Often when someone has extreme back pain and muscle tension, it is helpful to relax the muscles around the painful area at the beginning of a massage treatment. One of the modalities we use is Hot LaStone Therapy. Large, flat smooth stones are heated and placed in specific points on the back and sometimes in the palm of the hand or between the toes of the client. As the heat from the stones warm and relax the muscles, the massage practitioner can work more effectively to release the tension in the affected area without using deep pressure. The heat from the stones promotes a sense of calm and peace and helps to rebalance the body and mind. As your warmed muscles become more supple, the practitioner may use the stones to assist in the massage, gliding the stones smoothly over your body.
Some of the benefits of the use of hot stones in addition to its calming and relaxing effects is that the warmth helps to detoxify the body and increase circulation in much the same way as an experience in a sweat lodge. The concept of using hot stones as part of massage was adapted through some of the Native American healing practices and continues to retain much of the mystical and natural healing qualities that have been practiced for centuries. Many believe that the stones retain Mother Earth energy and that the nurturing mother energy is imparted to us through the stones.
Some of the other reported benefits of Hot LaStone Therapy are:
- Relief of pain and stiffness in joints and from arthritis inflammation
- Improved circulation
- Decreases aches and pains through the release of endorphins which are nature’s natural painkillers
- Improved sense of well-being
- Boosts the function of the immune system
- Has been known to help with insomnia, anxiety and depression
- Increases the flow of energy in the body