Time for Your Hot Stones experience

Time for you Holistic practitioners are now offering Hot Stone Massage 

A specialty massage where the therapist uses smooth, heated stones as an extension of their own hands, or by placing them on the body. The heat can be both deeply relaxing and help warm up tight muscles so the therapist can work more deeply, more quickly. 

Hot stones warmed by fire were used by Native Americans to treat aching muscles, but the modern revival of hot stones in massage is generally credited to Mary Nelson, a native of Tucson, Arizona.

Today the stones are sterilized and heated in a water bath of 120- to 150-degree water. The stones themselves are usually basalt, a black volcanic rock that absorbs and retains heat well and has been smoothed by natural forces in the river or sea.

A hot stone massage is a type of massage therapy. It’s used to help you relax and ease tense muscles and damaged soft tissues throughout your body. 

During a hot stone massage, smooth, flat, heated stones are placed on specific parts of your body. The stones are usually made of basalt, a type of volcanic rock that retains heat. According to the University of New Hampshire Health Services, hot massage stones are heated to between 130 and 145 degrees.

The stones may be placed:

• along your spine
• on your stomach
• on your chest
• on your face
• on your palms
• on your feet and toes
• Massage therapists may hold heated stones as they massage your body using Swedish massage techniques such as:

• long strokes
• circular movements
• vibration
• tapping
• kneading
• Sometimes, cold stones are also used during a hot stone massage. Cold stones may be used after hot stones to calm any engorged blood vessels and to soothe the skin.

All massages generally fall under the alternative medicine umbrella. They’re becoming a popular complementary therapy for many conditions. Here are some advantages of getting a hot stone massage:

1. Helps relieve muscle tension and pain

Heat has long been used to ease muscle tension and pain. It helps increase blood flow to the affected area. It may also reduce muscle spasms and increase flexibility and range of motion. Cold therapy helps relieve inflammation. Depending on your symptoms, alternating hot and cold stones during your massage may be helpful.

2. Reduces stress and anxiety

3. Promotes sleep

Massage is thought to help you enjoy more restorative sleep, although it’s not completely understood why.

4. May help relieve symptoms of autoimmune diseasesHot stone massage may relieve painful conditions such as fibromyalgia. Fibrillation is a condition that causes widespread, chronic pain. 

A 2013 study found that people with rheumatoid arthritis may benefit from a moderate-pressure massage, such as hot stone massage. Participants in the study experienced less pain, greater grip strength, and a greater range of motion after one month of massage therapy.

5. May help decrease cancer symptoms
A large, three-year study published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management examined how massage affected pain, fatigue, stress and anxiety, nausea, and depression in 1,290 people with cancer. The study showed massage, especially Swedish massage, improved cancer symptoms, even in those with substantial symptoms. Researchers believe the comforting use of human touch played a role.

6. May boost immunity

Anyone who is experiencing muscle tension and pain, insomnia, or stress may benefit from a hot stone massage. If you have a chronic condition that causes pain, talk to your doctor to see if a hot stone massage is a good option for you.

When performed by a trained therapist, a hot stone massage is generally safe. There are some circumstances where it should be avoided. Consult your doctor before getting a massage if you have:

• a bleeding disorder or take blood thinners
• burns on your skin
• open wounds
• a history of blood clots
• had surgery in the last 6 weeks
• a fracture or severe osteoporosis
• diabetes
• Hot Stone massage is not appropriate if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, or are on medication that thins your blood. You shouldn't get a hot stone massage if you are pregnant or have a sunburn.

You also may want to reconsider if you are menopausal as it may trigger a hot flash.

Some Client Feedback to Hot Stone Experience:

P: "really relaxing massage. enjoyed the sensation of the hot stones, really helpfull for aching muscles, feels healing and like ive been ironed out. i appreciated the combination of hands on and stones, the hands were able to pick up on my areas of tension and stiffness and the heat of the stones did the rest, Really good."

L: " lovely treatment, heat on back from stones penetrated through to my abdomen and my core (lovely!) Feel less tight on my joints, feeling lighter".

Would you be interested in receiving a Hot Stone Massage, do not hesitate to contact, freedafurn@gmail.com to book your experience.