Overview
Hot stone massage therapy is believed to have originated as long as 5,000 years ago with practitioners who used stones warmed by the sun. Smooth basalt is most often used, but other types of hot massage stones are available. In a May 2009 article in the British Telegraph online, Dr. Dan Rutherford described how hot stone therapy “amplifies the blood vessel opening effect, and the stones make it easier for the therapist to generate friction and shear stresses in the deep tissues.” As of 2010, a hot stone massage treatment at a spa costs an average of $125, but you can give hot stone massages at home for virtually nothing.
Step 1
Wash the stones thoroughly with antibacterial soap. Let them air-dry.
Step 2
Fill an electric cooking pot or saucepan with your clean massage stones, then add enough water to cover them.
Step 3
Heat the stones over low heat for 30 minutes with the pot or saucepan uncovered. You don’t want the stones to be hotter than 125 degrees Fahrenheit. If you can handle them comfortably, they’re probably at a good temperature.
Step 4
Have your subject lie face down, then drape everything but his legs with the sheet.
Step 5
Place stones gently on his left leg, at the top, half-way between his buttocks and his knee, on the back of his knee and on his calf. Massage his right leg while the stones warm the muscles of his left.
Step 6
Take the largest stone from your subject’s left leg and slide it up his right leg, from heel to buttock. Be gentle but firm.
Step 7
Move the stones from his left leg to his right, repeating Step 5 for that leg. Finish with the large stone as you did in Step 6. Cover his legs with the sheet.
Step 8
Place a stone on each buttock and let them warm the muscles. Massage the gluteus maximus, finishing with a large stone, as you did on his legs. Cover him up and move on to his back.
Step 9
Place stones on his shoulders, lower back and neck. Massage him gently when the stones have warmed his muscles, and finish with the gliding stone technique.
Step 10
Help your subject turn over. Repeat steps 5 through 9, adjusting for the fact that you are working on the front of the body. Massage the arms without stones, because they tend to fall off. Finish each part with the gliding technique.
