Hot Stone Massage

For those of you who don't already know this, I work in a spa. 

We have a total of twelve different massages and of those twelve I have had three. 

The first massage that I had was the Swedish Massage, which I absolutely adored. 

The second was a more unique massage called the, 'Colour Balancing Candle Massage,' basically taking a soy based candle and using that oil to massage the body. 

I had been really excited for the candle massage because you could choose between seven different candle scents which relate to the seven different chakra's of the body.

I chose the green candle, which indicated the chakra of the heart. 

What the candle is supposed to do is rebalance you in those areas where you give too much or little of yourself. 

Before I had these two massages I had only had one other in my life... a back, neck and shoulder massage in the Transkei around Christmas time; so the whole massage thing was a very new concept to me. 

Maybe I had expected too much from the candle, but from the two massages so far, the Swedish I felt was far more beneficial. It was money well-spent. 

I guess to start with I should tell you that I'm not really one of those people who can just go lie by a pool in a hotel spa for a day. I would much rather be out hiking or painting or exploring, learning and doing something new! 

Relaxing isn't exactly my thing - which is the whole purpose of the candle massage. 

In all fairness, it was fantastic. The Swedish massage though, was more painful... it worked on getting those huge knots out from my shoulder-blades and that is what I NEEDED. 

Yesterday I decided to give the Hot Stone Massage a try. 

A) It gives me something to write about

and

B) I'd have an idea of what to tell clients in the future. 

I think that all therapists / masseuses will have their own technique - so don't take this as the standard way of doing things. 

You know in all those pictures where you see hot stones placed on the back, like the one you see below? That's not really how it happened for me. This was clearly for a photograph!  

In my massage she first used her hands to rub in some Therenaka African Revival Gel while the stones heated up. 

The technique I felt was her gliding the stones across my back and pushing into my muscles, using them as an extension to her own hands - which was actually perfect for me!

I tend to get extremely ticklish in certain areas of my back, so much so that every therapists laughs at me when I squirm around! 

Using the warmed volcanic mineral stones made my more sensitive regions a lot more relaxed and I was able to enjoy the full massage. 

I was pleasantly surprised constantly by the warmth of the stones as they found new skin to soothe... and I must say that I feel this massage is the perfect massage for a cold Winters day! It warms the entire body to the core

Hot stones are beneficial for many reasons: The stones help to ease the muscles into deep relaxation, improves circulation, assist with stress, releases toxins and also aids relief for tense, aching muscles. Back in 1500 BC, Native American's used the hot stone technique to release tension and soothe their muscles. 

This specific massage is great for those who experience insomnia, overwhelming depression, anxiety, back-pain, sore muscles and arthritis.  

People who should not have this massage are pregnant women, women experiencing menopause (as it could bring on a hot flush,) people suffering from diabetes or high blood pressure as well as anyone who takes medication that thins the blood such as Heprin or Lovonox. 

I walked out of that spa literally on cloud 9. 

I had never felt so relaxed and at peace. 

So far, the Hot Stone Massage takes the cake.