A world of different Stone Massages

What is a "Stone Massage"? Essentially it is a bodywork modality including the use of stones one way or another.

There are many different expressions of stone-work. I say stone-work, because there are expressions which do not include massage or physical manipulation of tissue.

The typical perception of a stone-treatment here in France includes passive use of the stones - stone placement on meridian and energy points and practically no tissue manipulation. For most seeking more deep tissue manipulation and physical approach to massage, this doesn't appeal and they stay away from all "Stone Massage" they might encounter.

A lot of stone expressions in France are based on Chinese Medicine theories.

There is literally a whole world of Stone Expressions out there. Not only Chinese Medicine inspired, but also ayurvedic, ancient healing methods from Hawaii related to Lomi Lomi, Sami inspired healing from Northern Scandinavia, Native American shamanism, stone massage adapted to Western style massage therapy and many others.

Each part of the world has developed their own use of stones in healing at some point or another in time, using the resources they had available. Each expression has been influenced by the culture it emerged in, and in particular how healing has been viewed.

It is no wonder there is such a great confusion about what a "Stone Massage" is. And frankly, advertising hasn't been helping at all either. We have all seen these pictures of a beautiful woman lying on a table with placed stones along the spine. Unfortunately, it is difficult to illustrate how a stone can be moving and massaging deep into the tissue and it probably doesn't look half as good as what is typically used now.

My stone expression is based on Western style massage therapy and Native American Stone Medicine, using professional training from LaStone®. This means that I both do deep tissue work, focusing on muscular manipulation, as well as energetic and shamanic type of work. Sometimes only one, other times combining the two in various degrees. It all depends on what you want to achieve. The stones are an active extension of my hands, used as tools to promote your health and wellness.

So please, next time you feel inclined to dismiss the "Hot Stone Massage" you see advertised, do yourself the favour to look into what type of stone massage it is. There will always be an expression which suits you and your requirements, it is just a matter of finding the right one.

Ask about the massage. Query what is included and how the therapist works with the stones. Inquire about certifications and background both for the training as well as the modality. Describe what you are looking for and hear if that is what they provide. Share your intentions and purpose with the massage, so the therapist can create a session specifically tailored to your needs in that moment.

Just as Bodywork includes a wide range of different techniques and modalities, so does "Stone Massage". It is my hope that this article has helped you gain a bit more insight into the topic and can help you ask the right questions next time you consider a treatment with stones.

Further reading:
A Brief History of stones from Geothermal Therapy Association
The History of Stone Massage from Massage Magazine

Emotional benefits of massage

When we read about what massage is good for, the majority of focus is placed on physical benefits. This is easy to study and research scientifically, as it can be weighted and measured. There is another aspect to massage which is rarely mentioned. The emotional benefits. How massage affects our feelings, our mood and emotional well-being.

Shama from ThaiHealingMassage wrote an article about The Benefits Of Massage And Our Feelings where he brings up the Western tendency to only focus on the physical aspect of massage. As a massage practitioner working in France I can directly relate to his article. As we are not allowed (legally) to treat injuries or do treatments, our focus automatically changes towards the more emotional aspect.

Emotions have a huge impact on our lives and can influence our physical well-being. Just think about how nervousness can give stomach-ache, how happiness makes us energetic, how a bad mood makes pain intolerable, how stress makes our muscles tense up and ache. We have all experienced how our feelings can influence how we feel physically.

Stress is probably the emotion most of us experience which has the largest impact on our health. Numerous scientific studies have mapped the connection between stress and our physical well-being. I have in the past written several articles about stress. Other studies show a connection between our mental health and our physical health. And over and over again placebo effect is shown to be real.

Every time I give a massage, I see the connection between emotional and physical well-being. People come in feeling tired and stressed, their mood is a bit low and the discomfort they experience from muscular tensions affect them. When they get off the table, they are smiling and feeling great. Releasing the physical tensions helps them release some of the emotional tensions as well.

I have first hand seen how powerful a massage can be. One client even started crying after a massage, releasing a lot of pent up emotions that she as a new mother hadn't been allowed to express.

What I see is clients build confidence and emotional strength over a series of massages, enabling them to face their challenges and deal better deal with life. I see clients gain insights into themselves and the massages be indirect reasons for them to change their lives and embark upon new paths and adventures. I see clients overcome nerves and stress and pass a difficult test or exam.

I have also first hand experienced how powerful a massage can be on my own body. How due to the massage, hidden and pent up emotions were released, I healed old wounds and sores, and emerged stronger and more balanced. All this enabling me to better deal with the challenges of life.

It is important not to ignore the emotional aspect of massages. Not only because of the emotional influence to our physical health, but also for the improved life quality massage provides, on all levels. Touch is essential to our well-being, not only physically, but also emotionally. The importance of touch for our physical and mental health cannot be underestimated.

Please listen to yourself, not only your physical being but also your emotional being. Both need to be taken care of and healed for you to live in balance with yourself. Consider a massage next time you face challenging times and your emotions are unbalanced. You will literally feel the difference.

Massage and Pregnancy

Image via Wikipedia

There is a very persistent myth in the massage community that pregnant women can't receive any massages, especially during their first trimester. Fact is that during a normal pregnancy, where there are no other health concerns, a pregnant woman can without risk receive a normal massage.

The discussion has been going on in the online massage community lately and I discussed the matter privately with Canadian Massage Therapist, Lee Kalpin, who has over 27 years of massage and teaching experience.

In Canada the requirements for becoming a Massage Therapist (in some provinces) is 2-3 years full time study. Massage Therapy is treated and regulated as a health-profession, on the same level as a physiotherapist.

There's no suspicion of any connection between massage and miscarriage by doctors and massage therapists, which is the reason there's no specific research in the field. They haven't found it necessary to conduct the research.

To quote Lee from our latest e-mail exchange about pregnancy and massage:

"I have massaged a great many women, all through their pregnancies. Often they have lower back pain, and the massage really helps them. The only pregnant woman I ever turned down was one who phoned me and said 'I have an appointment today and I don't want to cancel at the last minute, but my water just broke and I'm not sure if I should have a massage'!!!!!  I told her - 'don't come for a massage - go to the hospital'."

Pregnancy isn't a hindrance for receiving massage, unless your doctor has specifically told you not to.

In fact, if your doctor has told you that you can carry on with your normal activities during your pregnancy, then you can have a massage. As long as you don't suffer any complications, go ahead and receive a massage. In particular during the first trimester when you're still comfortable lying in all positions. Should you be in doubt always check with your doctor.

As Lee told me when I asked about massage and pregnancy:

"What I said was a Myth, was the idea that you CANNOT  massage a woman in the first trimester.  You can. There are actually fewer precautions in the first trimester, and positioning is not usually a concern.  Many women don't even know they are pregnant until they are two months pregnant, so they have probably been having massage all along."

I asked if anyone could give a massage and if there wasn't anything special to do or to avoid. Her answer is simple:

"There are no specific things to do, or not to do if performing a general relaxation massage.  It's just about client comfort. Some therapists use special "pregnancy tables" that have a cut-out for the abdomen. Others position the client in side-lying instead of prone."

So what should we be aware of?

"I would say the only precautions are --some women (a small number) start to feel light-headed if they lie on their back for too long because the foetus may be lying against the inferior vena cava artery (in the 3rd trimester). In that case the women should be sat up, or rolled on her side. Also, in the final trimester we would not do any major mobilization, particularly of the hip area because the ligaments may become very relaxed due to the secretion of "relaxin", a hormone that causes the ligaments to be easily stretched."

She added that the only belly massage she would recommend, is a very light massage during the third trimester with vitamin E oil to prevent stretch-marks. Also, anything which will increase blood pressure above what normal daily activities do, is to be avoided. As heat increases the blood pressure, the therapist need to be very aware of the use of temperature during for instance a stone massage.

It is good to know that there are only a few things to be mindful of and that it is mostly about the comfort level of the client. In short, common sense and making sure the client speaks up as soon as they feel the slightest uncomfortable.

"But really, there is nothing so different about massaging pregnant women - they are just people after all. The main concerns are around comfortable positioning in the different stages of pregnancy, and comfortable and appropriate draping (important in Canada). The massage is not necessarily "pregnancy massage". Women may have the usual conditions that require massage - neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain etc, and it doesn't quit while they are pregnant.  Therapists just have to know how to position them comfortably, and to keep a robe handy for when they have to get off the table to pee!"

About training in pregnancy massage Lee said:

"Obviously, it would help to have training on safe positioning and looking out for contraindications and precautions."

The conclusion is that anyone can give a gentle relaxing massage to a pregnant woman without risk, as long as the pregnancy is uncomplicated. And if in doubt if something might be harmful, don't do it.

Of course, the more training a Massage Therapist has, the more specific work and treatment they can provide. The ideal is a fully trained massage therapist who has specialized in prenatal massage. But less can do it.

Further reading:
http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/prenatalmassage.html

About LaStone Therapy by Mary Nelson

Often people ask me what is different about LaStone, “…isn’t it just another stone massage, surely they cannot be that different?” Yet they are different, in many ways; not only is the treatment itself different but the way in which LaStone is taught stands alone from the Other Expressions of Hot Stone Massage.

LaStone methodologies are based in ancient practices of energy work and thermal therapy, blending the two principles together and coupling this foundation with various forms of body work such as Swedish massage, Reiki, Deep Tissue, Shiatsu, Reflexology and more.

Thermal therapy is the science of LaStone and is the focus of all of our workshops; we stress the importance to our students that the client’s health information will determine the degrees in which the stones are offered to the body. A LaStone treatment has the capabilities of being personally designed to fit the client’s needs at that particular time, no two people are the same, nor are they the same from week to week; therefore when temperature is the focus for a stone session, the temperatures must be adjusted to fit the needs and goals of the client for that day’s treatment.

Energy work is the spirit of LaStone and is the foundation of all our workshops; we offer a form of energy work that blends easily with the rhythm of the stones and how they are applied to the body in various forms of body treatments. The form of energy work we share in our workshops has been around for many decades; coming to Mary through Spirit Guidance in the early nineties and to other such as Brough Joy in the mid seventies and some forms even as far back as 700 years to the Hopi Nation.

We open the door for all energy work to be blended with your personal stone dance and strive to help each student/therapist embrace the importance of balancing the science of the stones with the spirit of the stones in all LaStone sessions.

Within our training courses we convey great importance on how to sanitize, disinfect and proper sterilization of the stones and equipment used within a LaStone session. Since we teach around the world the proper procedures for the stones and equipment may vary a bit due to local regulations governed by laws in the area. We take all necessary steps to insure that our students/therapists fully understand the proper procedures for sanitation, disinfecting and sterilization as it applies to their local laws.

In our courses we also offer further insight for our students in how to care for the stones on a vibrational level or energy level. For eons there have been Stone Walkers and Crystal Healers around the globe, they bring with them ancient understanding of the Stone People and have passed down for generations the proper way in which to show respect for the “Record Keepers, The Ancient Ones, The Stone People”. We open doors for our students and wet their curiosity about their ancestors and how ceremonial practice was a way of life long ago and can still be in today’s busy world of high tech philosophy.

LaStone offers over twenty-five different courses on our methodologies as it applies to stone work, we have a certification program that honors our students/therapists and stands them apart from Other Expressions of stone massages; our students/therapists have the opportunity to study with us for an average of 27 hours to 180 hours or more in our certification program.

LST is LaStone Therapist

ALST is Advanced LaStone Therapist

MLST is Master Level LaStone Therapist

LaStone has been taught in over 45 countries, with a data base of over 30,000 students and 53 instructors across the globe, Mary Nelson is the founder and she is based out of Tucson, Arizona.


http://www.lastonetherapy.com