exercise · all tools
Handshake Game
Stand before a partner in silent eye contact until you feel you have met them — only then offer your hand, and only shake when the other feels the same — before moving on to meet everyone in the room. A non-verbal way to arrive together, to close, or to drop back into connection mid-event.
- The manual asks for at least one facilitator standing out so anyone can signal if they do not feel safe — a non-verbal game removes the usual ways of saying so
- The Heartshake variation adds hands on each other's chests and a hug; it is a different game for consent purposes and should be offered, not assumed
Practical
- Time
- 10-25 min
- Group
- 2–∞ · pairs, small-group, large-group
- Settings
- in-person
- Mechanisms
- dialogic-encounter, somatic-awareness, attention-training
- Change scope
- state → skill · repeatable
Instructions
- Where
- authrev.org/ar-games-manual — Authentic Relating Games Manual, paid
- Availability
- In the source document — the instructions live inside the material linked, on its terms
- Licence
- CC BY-SA 4.0 (Authentic Relating Games Manual)
Source link checked 31 Aug 2026 — unchanged since we recorded it on 29 Aug 2026
This directory describes and points home; the instructions stay with the people who made them.
Origin
Austin Love Juggernaut; Heartshake variation from the Integral Center — Authentic Relating (Authentic Relating Games Manual, 2025 edition)
In this directory via Authentic Relating Games Manual
Variation in the manual: Heartshake — hands over each other's hearts for three breaths, then a hug, best with music.
status: checked · added 2026-08-31