Stay Warm with a Hot Stone Massage This Winter

Colder winter weather often makes us want to stay indoors with a hot cup of tea and a warm blanket. It can also affect our muscles, making it difficult for them to contract, which causes a feeling of stiffness and discomfort in the body. When looking for ways to warm up as the long winter months begin, why not consider a hot stone massage?

How Hot Stone Massage Benefits Your Body

It’s believed that hot stones were once used by Native Americans to relieve aching muscles or joints in the body. Stones were warmed by the fire and then placed upon specific points of the body. Today, the heated rocks used for hot stone massage act as an extension of the massage therapist’s hands while the heat is an addition to relieve tension and reduce stress.

Using stones of varying sizes and with varying amounts of pressure, the massage therapist moves the stones over the body in a very specific pattern to achieve ideal results. Usually, hot stone massage begins with you lying face down as stones are placed along the spine. This can help to relieve particularly tense muscles so that they can be more easily massaged while bringing comfort to the every day activity that the spine is put through. The warming heat from the stones penetrates deeply into the muscles, bringing about relaxation and normal contraction.

Hot stone massage can provide many of the same benefits as Swedish massage, with the additional benefits provided by heat. It offers deep relaxation, relief for tired and tight muscles and a better elimination of built-up toxins. It has even been said that hot stone massage can help relieve the problems associated with people who suffer arthritis, bursitis, depression, and insomnia!

Winter can have a lot of harsh effects on our bodies that we normally won’t notice until we’re already complaining about them. Back pain is one of the worst parts of winter, even for young adults. Sedentary jobs, family life, and sitting in front of a TV or computer for hours on end all play in a role for the negative effects on our posture, muscles, and stress levels. When it’s cold out, we end up stuck inside far more than during nicer weather and we usually first turn to Netflix for a way to pass the time.

A hot stone massage is perfect for escaping the cold and giving our body some proper attention. Plus, the health benefits and mental clarity from massage therapy is just another bonus on top of how amazing you will feel after your massage appointment!

If you want to also mix things up, there is another massage therapy that is very similar to a hot stone massage and can often achieve many of the same desirable results, which is the warm bamboo massage! Instead of heated stones, the warm bamboo massage technique involves warmed bamboo that helps to massage and relax tense muscles. As is the case with a hot stone massage, a warm bamboo massage provides the heat that is necessary to allow the massage therapist to work the muscles on a deeper level, which leads to greater and longer-lasting results of relief and more mobility during the harsh winter months!

When winter has come, few things may be more effective at warming your body, or more relaxing, than a hot stone massage. And it keeps you away from the normal routine of sitting in front of your computer or TV and let’s your mind relax for once. Try it for yourself and see!

Love,

Gen