The Origin of Hot Stone Massage Therapy
What is Stone Massage Therapy?
Stone Massage Therapy is a form of alternative medicine massage therapy that involves the placement of a few heated stones onto the body for the purpose of pain relief, relaxation, and therapy. The stones are heated before use and the massage therapist can then apply deeper pressure to areas of concern without causing any discomfort.
Stone massages are primarily used to alleviate physical pain issues, however, are also used to promote emotional and spiritual well-being in practice.
The History of Hot Stone Massage Therapy?
The earliest use of hot stones of different temperatures being placed on the body to relax tense muscles and relieve pain and relaxation has been dated back to ancient civilizations as a form of healing and therapy.
The practice began among the Hindus in India approximately 5,000 years ago where smooth stones were forged from riverbeds and then heated before the application process. This was called Ayurveda.
Around 3,000 years later, the Chinese used heated shaped stones called Bian, placed on the abdomen to improve digestion and internal organ function while burning mugwort to treat disease.
Later, natives of the Sandwich Islands, what we now know as Hawaii, discovered the traditional Hawaiian healing massage ‘Lomilomi’ that involved wrapping heated lLomi stones in leaves and then applying them to the body. This increased areas of blood flow in the body provided pain relief and healing. The leaves were administered by medicine shamans called Kahunas.
Heated stones then found their way to the Native American sweat lodges. Though the stones weren’t applied to the body, the natives recognized that the heat produced by the stones eased tense muscles and brought whole-body relaxation.
This form also has origins in Japan and many South Pacific nations that have practiced similar methods of ritual and technique to provide physical and spiritual ease. But it wasn’t until the early 1990s that this form of massage quickly rose to popularity becoming a multi-million-dollar industry thanks to Mary Nelson who developed a form of massage utilizing hot and cold stones referred to as LaStone Therapy. It had a strong focus on spiritual healing centering around chakras and energy channeling.
Mary Nelson
Many massage therapy parlors providing stone massages offer LaStone Therapy due to its success amongst clients and the established reputable name for the process. These modern forms of stone massage combine techniques utilized in Swedish massage and deep tissue massage. Mary had accidentally rediscovered this technique with her own personal touch while working in Tucson, Arizona. After this discovery, she worked to perfect the process and traveled to teach other therapists who wished to learn.
Now that you know how long these gorgeous stones have been used in therapy, why not buy a few from us and start your hot stone massaging journey?
