Deep tissue using Hot stones

[Jack 890]

Hi all

Not sure if there is already a thread on this, but I know there are quite a few on hot stone massage/therapy. I specialise in deep tissue and was thinking of incorporating the use of hot stones into my treatments as a massage tool with maybe just a few placement stones.

I'm not really interested in doing the whole 'spa style relax session' with the stone layout etc. Does anyone use hot stone combined with their deep tissue, if so what sort of feedback do you get from your clients?

Thanks

 

[joy_gone_wild]

I mainly use cold stones for proper deep tissue type work. The Bruce Baltz video is the best stone massage one I've seen for deep tissue. http://www.spiriphysical.com/

 

[peaceandlove<3]

Hi Melb

Do you know if his Video/DVD is available in Australia?

Thanks

 

[MissBelle016]

I don't think so. I puchased it from America, ended up being about $100AU inc shipping. I tried getting it on eBay but it hardly ever turns up. LaStone are running deep tissue classes in Australia in August, not sure if there are pre-requisites for it or not.

 

[ak907]

I mainly use cold stones for proper deep tissue type work. The Bruce Baltz video is the best stone massage one I've seen for deep tissue. http://www.spiriphysical.com/

Many thinks for this link.

 

[T. Ruth]

ditto on the cold stones for deep tissue work. I use hot to warm it up, then switch to cold for the deep stuff. my clients LOVE LOVE LOVE it. and it's much easier on my body

 

[EnWi]

I use hot stones in almost every massage. I include it as a standard. (Except prenatal massage or lymphatic drainage, of course, and I take the proper extra precautions, observing all contraindications.) I hardly ever do a stone layout I don't do a spa-style thing, either. I very often combine hot stones with corrective neuromuscular or deep tissue work, and it really helps, with fascia, trigger points, and knots. Let's just say that since I incorporated the use of stones, the 2-hour sessions are much more popular with clients now AND that length of session no longer wears me out!

I find that hot stones go wonderfully with NMT and deep tissue. Often, it's not the muscle itself that is tight, but the fascial layer above it. Fascia doesn't respond to pressure, so it will not loosen up under deep pressure. If you've ever had a client that you could dig into for hours and still not loosen up (or if you've been on the receiving end of this) then it's not the muscle that's the issue--it's the fascia. Fascia does, however, respond to either a slow sustained stretch (using enough pressure to avoid slippage across the skin and nothing more--and this stretch must be held for 90 seconds at minimum, often longer), OR it also responds to heat. Under either of these techniques, fascia loosens, becoming physically and literally more gel-like. It is only then that you can get into the muscle. Cold stones may feel very good, but they do not produce this effect and will not loosen fascia. If fascia tightness isn't the problem, cold stones are great. Often, though, the culprit IS the fascia.

Hot stones are also great because not only does it do a lot of the work for you (and very quickly) by loosening this fascia, but it also loosens a lot of the muscle as well, allowing you to get twice the work done. It also feels very good to the client--less discomfort and soreness. The heat is very relaxing and soothing. A really nice touch is, for example, to set some large stones on certain super-tight areas (like low back or hamstrings), and massage another area with the stones in your palm, and then switching. That way, you have stationary stones doing some work for you before you even get to an area, and you're massaging another area with your palp stones doing much of THAT work for you too, and then you switch, putting the stones on the area you just worked (or another area, whichever) and then working another area with more palm stones. Veeery efficient

That said, I think cold stones are also an awesome idea, and I am deeply considering (and I'd highly recommend) using cold stones on an area that was deeply worked to soothe the tissues back down and minimize inflammation

Hope that helps
Hugs,
~Jyoti

 

[aussiegeezer]

I hardly ever do a stone layout I don't do a spa-style thing, either. >>>>>>>>>> A really nice touch is, for example, to set some large stones on certain super-tight areas (like low back or hamstrings), and massage another area with the stones in your palm, and then switching. That way, you have stationary stones doing some work for you before you even get to an area

That is one of the reasons you do a stone layout, the heat and weight of the stones are working before you even get to an area (or the weight of the client is doing the work when stones are placed underneath the body). Putting placement stones on the body sounds like a stone layout to me. Putting little pebbles along the spine is pretty much a waste of time, but that's really a pebble layout, you can hardly call them stones.