Season 3 Episode 7

Cuddlin and Puddlin Part 2 with Jule Rochelle

This episode explores how the Cuddle Project teaches consent, touch, and embodied communication in a way that helps people feel safer, more regulated, and more connected. Jewel explains how the work moves from awkward first asks to negotiated, consent-based cuddling, and why that process can support confidence, boundaries, and relational skill far beyond the room.Aimee and Sean also dig into how this applies to queer communities, asexual people, couples, and neurodivergent folks, including people with ADHD or autism. The conversation lands on a simple but powerful idea: your body is yours, and your yes and no both matter.

• In this episode: Jule breaks down the Cuddle Project’s step-by-step consent practice, starting with asking to give touch, then asking to receive touch, and noticing how each one feels in the body.
• The group practices “embodied yes” and “embodied no,” encouraging people to pause, breathe, and listen for whether their body feels open, soft, tight, or shut down.
• Jule explains that people do not need to give a reason for saying no, and that “my body says no” can feel more neutral and less loaded.
• The session teaches how to negotiate a cuddle before touching begins, including being specific about what kind of contact is wanted, like spooning, pillows, or positioning.
• The process includes check-ins after a minute or so, plus “escalation” check-ins if someone wants to add touch that was not originally negotiated.
• Jule describes the group formats, including pairs, trios, larger cuddle groups, the “puppy pile,” and the “spoon drawer” with many people participating.
• Aimee and Sean explore how the practice can help people build confidence, advocate for themselves, and carry consent skills into everyday conversations and relationships.
• The discussion touches on how the work can support queer, asexual, and queer platonic experiences by separating touch, intimacy, identity, and sex.
• Jule shares that some couples use the practice to reconnect, rebuild touch without automatically moving toward sex, and create more erotic tension by taking sex off the table for a while.
• The episode also covers the emotional and nervous system benefits of touch, including regulation, bonding, and a sense of belonging.