I was both curious and intimidated to discover what the Kuddle Klub is about. I have a fair amount of experience in sex-positive spaces: from tantra massage to BDSM.
But somehow, the idea of cuddle therapy, and specifically cuddling with strangers, felt scarier to me. I can easily feel trapped when bodies are too close, and I wasn’t sure how my nervous system would react.
What is cuddle therapy?
Cuddle therapy is exactly what it sounds like. It is a space where people come together to share safe, kind touch, like hugging, holding, or lying next to one another, with clear consent and no sexual implications. It is about helping the body feel supported and cared for, a bit like when you are wrapped in a warm blanket or held by someone you trust.
About Kuddle Klub
Kuddle Klub is a carefully held container, based in Berlin, to explore connection through slowness, presence and cuddling. It is an invitation to drop pressure, honour your needs and boundaries, and allow intimacy to feel nourishing.
Each Kuddle Klub experience is held as a practice, weaving together gentle communication games, consent and boundaries basics, a guided cuddle lab, and time for free-flow connection. The atmosphere is supportive, with plenty of space to participate at your own pace, or simply observe.
Kuddle Klub is hosted by professional touch artist Alexandre Dandelion, who holds the space with clarity and deep respect for consent.
The next Kuddle Klub is on 25th January, featuring a 5 hour day workshop and a 3 hour evening workshop.
What happened at cuddle therapy?
From the very beginning, Alex set the tone. He told us that absolutely nothing was expected of us, and that we were welcome to simply watch, stay at a distance, or not be in close contact with anyone at all.
He clearly explained that consent is the foundation of everything here, and of cuddle therapy as a practice. We were invited to first tune intuitively into another person, sense whether they wished to welcome us, and only then ask.
We began with a long embodiment practice, grounding ourselves and listening to our bodies. This felt like an important entry point into cuddle therapy. Then we were invited to walk around the room and connect with others through a hug only if it felt genuinely right.
Later, we were paired into groups of four. Each of us could create our dream scenario and ask for exactly what we wanted: closeness or distance, grounding touch, specific places on the body, or none at all. This clear communication felt central to the cuddle therapy container held at Kuddle Klub.
I really enjoyed being in service to others, and feeling the freedom to connect at my own pace, in my own way. When it was my turn to receive, I asked for touch on my back and legs.
As I became more familiar with the others’ energies, I felt safe enough to invite them a little closer. This gentle pacing felt essential to my experience of cuddle therapy.
After these guided explorations, Alex opened the space for free-flow cuddling. Anyone could approach someone else and ask to lie next to them, spoon, hold hands, or simply share presence always at a chosen closeness or distance.
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He reminded us again that nothing was expected, and that we could leave at any time. This flexibility is one of the things that made cuddle therapy at Kuddle Klub feel so accessible.
I felt slightly intimidated, but followed my first intuition and approached a woman with whom I had felt an energetic bond from the very beginning. We lay in each other’s arms so naturally, so effortlessly. Our breath slowly aligned, and I could feel my entire nervous system soften.
Cuddling is known to release oxytocin: the hormone of bonding and safety, and in that moment I truly felt it: my body shifted into deep rest, my mind went quiet.
She had a very maternal energy for me, and I realised I had rarely embraced someone so fully without any expectation, sexual tension, or performance. This is something I now associate strongly with cuddle therapy. Just the incredible beauty of two humans sharing pure presence, allowing themselves to melt into a long, loving embrace. Time seemed to stop. I entered a state of deep relaxation I hadn’t felt in a very long time.
Around us, people were cuddling in pairs, in groups of four, sometimes even as one interconnected cluster. It almost looked like a play-party space — except instead of sex, people were simply lying into one another, fully clothed, hearts open.
As Alex beautifully named it: sometimes people go to sex parties or temple nights feeling a little confused. Sometimes we think we’re looking for sex, when what we’re really longing for is closeness, tenderness, and intimacy. This is where cuddle therapy can be deeply nourishing. Gentle touch can lower stress, regulate the nervous system, and create a feeling of safety that many of us are deeply starved for.
“Cuddling is my biggest turn-on. When you really sync into each other and become one in this co-regulating space, it pushes my sensuality and fulfills me completely,” shares Angel, a recurring participant in cuddle therapy.
“I love cuddling deeply with one person, but also being in big groups where you don’t know which arms belong to whom,” adds Laura, a Kuddle Klub aficionada.
I joined a small group and spooned with a lovely being for a while, before Alex gently invited us to come back together and close the cuddle therapy circle.
That hour of cuddling vanished incredibly fast. I felt blissed out, slightly overwhelmed by the beauty of the energies in the room, and at the same time deeply grounded and fulfilled from the inside.
I couldn’t believe that something so simple, so obvious, and so profoundly human doesn’t exist in many more places.
I felt immense gratitude for Alex for holding this cuddle therapy space with such care. I genuinely believe that almost anyone could benefit from it.
I found myself imagining cuddle therapy spaces in hospitals, retirement homes and honestly… everywhere!
While many of us receive affection in our private lives, there is something quietly magical about falling into the arms of a stranger and trusting them to hold us with care, just for this moment.
“Your fear is your portal to your true expression and freedom. Just give it a try, you won’t regret it,” Laura concludes.
I’m deeply grateful for this experience. In just three hours, I went from cuddle-curious to what Alex lovingly calls a “cuddle monster”!
If this article inspired you to explore more healing, supportive intimacy experiences, you can explore more workshops and services like this on Sensuali, all held by intimacy professionals.
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Pauline Marie-Antoinette
Pauline is a poetry writer, performer, experience creator, and intimacy and kinks workshop facilitator. She believes in the power of arts and creativity to be profound vehicles for change and loves to empower people to free their inner artist and turn sensuality into a real art form. Her solo-show, "An Erotic Poetry Odyssey" is an invitation to deepen intimacy, explore conscious kinks while challenging societal taboos. Pauline designs experiences for couples, retreats and workshops in Berlin and around the world!
