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Ancient Native Americans used to treat aching muscles with hot stones warmed by fire. The modern revival of this hot stone treatment as a spa therapy began in the States in the late 90’s and is known as geo-thermal therapy.
For the best treatment one needs to use stones that are dark in colour, dense and magnetic in character and possessing a fine-grained texture. All these properties support heat retention, allow smoothness of feel and enable the therapist to “balance” the body.
At Phantom Forest we choose stones derived from the Karoo Mesozoic period known as flood basalt. These dense black river stones have been eroded from the original shield volcano, which once covered huge tracts of the Karoo. This erosion over time has rendered the stones with a remarkable silky-smooth surface texture.
Your Simply Stone treatment commences with some traditional Swedish massage to enable the therapist to identify stress patterns within your body. Meanwhile, the impressive black Karoo basalt stones are heated by immersion in hot water to around 50ºC. The therapist then uses these stones which vary in size and shape, and are chosen to complement different muscle groups. Their penetrating heat induces a strong sense of relaxation and release.
One characteristic of hot stone therapy is the varying tempo of the movements. This continual changing rhythm allows the radiant heat to penetrate more deeply into muscles that have been identified by the therapist as ‘triggers’, and is key to promoting balance within the body. In some instances, the hot stones may be placed on your body in the region of the spine or abdomen, or in the palms of your hand.
After an hour of hot stone treatment you will certainly know what the word relaxed means… Simply divine!
