initial thoughts about exploring touch in social meditation

Attendance

• need to participate in initial process
• need to not miss too many meetings in the sequence

Boundaries

• participant may not know what their boundaries are
• participant may not alert others that their boundary is crossed in the moment
• jealousy: what is the role of participant's partner's (boyfriend's/girlfriend's) boundaries?

Facilitator: explicitly talk about the role of trauma, boundaries

Activities/exercises

Have a dyad in which the topic is touch (ie participant history)

• dyad with no knees touching
• dyad with one knee touching
• dyad with two knees touching

Sit back-to-back to feel other participants breathing

Explore touching back-of-hand to other person's back-of-hand
contrast with palm-to-palm

Do common touch (ie handshake, hug) but very mindfully (slowly)

Hugs -- different types

• church hug
• bro hug
• friend hug
• long hug
• collapsing hug