Giving Hot Stone Aromatherapy Massage a Try
Ever try a hot stone aromatherapy massage? No? Neither have I, but today that changed. This has been a pretty busy month. Candle making, soaping, selling at different events, biblical story telling and teaching bible study. Productive, but busy. So busy, that I scheduled a massage for today last month. I was determined to remember to take care of myself once things slow down a bit. Normally, I opt for an aromatherapy massage. It’s nice and does the job well. However, this time, I tried a hot stone aromatherapy massage.
Ummm…so I was wondering
Since I’ve never had a hot stone massage, I went in not knowing what to expect. Before we got started, I asked my masseuse a ton of questions. Mainly, what’s the hot stone process. She explained that stones will be used to help relieve tension, they wouldn’t be super hot and some of the stone would be stationary on top of a towel. Ok…let’s do this.
The heat is on
Per her instructions, we begin with me face down on the table. First, she applied the massage lotion contain the essential oil blend of mint and rosemary I chose. Then came the hot stone. Strangely, I must have forgotten the stones because when they touched my skin my mind was trying to figure out why my back was so hot. Eventually, the brain caught up with the process and my back began to ease under the heat. It was working.
Under pressure
As this hot stone aromatherapy massage progressed, I wondered why the pressure being used was so light. In the past, medium pressure is used which sometimes moves into deep because the masseuse will discover knots and take on the mission of massaging them out. You probably already know that’s not always a good thing once you are off the table. This was the complete opposite. Instead of asking about the pressure, I let the massage unfold.
Stone soup
When I get a massage, I don’t make small talk and really only use my voice if something is wrong. Instead, I enjoy the soft music and dim lights. I mean, the whole point is to relax right? Today, my massage came with a side of stone soup. Stones dropping in water, stones clashing against each other, lids being taken off the warmer, lids put back in place…UGH! The noise was a bit much. I mean really, it was cutting into my woosa time.
Final verdict
The noise wasn’t successfully blocked out, the pressure didn’t deepen, but the hot stones did their job. Would I get another one? Absolutely! Maybe not every month, but I would definitely do it again.
What I realized is that once the heat penetrates the muscles, along with the essential oil blend, deep pressure isn’t necessary to relax the tension in my body. The masseuse was great and I have already scheduled another massage with her. An aromatherapy massage…without the stones.