two-page feature on Cuddle Party - backed up with lots of quotes from psychologists and PhD types about how touch is good for us !!  Happy reading!!!