The snuggle is real.
Aleksandra Kasperek realized that sometimes people just need a hug. The Polish entrepreneur runs a professional cuddling salon, which has become so popular that there’s a waitlist for lonely customers seeking some safe-for-work human contact.
“I didn’t expect there would be so many people interested,” Kasperek told Jam Press while revealing all in honor of National Cuddle Up Day on Monday, Jan. 6.
Dubbed Ania Od Przytulania, the snuggle center opened its doors/arms just two years ago but has since seen an explosion in business — particularly among those aged 40 to 60. Her group of regulars usually come once a week for an hour-long snuggle session, which serves to relieve loneliness and other issues.
“Due to high demand, appointments must even be made several days in advance,” said Kasperek, who got the idea about reading about a similar embrace oasis online. “I love new challenges and experiences; I like to create something new.”
The cuddle capo’s center functions like a G-rated bordello that deals in snuggles instead of sex. Sessions begin with a handshake, introduction and, fittingly, a welcome hug in the “Teddy bear” position, the Daily Mail reported.
Kasperek then asks him their reasons for being there so she can tailor the experience to the client’s needs and then vets them to make sure they’re eligible to become her brothers and sisters in arms, so to speak.
“After introducing myself, I ask the client about his [or her] health condition, whether they have a sore throat, a runny nose, whether he [or she] is under the influence of alcohol or other psychoactive substances,” the squeeze merchant explained. “Then I give the client the hug rules to read.”
Those state, among other guidelines, that “crossing sexual boundaries” is an immediate termination of the session.
The client then showers and changes into the provided robe to prep for the experience.
Ready, set, snuggle.
During cuddle sessions, which run around $37 for one hour or around $72 for two, Kasperek said she not only hugs clients but also conducts “professional coaching sessions with them” like a very hands-on psychologist.
“Clients tell me about their problems but also about pleasant experiences to talk about; they want to feel important and appreciated,” she said.
The session, meanwhile, takes place in a “royal-style” cuddle room complete with “fluffy, fragrant pillows and blankets,” a lit fireplace and hydromassage shower, and a luxurious bathtub, per her site. Guests are offered a sweet treat, coffee, tea, hot chocolate or a glass of Champagne.
Adult snuggle sessions might seem like a symptom of a world gone soft, where people increasingly need to bubble-wrap the world to protect their feelings.
However, the hug honcho said that many clients are people “who have had traumas, fears of emotional closeness, sometimes also of sexual closeness” and need “understanding and support.”
There are even “ladies who have experienced physical violence from their partners,” said the human Squishmellow. “Thanks to hug therapy, they learn again that touch is not only associated with physical pain, but touch is something nice, pleasant and soothing.”
The benefits of cuddling aren’t due to the placebo effect, either.
There are multiple studies that support the healing power of hugs, which include lowering blood pressure and helping scale back the stress hormone cortisol.
Isolated souls have increasingly embraced the trend amid the worldwide loneliness epidemic following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professional “cuddle therapist” Missy Robinson said she has a regular roster of clients who will pay up to $1,300 for the privilege of holding her in their arms, which she believes has nothing to do with sex.
Kasperek sums up the benefits of touch therapy like this: “By properly stimulating the sense of touch, cares and worries disappear and life becomes beautiful and safe again.”
