Hot Stone Massage
Hot Stone Massage, is a massage discipline that uses pre-heated basalt stones to deeply penetrate the body tissues, thus providing deep relaxation and tension release.
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Variations of Hot Stone Massage have been discovered across many ancient cultures such as ancient Egypt, China, India, Greece as well as the Romans, Native Americans and Hawaiians. There has always been an understanding and appreciation that controlled, gentle heat can help to bring relief to the body in a very profound way.
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Hot Stone Massage is naturally a much deeper massage practice, with the general ratio being that one stroke by a therapist with a heated basalt stone is roughly equivalent to five strokes without.
The stones can either be placed along certain parts of the body, or they can be used as a massage tool to augment techniques. This is of particular interest for any deep rooted pain or where muscles are needed to relax on a deeper level.
Benefits of Hot Stone Massage
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The heat of the stones causes blood vessels to dilate, thus increasing blood flow, meaning more nutrients and oxygen can be delivered to an area, and more metabolic wastes and toxins can be removed
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​Hot Stone Massage soothes and relaxes muscles on a deep level, so helping to relieve knots and spasms
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The heat from the stones and massage techniques cause a great sense of relaxation, thus reducing both physical stress and stress hormones like cortisol within the body
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​Due to the pure relaxation, this can help to improve sleep quality as well as symptoms of depression and anxiety