Held - A Cuddle Cooperative.

First up, for clarity's sake... This is an intimate yet entirely platonic experience of emotional and physical intimacy.

Intimacy... physical and/or emotional closeness with a trusted other, is a core connective human need, a primal desire. Being held in the embrace of a nurturing, safe, regulated other is a wholesome experience of connectivity yet, for many of us, our nurturing touch needs remain unmet.

About the experience:

* We normalise intimacy outside of romantic relationships

* We hug, hold hands, feel hearts and listen deeply

* We make room for vulnerability, for connection, for self-understanding and compassion

* We respect and honour the self-sovereignty and bodily autonomy of ourselves and of others by adhering to the group guidelines and boundaries.

* We curiously and compassionately explore our inner-terrain, inclusive of our felt-perception and mind narrative in community over isolation.

What to expect:

While cuddles/hugs may sound like a sweet time for some, for some, it can bring up unsettling feelings of resistance such as pressure, obligation, expectation and/or mistrust/scepticism of the other's intent. In this experience with clearly delineated group boundaries, we seek to settle our nervous system enough to surrender into experiencing nurturing holds and caring touch via a range of individual, partnered and small group playful and meaningful activities, sharing and debriefing.

Who will I be partnered with?

You may choose to join Held with a friend or partner and do all the paired activities with that person only. You may be open to pairing with others in the group. You may wish to explore activities on your own or with a life-size teddy.

It is encouraged to remain connected to yourself and make decisions on your availability to participate in activities based upon your state of regulation and resourcing. Touch is always optional. Changing your mind many times over is always an option.

What HELD is and is not:

Held is not a cuddle party, it is a highly facilitated, specifically paced, trauma-informed experience guided by trained cuddle practitioners.

We are building a cuddle community with more opportunities to cuddle imminently dropping onto the Centre of You schedule of offerings with a more spontaneous, less-facilitated vibe. This event however is centred around moving towards a felt sense of safety and surrender within the body when being held and will require patience and understanding for the process of exploration from all who choose to participate.

About your facilitators:

Grace Elizabeth is the Founder, Director and Visionary of Centre of You, a multi-modal centre for inner-exploration. Her prompting to create Held was instilled by virtue of what she noticed of her own inner-landscape in the realm of cuddles. Grace's desire to break-through places of mistrust, skepticism and hypervigilance and move towards landing in a felt-sense of safety within her own body is what led her down the path of leaning into and softening her edges of avoidance. Self-compassion, patience, an evolving relationship with her inner-child and learning (still learning!) how to effectively communicate needs, boundaries and preferences as a fully-grown adult are some of the multi-layered realms of continued attention that have aided Grace. Held has been created with empathy and understanding for the cohort of the population who like Grace, are navigating similar terrain OR would like to support a heart-connection of theirs who is.

For more information on Grace's deliberate creation, Centre of You visit www.centreofyou.com.au

Natasha Hund is a cuddle professional, play specialist and holistic counsellor. Knowing the importance of touch in child development, Tash extended her knowledge of the importance of touch for adults, and explored ways to bring more platonic touch into her life and the lives of others via cuddle therapy. Tash creates a safe and nurturing atmosphere in workshops where touch needs and preferences are able to be communicated.

For more information on Tash's professional offerings visit www.lifespirals.com.au

Things to note:

Centre of You has plenty of bolsters, blankets, and cushions for you to get cosy with. We recommend wearing comfortable, loose clothes to enable deep breathing and sitting/laying upon the floor with ease. A journal is recommended as are any familiar personal items that will aid you in feeling grounded (crystal, teddy, scarf, etc).

Arrival: Endeavour to arrive between 6:45pm - 7:00pm. To preserve the experience for all involved, doors will close at 7:15pm. Truly, it breaks our heart to have to turn latecomers away yet the disruption to the whole group experience by virtue of lateness does require management. We ask that you find understanding and consideration for the timebound nature of the container and make every effort to arrive on time.

Driving: Know Centre of You is on Chapel St and ample time to find a car spot is best to be factored into your plans. Park direct on Chapel St (spots unmetered after 5pm) or in Anchor Place, the open-air parking lot in the side street that runs opposite Centre of You (unmetered after 4pm).

Public transport - tram: Both the number 6 tram & 78 tram stop on the corner of High St/Chapel St. This is stop 31 on the number 6 tram (Moreland/Glen Iris) & stop 45 on the number 78 tram (North Richmond/Balaclava).

Public transport - train: Both Prahran & Windsor stations along the Sandringham Line will get you walking distance to Centre of You.

Finding Centre of You: Centre of You is nestled within the arcade that Chapel St Bazaar is in (217 Chapel St). It is up a flight of stairs with a wide landing at the half-way-point. Unfortunately, this current version of Centre of You does not have a wheelchair accessible lift. If you could use support in getting up the stairs or would like to discuss ways to make your experience at Centre of You more comfortable, please reach out via [email protected] or via DM over on Centre of You Instagram.

Accessibility: At COY we aim to ensure our community and events are inclusive and accessible while alongside upholding the needs and responsibilities of our business and the businesses of our collaborating facilitators. Should you be in a time of financial challenge and unable to pay the full ticket price comfortably, please reach out to [email protected]

Ticketing T&Cs: We get it, life happens, therefore we will gladly refund you up until 24hrs before the event start time. After that, we have a strict no refund/no transfer to future events policy.

If you are no longer able to attend and wish to pay forward your ticket to someone within the community, be in touch via [email protected] or via DM over on Centre of You Instagram.

Questions? Email [email protected] or reach out via Instagram DM.

Host or Publisher Centre of You