By Nicolette Cetrulo

Last week I listened in on one of the weekly Cuddlist practitioner calls between Anna Joy, Michelle, Jenat, and Brianna. At one point, someone was sharing about recent experiences with introverted clients, and it got me thinking about how a Cuddlist session can help someone overcome shyness. This spoke to me, as I am someone who is on the introverted side.

I asked Michelle about her take on the situation, she responded: “I am happy to meet my clients where they are. If that means that we are going to talk for a while, maybe even multiple sessions, before we share any physical contact, that is absolutely ok with me.”

As I keep learning about Cuddlist and the Cuddlist mission statement, I think back to something our co-founder Madelon Guinazzo said about establishing boundaries, where she underscored how key communication is to this whole practice. I also understand how people who are more on the shy side tend to be more hesitant in communicating their needs, because they can be scared of how people are going to react.

I am no stranger to these kinds of feelings myself; I know what it’s like to be too scared to verbally communicate my feelings to someone else and fear their reaction, and I know that this is a difficult feeling to overcome. Through the clear communication which weaves in and out of these platonic touch experiences, Cuddlist sessions have helped many introverted people gain confidence to bring both their touch and their day-in day-out communication to a more empowered place.