‡ What is Hot Stone Therapy/Massage?
Hot stone massage is a specialty massage that uses smooth, heated stones. They are often basalt, a black volcanic rock that absorbs and retains heat well.  It is a deeply soothing, relaxing form of massage. The heat helps tight muscles release.

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

When oil is smoothed gently onto the body, each stone in turn can be worked along by the therapist's hands. Most therapists will alternate the application of the warm stones with frozen or cooling marble ones, aimed at stimulating the nervous system.

What are the Benefits?
Hot stone massage combines the benefits of hydrotherapy and thermalism (or thermotherapy—the use of heat applications) with the strokes of massage.  Benefits of thermotherapy include: increased local circulation, improved blood flow to surrounding tissues, increased metabolism, decreased pain and muscle spasms, and greater ability to transport toxins and waste products from the area.  An added benefit is that the stones provide a wonderful tool that creates a sense of depth in the massage without the extra wear and tear on the therapist's hands.

Why Should I Get a Hot Stone Massage?
Athletes will often sit in ice-baths to reduce muscle swelling; the less extreme among us have a hot bath! It is generally accepted that treatments of warmth and cold are beneficial, and help to soothe an aching body. What we often need to do is combine both hot and cold.

There's a method behind the apparent madness of leaping from a toasty sauna into an icy pool - and hot stone therapy uses the same principle. The hot stones expand the blood vessels and the cold ones constrict them. The warm stones sedate the nervous system and the cooler stones gently wake it up again.

The combination of relaxing warmth and refreshing coolness is thought to encourage the body to detox and heal, increasing lymph flow and helping to flush out waste. The body becomes relaxed in a much shorter space of time, and the therapist can focus on a deep working of the tissues using both stone and hand strokes.