A hot stone massage is a type of massage therapy used to help you relax and ease tense muscles and damaged soft tissues throughout your body.
During a hot stone massage, smooth, flat, heated stones are placed on specific areas of the body. The stones are typically made from basalt, a type of volcanic rock that retains heat. The stones can either be strategically placed on specific areas of the body or used as part of the massage strokes.
Combining hot stones with massage allows the muscles to warm up and relax quickly, therefore enabling the therapist the work deeper into the tissue.
Some of the benefits of hot stone massage:
- Helps relieve tension
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Promotes sleep
- May help relieve symptoms of autoimmune diseases
- Allows for a deeper more beneficial massage
- Trigger point therapy can be applied