In a penthouse overlooking Marina del Rey, lights were dim and Buddha Bar music gently played from speakers. The room smelled faintly of incense, and blankets and pillows were strewn on the floor.

As participants walked in, a beige cat cautiously watched their every move.

Is this a meditation class, a yoga session or an intimate sleepover? None of the above, but elements of all three are incorporated into what participants refer to as “snuggle parties.”

“For many people when they’re attending an event like this for the first time, it is profound, it is moving, and it is sometimes scary because they don’t know what to expect,” said Jean Franzblau, a facilitator for such snuggle events.

Although not a new phenomenon, snuggle parties have received more attention of late, especially with the rise of snugglers or cuddlers “for hire” charging upwards of $60 for a set amount of one-on-one time (snuggle parties typically cost $10 to $15 a person). The people who administer and participate in these cuddle sessions, however, all share a common belief that touch is vital to a person’s well-being.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Americans spent $33.9 billion out-of-pocket in 2007 for alternative medicine, which includes massage therapy, meditation and acupuncture. Although little research has been done on the benefits of snuggle parties specifically, medical evidence regarding touch therapy, which includes massage therapy, points to health benefits such as lower blood pressure, reduced pain and improved relaxation in trauma victims.

“Being ‘touch positive’ is simply this idea that touch is a healing and essential part of being a healthy, happy human being,” Franzblau said. “It also carries with it the belief that in our culture, we’re encouraged to touch barely anybody. We don’t have much freedom to receive touch, which creates a lot of problems for people: profound loneliness, medical issues and a sense of disconnection and isolation.”

Snuggle events led by Franzblau are organized through MeetUp.com, a social networking website. The night typically starts with 10 to 20 participants sitting in a circle as they engage in breathing and meditative exercises. As they practice, she gently asks them to become aware of their own bodies and their surroundings. Then, Franzblau leads stretching and self-massaging exercises, similar to those led by a yoga instructor.

“It’s absolutely wonderful,” said Ed O’Neill, an engineer who attended the snuggle event for the first time. “It’s so relaxing. So human. It’s almost like a primal feeling of unity and community of the warmth and charity of other humans.”

After their bodies are warmed up and “energies centered,” Franzblau asks participants to introduce themselves and share their expectations for the evening. Then she leads them in communication exercises, how to both accept and turn down offers of touch.

She also leads an exercise in which someone agrees to a certain kind of touch, but then learns how to say no to it if they change their mind.

“For some people, the most profound and meaningful part of the whole experience is practicing saying ‘no,’ ” Franzblau said. “We get to practice these skills because they’re so uncommon, and it also creates a real sense of safety for the people who attend the event.”

Perhaps the most researched area into the benefits of touch therapy involves neonatal care. At Torrance Memorial Medical Center, volunteers in the neonatal intensive care unit provide cuddles for babies who may not be able to receive touch from their parents because of their health conditions.

“This is a very noxious environment, and the babies undergo a lot of care and procedures that sometimes can hurt, can cause discomfort and anxiety,” said Jerry Schwartz, a neonatology and pediatrics doctor at Torrance Memorial. “What you try to do in a newborn intensive care unit is way more than their medical care; you try to make it as comfortable, pain-free and anxiety-free as possible for the family and the baby.”

Cuddlers touch babies in a variety of ways, from holding and swaddling to massaging and even providing skin-to-skin contact. Research shows that cuddling not only reduces agitation and crying in babies, but it also can help to improve oxygenation, growth development and weight gain.

The adult volunteers also find the experience rewarding. Nancy Salcido, a cuddler at Torrance Memorial Medical Center, said she looks forward to it at the end of her workweek.

“After my hectic day or my hectic week, this kind of calms me,” Salcido said. “The babies calm me. I know touch is really important at any age and having a nurturing touch, like someone holding your hand or putting a hand on you when you’re crying.”

Perhaps this nurturing touch is exactly what adults still crave. Heather Dawn, a massage therapist and cuddle facilitator, said there have been many instances where her massage clients needed not a massage, but simply to be touched or held.

“We need connection,” Dawn said. “We spend most of our time alone. What I’ve found is that my snuggle classes have been full and everybody is asking for more: ‘When are you going to have your next one?’ ‘Can we do this every week?’ It’s making people’s lives thrive and more fulfilled.

“When people are happy, they tend to go for what they want in life. It’s just like food or nourishment. Touch and cuddling is the same way,” she said.

Some are critical of snuggle events, saying they straddle a fine line between swinger parties or providing sexual services. Dawn said snugglers and facilitators view sex and touch as separate things. Snuggling, they say, is strictly platonic and fulfills a basic need in humans.

“It’s professional, you’re not doing anything more than cuddling, and I think you can bring magic to people’s lives,” Dawn said. “Especially elderly people or people who are divorced. I know so many people who just don’t get touched, so why not? It’s better than them going to a prostitute and finding out that they’re going to get a disease or something, or doing something illegal and getting arrested for it when really, all they wanted to do is get connection or intimacy, and intimacy not meaning sex.”

After the boundaries have been set, Franzblau invites participants at her events to engage in “free-form cuddling” which may involve snuggling, touching, sitting cross-legged with their hands on each other’s shoulders or simply sitting in silence. One man brought a Tibetan singing bowl, which resonated loudly as he rang it occasionally with a red mallet.

“I can come to a cuddle, receive touch that I need for survival and let relationships be relationships. That’s a different and separate topic,” said Diego Wallraff, a massage therapist who is also trained in Tibetan singing bowl playing. “I can learn about myself, how to balance with myself before I come into connection with someone else to get into a relationship. This is a training ground on how to take care of myself.”

After about two hours of free-form cuddling, Franzblau invited participants to regroup and sit in a circle to share highlights and low lights of the experience. Then the music was turned louder, lights brighter and people chatted with one another without any awkwardness.

“Touch is something that’s really been missing in my life,” O’Neill said. “As an engineer, I find beauty in math and machines, but I really need to come back to the human race and find the beauty there, too. It’s the art of humans. I had some hesitancy at first, but we’re all of one mind and have one common purpose.”