On the Rocks: What You Should Know About Adding Hot Stone Treatments to your Spa Menu

Hot stone therapy combines massage with the use of smooth, heated basalt stones applied to the body providing a therapeutic massage and a truly relaxing experience. It creates sensations of comfort and warmth, and the heat of the stones penetrates muscles and many believe it brings balance to the nervous system like no other treatment available. Used for centuries by the Chinese, North American Indians and Mexicans for healing purposes, the stones are placed on chakra centers, and it is said by practitioners who use them that one massage stroke of the stone is equal to ten massage strokes by hand. Hot stone massage therapy is relaxing, embracing, healing and an unforgettable pleasurable experience.

In the beginning of a hot stone therapy session  smooth water-heated basalt stones are applied carefully to the key points on the body. The direct heat of the stones relaxes the muscles, which means that the massage itself is more effective and intense than it would be otherwise. Size of the stones will vary according to which part of the body they're being used on. Often the stones are coated in fragrant oil to increase the sense of relaxation and calm.

Oil is smoothed gently onto the body and each stone can in turn  be worked along by the therapist's hands. Most therapists will alternate  the warm stones with frozen or cooling marble stones to stimulate the nervous system. What is hot stone therapy good for? It is accepted in the world of sports medicine that treatments of warmth and cold are beneficial and help to sooth body aches. While alternating between the two may seem odd it is highly beneficial. The hot stones expand the blood vessels and the cold stones constrict them. The warm stones sedate the nervous system  of the client and the cold stones gently wake the system up again.

Combining relaxing warmth and refreshing coolness is believed to encourage the body to detox itself and heal, increasing lymph flow and helping to flush out waste. The body becomes relaxed faster  and the therapist can focus on a deep working of the tissues using both stone and hand strokes.

A good hot stone therapy should boost your circulation, release stored tension, recharge energy levels, aid in relaxation and help with poor circulation, muscle pain, arthritis, rheumatism, fibromyalgia, MS and back pain. It is great for stress, depression and insomnia.