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Hot stone massage

Some history…
Hot stone massage has been reported in history as far back as ancient Egypt. Egyptians even used heated stones to assist during childbirth. Native Indians of North America have widely used stones during rituals and ceremonies. The most familiar way that we know of was that they used them to heat up their Sweat Lodges. The Japanese have also used heated stones for centuries. They were used to alleviate pain by placing them on the troubled areas where they seem to melt away the problem.

Some evolution…
In 1993, Mary Nelson-Hannigan of Tucson, Arizona, formalized the use of heated stones to massage the body and open energy channels, facilitating self-healing and body-mind awareness. She named this modality La Stone therapy. Since this formalization of the use of heated stones within the context of Therapeutic Massage, the use of this type of therapy has become widespread.

What to expect… Hot Stone Massage... Only slightly different from LaStone therapy, hot stone massage is a treatment that is generally shorter in length as it does not include any of the energy work that is signature to LaStone. Hot stone can be used solely as therapeutic, relaxation or a combination of the two.

Stones of all shapes and sizes and varying temperatures, ranging from 0-140 degrees F, are used during hot Stone massage therapy to elicit physical healing, and mental relaxation.

Warm stones encourage the exchange of blood and lymph and provide soothing heat for deep-tissue work. Cold stones aid with inflammation, moving blood out of the area.

Stones are placed in varying positions on the body or may be used by the therapist for specific trigger-point work. The alternating heat and cold of thermotherapy brings the entire body into the healing process.