The Placement of Hot Stones

The smooth stones are placed in a stationary position on the client while the other parts of the body are being massaged. There are two ways to use the stone placements – under the body and on top of the body.

In a hot stone massage, the techniques are incorporated through the use of basalt stones or dark river stones, heated in a warmer. They are placed under different muscle groups to encourage relaxation of particular muscles.

The massage techniques vary from practitioner to practitioner. But they all have the underlying principles of inducing a deep relaxation and offering penetrating and soothing heat.

There are two types of stones. The massage stones and the stationary stones. The smooth stones are often the massage stones, which are used in gliding around the body and the placement stones are those remaining stationary on the body.

Stones under the body

The client lies down on is the spinal layout stones. These stones are thin oval paired that are placed on the table. They should be 1.5 inches apart in a vertical line. The stones are placed to line up with the erector muscles which run down on each side of the client's spine.

The spinal layout stones should be flat but not extremely thin because it will sink too low when the client lies down on the massage table. There should be consistent thickness of the stones to avoid a thrusting feeling on the patient's back. It is important that the position of the stones is correct and not resting directly on the spine. The placement stones are cooler than the massage stones because they are the ones which have longer contact with the person's skin. When the heat is too much to bear, a towel can be put between the stones and the skin. It is better to dip these stationary stones in a cool water before placing on the body.

The other type of placement stone which is the pillow stone is about 1.5 inches thick and 4 to 5 inches long. They are placed in hollow of a person's neck just like a pillow when they are laying down. Trapezius stones which are long placement stones are usually positioned along the top of the upper trapezius between the shoulder and neck.

However, hand placement stones are placed under the palm of the hands while the client is lying on their back. The ideal shape is round on top like the tennis ball. This will allow the hands to relax in curved position on top of the stone.

Stones on top of the body

The chakra stones are placed on top of the body's chakras and have different shapes to correspond each part of the body.

However, the spinal layout stones are positioned on top of the body when the client is lying face down.

The 8 toe stones are generally small flat thin stone and will fit between the toes. The finger stones are inserted between the fingers while the client is having a manicure or hand treatment. These placement stones are re-heated at some point of the massage for at least 5-10 minutes. It is better to have sets of stones for the easy replacement during the massage. You don't need to wait for the stones to be heated again.

The massage therapist does not actually touch you so there will be no kneading or pressing action. Thus, there is no slightest pain which is the typical feature in a regular massage. So when your body have some problem spots where a regular massage generates a lot of pain, the hot stone massage is the one for you.

The massage treatments should be given slowly. Each individual stone and individual movement should be identified clearly. For you to amplify the effect of stones, you can knock or vibrate the stones during the massage to further release their warmth. It helps to gradually release blockages and the body's energy can flow freely.