TACTILE
Intimacy
sensuality of touch & connection
Groups workshops or Couples Session
Hello, and thank you for your interest. For Group Workshops, I want to begin by letting you know, this is not solo work in a group. All activity is with a partner or as a group, alternating partners for groups of individuals. During the sessions, your voice is always welcomed, I am here to facilitate and guide.
' No matter what you do, your nervous system is always sending out and receiving and processing environmental signals and triggers. When you spend time with another person your nervous system begins to coregulate, and that can be both a wonderful and a scary thing to do.
When we are in emotionally traumatic or anxiety-producing relationships. Our body can sometimes give us clues that we don’t feel safe or that this isn’t the right relationship before we even become mentally aware of it. That is how smart our bodies are.
In an intimate relationship, we can successfully co-regulate with one another when we experience the interaction of feeling safe.
When a rupture occurs such as a conflict, we move out of connection; then, with a repair such as resolving the conflict, we return to the safe emotional connection. A positive sensation is experienced in our body where we can feel calm, grounded, and secure.
Disruptions in this emotional connection are a given with the ebb and flow of life, but there’s a trust that develops that re-engagement can and will take place.
It can be really difficult for somebody who is used to unhealthy relationships to begin to feel safe with a new partner, even if that relationship is healthy both emotionally and physically. "
with permission from: lcsrtherapy,com
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Getting close to someone demands that we also get close to ourselves. That’s the nature of true intimacy. When our heart opens to another, it also opens to ourself.
*Touch excavates everything alive within us- including our unresolved shadow- in an effort to bring all that we are into the light of connection. It wants the whole of us to be present for the experience. It wants the whole of us to heal. Then our experience of intimacy is something more than a reach for the other. It’s also a reach for ourselves. Not merely a fleeting adventure between two souls, but a truly transformative journey towards wholeness
- edited with permission from Jeff Brown,
Ways to touch & get in touch with ourselves and / others
Below is a general guideline: Workshops will slightly vary dependent on attendees, i.e., women only, mixed gender etc ...
Level 1 : Participants remain clothed / non-sexual touch, to include reflection, journaling, and group sharing. Below options can be offered as
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Guided Tactile Meditation
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Guided Body Mapping / Touch Exploration
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Guided Intro to Cuddle Sessions
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Body Painting ( clothed, semi clothed or nude )
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Learn simple foot massage: Probably the simplest and most enjoyable form of safe connection with all human beings, while providing many health and psychological benefits. We can also incorporate full body dry massage where participants remain clothed
[ Since most people don't truly know what they want, or what is available to them, the above guided practices help build a foundation, with the flexibility to adjust as you wish within agreed upon terms, in the below portion of the workshop ]
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Voice & Choice - 3 minute game; Dialogue between attendees, learning to ask for what you want.
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Closing
Video clip from Betty Martin, who developed the wheel of consent from the original creator of 3 minute game, Harry Faddis
What will you gain?
-inSight to your own nature: The freedom to explore curiosities within agreed upon terms
-Learn to ask for what you want -how to avail ourselves to another without compromising our own values -finding the middle ground -saying no -change your mind -express discomfort -moving beyond predetermined boundaries -meeting our needs in the moment
our personal growth doesn't come from just sitting alone in a room, but through our interactions with others, and with each person gaining insight into ourselves and enhancing our -relational Intelligence -emotional Intelligence -Body awareness
Non-goal oriented sessions: allows each person to have ones own experience, cultivating trust, the freedom to allow oneself to be as they need to be in that moment ridding ourselves of shame, fear, guilt
Non-goal oriented, doesn't mean there isn't a purpose, it simply means allowing the freedom for whatever needs to come through.
*** Tactile Intimacy Practice Partner Network : for those who attend the workshops have to option to sign up as a safe practice partner with others who have attended the workshops ----