CRANBERRY TWP — Massage therapist Rosemarie Longenecker has the right touch and fellow church members at St. Ferdinand Roman Catholic Church are happy about it.

Longenecker, a Portersville resident, extended her home-based massage therapy business to her parish, where she performs "mindful touch" therapy twice a month for free.

"I consider it my ministry at the church," said Longenecker.

Longenecker began the practice at St. Ferdinand in September and performed about 20 sessions before stopping for the summer.

But come September, she will again set up her massage table, pop in a soothing CD and light a fragrant candle to reconnect the mind, body and soul of all who care to give mindful touch a try.

Longenecker stresses the sessions are meant to put people in touch with their bodies, to provide spiritual, physical and emotional balance and to make daily life easier to handle.

She said many clients use the sessions for pain management, but more and more are undergoing the treatments for stress, recovery from surgery or even cancer.

Longenecker said the treatments can help people cope.

"Lots of times, it eases the pain for them," Longenecker said.

She said if a client's skin is weakened by steroids or chemotherapy, she places her hands a few inches above the skin to perform the treatment. Her first client was a woman with terminal pancreatic cancer who told Longenecker she looked forward to the visits.

"I benefited more from it that she did," said Longenecker.

"It was a beautiful experience for me. And I could see the difference in her after a treatment."

In the treatment, the client removes his or her shoes and lies fully clothed face-up on Longenecker's flannel-draped, cushioned massage table.

Longenecker asks if there is a specific problem area she should concentrate on, but she does not ask the client to identify specific ailments.

Longenecker begins the treatment, which combines several types of alternative massage techniques, with the Native American-inspired "opening circle." That involves spritzing a fine mist of essential oils over the client before placing her hands on the abdomen and asking the client to take a few deep breaths.

She then lightly touches the client's clavicle area before holding her hands about 4 inches above the trunk. Longenecker silently prays for the client, asking God to bless them.

She said energy is transferred and created between the two, even if she is not actually touching the client.

"We're made of energy," said Longenecker. "It makes the organs and circulation work. It's not voodoo. When people hear 'energy' they think 'crackpot.' But my biggest skeptics are always the ones who really end up loving the experience."

She then moves to a chair at the client's head, where she performs an extensive head and facial massage. If the patient is stressed, she continues with the neck and shoulders. Much of the treatment involves Longenecker lightly and briefly touching the client's eyebrows, sinuses, cheekbones and jaw.

Longenecker then stands over the client's torso, touching and placing her hands over the heart, spleen and other organs. If stress is the problem, Longenecker asks the client to take deep breaths to oxygenate and relax the muscles.

"After two or three (breaths), I can feel their tightness release," said Longenecker.

She then gives the client's entire body a few goings-over with her fingers in a practice she calls "feather touch." In it, she brushes her fingers lightly over the client before fanning his or her body with her hand to clear the energy created during the exercise.

She then moves to the foot area, where she begins a thorough massage. Longenecker and the client remain quiet throughout the treatment, and many clients become so relaxed they fall asleep.

"But I don't want them to fall completely asleep," said Longenecker. "It's called mindful touch. I want them to be aware of how their body feels."

Longenecker winds the session down with the "closing circle," before covering the client with special prayer quilts made at the church. She then exits the room for about 10 minutes. During that time, the client concentrates on how relaxed and balanced they feel while Longenecker recuperates from the treatment.

"It's very draining for me," she said. "It can be very emotional."

Longenecker recalled one woman who came in due to a persistent cough that traditional medicine wasn't relieving. She said the woman was afraid she would ruin the treatment's ambience by coughing, but she did not cough once during the treatment.

"In fact, she never got the cough back," said Longenecker. "It's not that I did something physically, it's that she learned how to relax and control her body."

Mary Pat Restelli of Cranberry Township has been a dedicated client of Longenecker's and cannot say enough about mindful touch.

"I had some unusual stresses in my life, and it brings peace to my mind, body and soul," said Restelli. "It brings an inner peace."

Restelli said the treatments have been very helpful in her battle against chronic fatigue syndrome, as they relieve much of the physical weariness that comes with the condition.

Restelli said she can feel the toxins leaving her body during the treatments and that she can detect Longenecker's touch even though her hands are hovering several inches above her body.

"It's a wonderful, healing experience," said Restelli.