Relax With a Soothing Hot Rock Massage

It's an oasis from a summer afternoon, this dimly lit room brightened by a candle's flame and pleasant aroma.

With her eyes closed, Dorothea Sammur looks relaxed beneath a freshly laundered sheet while Terri Crawford prepares to place a hot stone on her forehead.

Sammur has anticipated this moment for months.

There's no sizzle, no burning flesh, just the sound of Sammur's breathing as the rock touches her skin. Sammur is an aficionado of hot-rock massage.

"Most of my jobs are high-stress," said the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base program manager and mother of a 6-year-old.

"I find hot-rock massages therapeutic. They're relaxing."

Hot-rock therapy is not new. The practice has been used over the centuries by many different cultures and is popular at spas in trendy places like California and Arizona.

Stones are heated to approximately 120 degrees and then placed on strategic areas of the body to soften tissues, increase circulation and provide comfort and relaxation. Massage therapists like Crawford also use the stones as extensions of their hands as they perform other massage techniques.

Although Darlene Snyder, a licensed massage therapist who works at Long Chiropractic in North Dayton, Ohio, has received training in the hot-rock massage technique, she said there is no call for it with her clientele.

"My practice is in response to injuries, conditions and medical referrals from chiropractors and licensed medical doctors. The hot-rock therapy is more for relaxation purposes, so I really don't have a demand for it," Snyder said.

Crawford, who is trained in a variety of massage techniques, said that the hot-rock massage typically appeals to people who are open to alternative treatments or frequent spas and resorts.

"When we first started, it was unusual for people to come in because of the credibility. People related messages to the less reputable massage parlor. But therapists go to school and go through an intense program to be licensed," Roberts said.

Therapists who receive hot-rock massage training learn how to select, place and use the stones. According to Bonnie Skogman, a licensed massage therapist in Tucson, Ariz., the stones used should fulfill four criteria: They should be capable of radiating warmth for 20 minutes, fit comfortably into the contours of the body, have a pleasing texture and have sufficient weight to exert grounding and traction.

Crawford said there is no single way to give a massage with hot rocks.

"Le Stone, one of the distributors of hot-rock stones, wants the therapist to be creative and do your own thing," Crawford said.

Stones are commonly placed on the forehead, abdomen, in the hands, between the toes and on the back during the massage.

The massages are meant to be comfortable and encourage relaxation. If a person experiences nausea or pain, the massage should be discontinued, and, if a person has a fever, swollen glands or bruises easily, they should avoid having a massage.

Sammur limits herself to a hot-rock massage every couple of months. At O'Neys, the cost of a hot-rock massage is $85 to $120.

With a full-time job and a youngster at home, Sammur said the massage is the only time she sets aside for herself.

"I personally make a point to encourage my friends to go for a massage. I think it is important for women to take some time for themselves to relieve their stress," Sammur said.

Source: Dayton Daily News. Powered by YellowBrix, Inc.