Friday, May 19, 2006

Exceptional kissing revealed


By MEGAN THOMAS
Express Staff Writer

Cherie Byrd

What makes a good kisser?

"The form can take any kind of form. It is not nearly about the mechanics as much is it about the energy behind it," Cherie Byrd said. Byrd speaks at the Sun Valley Wellness Festival later in May.

A psychotherapist, healer and author, Byrd created the Seattle-based Kissing School! to facilitate the discovery of one's inner lover through the kiss.

A good kisser possesses sweetness, presence and a genuine desire to really connect, rather than a right technique. Bad kissers lack consciousness. A bad kiss is a "A peck on the fly...rather than the emotion you felt in the moment," she said.

"The way to do it right is to bring your fullness into that moment and bring it into the kiss," she said.

Do people know they are bad kissers?

"I think there are a lot of people who think they are great kissers, and they definitely are not," she said.

It was one bad kisser, a 57-year old ex-boyfriend, which prompted Byrd to start the Kissing School! in 1998. She later authored "Kissing School!, Seven Lessons on Love, Lips and Life Force." In her private practice, she found kissing to be an effective mechanism to assist her clients.

"The kiss was the perfect biofeedback mechanism. You can tell immediately if your partner is there or not. Or, if you are there are not," Byrd said.

Through the Kissing School!, Byrd offers workshops, private instruction and couples classes. Byrd uses an experiential approach that engages participants in kissing and energy exercises to cultivate connection. She explains a kiss as a source of empowerment, a way to generate internal energy.

"Most of us look for something outside of ourselves to turn our selves on," Byrd said.

The workshops appeal to a wide range of kissers, from couples married for 40 years to singles. People have even flown to her Seattle-based studio from Israel and England to enhance intimacy in their relationships.

The "playshops" or workshops start with foot massages. Participants learn to really touch their partner. The classes progress, focusing on "the dance" or making contact through touch, lips and skin.

"By the end of the morning (couples) start to look 15 years younger. By the end of the day they are glowing," Byrd said.

Byrd Wellness Festival Events

· "A Whiff of Bliss, Opening to the Heart of Sacred Sex," an experiential lecture.

· 2 p.m. Saturday, May 27 in the Sawtooth Room at the Sun Valley Inn.

· The session features simple exercises to improve intimacy followed by question and answer period.

·  "Tantric Kissing School" workshop.

· 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, May 29 in the Sawtooth Room.

· Private consultations are also available. Contact Byrd at (206) 817-8519 or kissingschool@aol.com.




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