Fire is the origin of stone. By working the stone with heat, I am returning it to its source.
Andy Goldsworthy
We all used heat to warm us and heal – hot water bottles, poultices, wheat bags; the Japanese use stones to warm their tummies to aid digestions and the Chinese have used them to relieve muscular pain for thousands of years.
Mary Nelson’s LaStone Therapy updated this idea by incorporating massage with smooth basalt stones of varying sizes, heated in water.
The effects of holistic massage are intensified as the stones slowly release their heat to relax the muscles which allows for deep tissue work. It can be a sublimely relaxing treatment which dissolves stress, as well as a powerful therapy which relieves pain, decreases recovery time from injuries and helps tone the muscles.
The ‘designer label’ Hot Stonefusion Massage has been developed by Meghan Mari of Jing Advanced Massage. This is a creative blend of specialised massage strokes:
- using the stones flat or on edge
- using hand, forearm, and knuckles
- alternating between a heated stone and the heat of the hand
- combined with stretching techniques to release areas of tension or strain
- using a varied pace from slow and focussed to the placing of warm stones on strategic points of the body to prolong the effect of the therapeutic heat
Hot stones are particularly beneficial for longer-term conditions, but where there is a recent injury, the stones can also be used cold to help reduce any inflammation.
Obviously if you have a sensitivity to heat, the temperature of the hot stones would need to be carefully monitored, but the heat need be no more intense than a warm bath.
Because they are smooth and cupped in the therapist’s hand, there is no sense of the hardness of stone. Even the gentle clinking of the stones as they are handled can be therapeutic, reminding you of waves crashing on a pebbly beach.
Don’t take my word for it – try it!
‘Southwell Life’ – December 2006