Benefits of Hot Stone Massage

Some of the benefits of hot stone massage are as follows:



-The release of muscle tension and pain

-A deep sense of relaxation and ease

-Relief from stress (which means a more vital immune system, improved mood, clearer thinking, 

-Mild detoxification 

-Increased circulation

-Better Digestion

-Improved Sleep

It's pretty amazing what something so elementally simple can provide for the human body in a therapeutic context. Anybody who's ever received hot stone massage can tell you that it's an incredibly relaxing, rejuvenating experience. Honestly, even if you've just seen a photo of someone receiving hot stone massage, you can feel the goodness!

How could hot stones help you with immunity? Similar to the majority of massage techniques, hot stone massage helps lower Cortisol levels in the blood. Cortisol is a hormone that keeps us alert, on, active, and ready to rock. Many people stigmatize cortisol, but in reality, it's having perpetually high levels of it that are poor for our health, particularly our immune system. One of the reasons our cortisol levels stay so high is that culturally we don't have many places or techniques where we're allowed to let go of the cortisol "stress" state. When we get into something like a hot stone massage experience, we immediately feel the shift out of that and as we move into dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. Research shows that for someone in the US in the 21st century, the immune system needs a whole lot more of those and a whole lot less cortisol.

History of Hot Stone Massage

As far as we know, Hot Stone Massage has its oldest origins in the East. Around 5,000 years ago in India, when Ayruveda (the science of living) was finding its origins, hot stone massage had its rightful and wonderful place within the health system. Ayruveda uses a variety of lifestyle practices to bring wonderful therapeutic benefits to a person's body. 

Hot stone massage was then subsequently used in Chinese Medicine and in Oriental Medicine traditions in general.

In other parts of the world, natives to Islands in the Pacific were also working with heating lava stones and placing them on the body.

While the stones in the Native American Sweat-lodge Ceremony are never placed on the body, it was clear that the heated stones produced an incredible therapeutic environment within the lodge.

Essentially, as you can see, the practice of working with heated stones is pan-cultural and is as old as can be. Most likely, people were using hot stones therapeutically around the fire long before 5,000 years ago.