Beau's Massage Articles:

Hot Stone Massage Therapies

By Beau Miakinkoff, LMT, LMP, CA, IAC

Massaging with hot stones is not by any means a new modality. It has been around and in use for many centuries by many different cultures. I am often asked "who used them first?" or "where did this technique originate?" I never know where to begin to explain the history behind this wonderful healing art. North American Native Indians used them. They were used in South America, Africa, Europe, Egypt, Japan and India. There is written history confirming that more than 2000 years ago the Chinese used heated stones as a means to improve the function of internal organs. Ancient Greek and Roman cultures which date back to 27 B.C. have a recorded history of using hot stones for massage and bodywork.

Hot Stone Massage was re-introduced in the United States in 1993 in Arizona by massage therapist Mary Nelson. Her invention of La Stone Therapy technique caught on and today, there are many styles and techniques of using hot stones during a massage treatment session. Hot stones are used for full body, deep tissue specific work, facials, pedicures, manicures, meridian therapy, reiki, polarity therapy and even cranial sacral work.

When performed correctly, a hot stone massage session is one of the most relaxing and rejuvenating experiences a person can receive. The stones have incredible energy. Hot stones protocols enhance the benefits of a regular massage. The effects hot stones have on the body are sedative which can relieve chronic pain, reduce stress and promote deep relaxation. There are many other valid reasons to receive a hot stone massage:

• Decrease back pain and muscle spasms
• Improve poor circulation
• Relief from osteoarthritis and arthritis pain
• Decrease stress, anxiety and tension
• Help with insomnia and sleeping disorders
• Decrease depression
• Relief from fibromyalgia
• Increase flexibility in joints, improving mobility and movement
• Relief from strained and contracted muscles

Can you remember the last time that nothing in your body was causing pain?

I received my first hot stone massage when I was three quarters of the way through massage school in 2005. At the time, I was working full-time during the day at a very high-stress medical facility in the accounting department, going to massage school in the evenings five days a week, and emotionally stressed from coping with surviving a divorce. To say the least, I was physically exhausted and very much in need of some TLC and R&R at the close of the third term in massage school.

A student friend gifted to me a La Stone Massage session. Afterwards, as I was sitting with a cool glass of mineral water (and one tiny square of dark chocolate), I felt floaty, loopy..... "stoned" (pun intended). My body felt like a strand of cooked spaghetti. I found myself trying to count the little holes in the ceiling tiles! It was a revelation and an "ah-ha!" moment for me when I realized or rather became consciously aware that never, in my entire adult life had I been pain-free like this. It felt good. I decided then that my first CEU's when I graduated from massage school was to learn how to perform this modality so that I could share with the world how wonderful it is to feel this good without the use of a pharmaceutical drug.  

Hot stone massage restores the body. The mind, at first has a bit of a confusing time with what to do with a pain-free status throughout the body, but does eventually recognize and welcome this homeostasis. This in turn lifts the spirits to new heights. There is so much room for happiness when all that pain gets massaged out of the way! Feeling fabulous like this can turn anyone into a hot stone massage junkie.

I offer several types of hot stone massage. I have a spa-type hot stone massage and a hot/cold stone massage. Mostly though, I use hot stone therapy with pretty much all of my regular massages. I do a lot of deep tissue healing, the hot stones promote deeper muscle relaxation so that I can more easily manipulate the muscles closest to the bones. I have full descriptions of all my massage therapies on my website: http://portland-massage-therapy.net/   I will even add hot stones to my aromatherapy massage sessions if you wish.