Cuddle
Two people cuddle on a bench in Union Square in New York February 20, 2012. After an unusually mild winter, New Yorkers are enjoying the return of spring weather. REUTERS/Andrew Burton

A cuddle club has been set up in Seattle to give people the opportunity to be held and touched. This is the first place in the state that offers services intended to provide the comfort of non-sexual cuddling.

In the said club, a complete stranger and customer will have a cuddling session. Either of the parties can stop the session anytime if one feels uncomfortable. All the touching are guaranteed to be free of any sexual component. The club is located at Fauntleroy Square. Customers and cuddlers are provided with couches where they can lay and have a chat, or listen to music. Becoming a member is free of charge and enables customers to schedule a cuddling session for 30 minutes or one hour, costing $45 and $75, respectively.

The woman behind this new service is Lashanna Williams, a certified member of the Cuddle Professionals International. She said that she established the Cuddle Club to help people. “Everyone needs to be held,” said Williams in an announcement. “And all of us benefit from more relaxing, meaningful human contact.”

According to Williams, cuddling has an array of benefits. These include enhancing social skills, lowering stress and anxiety levels, and reducing blood pressure, heart rate and heart diseases. Furthermore, Women’s Health suggested that cuddling can help to secrete happy hormones, known as serotonin and dopamine.

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