In current 룸알바 massage practice, a hot stone massage is a specialty massage in which smooth heated stones are used by a therapist, either placing the stones flat on or by rubbing them against the body. Although it is always combined with some form of traditional massage, some therapists choose to use the stones as extensions of their hands for deeper muscle massaging, without having to exert much pressure.
Using a hot-stone skimmer or tongs, therapists carefully pull stones out of the warm hot stones and position them strategically on pressure points thought to balance spirit energy and release stress and tension–typically along the spine, between the toes, or the backs of knees. The licensed massage therapist will then place the hot stones either at particular points on the body to produce soothing pressure, or they will use them to really work out muscles using sustained pressure.
Your massage therapist always holds a few warm ones before touching them on the body, ensuring that they are not too hot. Your therapist will lay hot, smooth stones down on the body, as well as holding them hot for the entire session.
The heat of the stones, which are positioned in the right places, heats up the muscles locally, relaxing them, which allows your therapist to deliver deeper pressure at the right places in the body, all while not being uncomfortable. Smooth helps your massage therapist to apply a little deeper pressure when actually performing your massage, giving you greater benefits and helping you to feel more relaxed as a result.
The heat of the stones leads to deeper relaxation, and warming of the tight muscles, which allows your massage therapist to work deeper and faster. The warmth of the stones does not just make muscles relaxed, which allows deeper access to tissue, it expands the blood vessels, resulting in better blood flow. Because the warmth of the stones can easily relax muscles, therapists are able to use lighter touches yet still reach deeper tissues, making warm stone therapy the perfect therapy for more sensitive clients.
The warmth of hot stones combined with the technique of the massage helps relax these muscles, making it easier and more comfortable to move joints. If you suffer from injury or have an extremely tight joint, placing the hot stones over and around these joints helps loosen up these areas better than a massage without using the hot stones. As mentioned earlier, massage and use of hot stones may encourage muscle and joint relaxation throughout your body, relieving pain as well as spasms.
Used in ceremonial healing, stones can also be included in most types of massage to provide added benefits. Not surprisingly, the most common types of stones used today by massage therapists are basalts, smooth, flat volcanic rocks which hold heat and are thought to bring healing energy from deeper inside of the earth. Hot stones, when used in a massage, enable a massage therapist to utilize basic Swedish massage techniques including long stretches, kneading, rolling, percussion, and circular movements, only using rocks rather than hands.
Alongside these techniques, a shiv is sometimes held and massaged into a muscle, acting like an extension of their hands, applying oils or lotions onto the body, allowing the hot stones to slide gently over the muscles. For Hot Stone Massage Therapy, basalt stones are primarily used by therapists, mostly due to its different properties, including its non-porosity, smoothness, and its ability to hold heat for a longer period than any other stone type. With hot stone massage, the licensed massage therapist usually uses smooth black basalt rocks or river rocks which are heated in a bath of water to a consistent temperature. This type of massage involves using and placing the basalt rock from a river at various points of your body.
Basalt River rocks are the most frequently used stones in this type of massage as they are smoothed by the flow of the river and hold heat well. Water helps stones conduct heat internally, so they keep releasing heat throughout the entire massage. Typically, stones are typically heated with hot water, replaced when cooled, but can also be chilled and alternating with a heated stone, increasing circulation in the targeted muscles.
Several warm ones will be placed gently over muscles either side of the spine, promoting deeper tissue release. In a London hot stone massage, the stones are heated using a specially designed heater, which has a thermometer for checking the temperature of the water, generally kept between 110-130 degrees F. These stones are heated between 100 to 130 degrees F, in a heater designed especially for that purpose.
In addition to deeply relaxing your muscles and soft tissues, a hot stone massage performed by a certified therapist may relieve pain, enhance circulation, and is believed to cleanse your body of toxins. For muscles that are tight or that carry tension, even contributing to headaches or teeth grinding, like those of your temples and jaw, a hot stone massage can help decrease stress and pain by relaxing these muscles, says dermatologist Jennifer Herrmann.
Massage therapists position stones heated to just the right temperature over certain parts of the body, where the stones induce a state of calm and release muscles ready for later manipulation. The gentle pressure from warm basalt stones, combined with accompanying massage, has the effect of breaking down tension, literally making you feel as though you are walking on air. Your massage therapist will then roll you over to your front, place a larger rock over your belly, massaging your legs and front feet, arms and hands, decolletage, and face, using the cold stones over the temples. The localized heat and weight of the stones allows improved circulation and an easing of tight muscles, which allows deeper layers of muscles to be reached.