Hello and welcome…. love massage?
Have you ever had a hot stone massage? If you have you will know that its a warming, comforting, relaxing and overall fantastic holistic therapy.
My clients often ask me a range of questions regarding this treatment… how many stones I have? Which stones are used for which parts of the body and why? etc. So in today’s blog I thought I’d share a little bit about it all ????
If you are thinking of becoming a hot stones practitioner, this blog could be ideal for you! Furthermore you may wish to check out my YouTube video.
This is my hot stones heater. Otherwise referred to lovingly as “The Tank!”
When I began hot stone massage I used a small slow cooker. However I upgraded to this heater for two reasons. 1) I needed more room for more stones and 2) I wanted to have greater control over the temperature. This tank has a pre-heat setting and then from there one has a good range of heat output to choose from.
I always put a white towel in the bottom of my heater as not only does it protect your heater from scratches but it also allows you to route around for the right stone without making too much noise during the treatment. Actually there is a third reason here…. If a white towel is placed in the heater… you will never lose a stone because they are more easily visible.
I use a common old jam thermometer to check that the water temperature is just right. For me, just right is around 45 degrees Celsius.
I also have a plastic bowl of cold water on standby just in case I need to cool a stone slightly for immediate use.
A tray sits nearby also, where I place the stones waiting to be used and I deposit the stones already used. Besides this is my spatula for fishing out the stones.
I never put used stones back into my tank. This means that my tank never becomes too dirty. However I always give it a good wipe with an antiseptic wipe between clients.
The first stone out of my tank is the sacrum stone. It’s large and hot. I always place this stone on top of the towel over the sacrum. The client begins to warm up immediately. Being a large stone, it retains its heat throughout the treatment.
I should mention that we use Basalt stones in this type of massage. They are derived from volcanic rock and so retain heat longer than other stones.
These back stones are large but not as large as the sacrum stone. They fit in the hand and are the perfect size for effleurage strokes on the back.
This stone has a special shape. This is why it is called a trigger point stone. It allows the therapist to work deeper into muscle tissue. Most commonly used to help relieve knots. I only have one of these stones.
Yes, I made the name up for this stone! I have four of them. They allow for stimulating the nerves along the sides of the spine and also allow for deep work on knots.
Ah! Leg stones! These guy do a lot of work! I have 16 of these. Eight for each leg. Four for the back of the leg and four for the front. These stones are smaller than the back stones but are thick and fit in the hand nicely.
I love these stones… so cute! They are smaller than the leg stones and so lose their heat quicker. It is for this reason I use 4 stones per arm.
The reason I have named these stones “Client hand stones” is because I don’t use them for massage… I let my client hold them during the massage. which helps to keep the client warm.
I have small thin stones for between the toes and longer thin stones for between the fingers. I use these fish nets to keep them together for then I can pull them all out of my heater in one go! ????
After working on the feet, if the feet are still feeling cold, I like to use these fluffy warm socks to keep the feet warm. These socks also come in very handy for the minority of clients who do not like to have their feet touched.
Finally, we have the lovely stones that I use on the face, neck & upper chest area. These are relatively thin and very smooth… perfect for working on the face ????
So there we have it! All my stones and equipment that make for the most amazing, relaxing hot stone massage.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog. Please share your experiences of hot stone massage either in giving or receiving, I’d love to hear about it!
Until next time, improve your health & well being ????
Janice x