re: hot stones

[?LFC? ?Torres Torres?]

Anyone know a good place to get a set of basalt stones?

 

[Joseph Taylor]

EBAY

Seller name RUB ROCKS

 

[Robert Abuse]

My personal favorite is http://www.stonetempleinstitute.com All of their stones are hand selected and very high quality.

Angie

 

[Nita]

http://www.hotstonehut.com are pretty good

If you want to get into the expensive sets http://www.amlstonesource.com have BEAUTIFUL sets, not sure if you have to be LaStone trained to get their stones though. Their cold sets are amazing!!!!!


eBay there is one seller called painted_desert_stones her sets are amazing, but not available often.


Jon_O, haven't you already ordered your stones? Why ask?

 

[laineyette]

Mine came from http://www.desertstonepeople.com.

They are a little pricey but the stones are large and heavy, nice to hold without cramping my hand. And (if it means anything to you), the stones are hand-picked by LaStone Therapists who do the whole giving thanks and smudging each stone. The stones are also tumbled and each stone is choosen with an almost perfect partner stone.

 

[keekee1]

I second ebay seller: rubrocks. Great deals compared with the retail prices on their website, and I've have success with them twice, love my stones!

 

[Sushi McPenguin]

My teacher in hot stone therapy often referred to himself as "woo-woo." lol -- But, he was an awesome teacher! He said to go out into nature and find your stones. Stones that have been dredged out and tumbled in a metal container are not the stones he wanted us using for therapy. He would even place his stones strategically in a circle in his back yard periodically when it rained so the stones could breath and re-energize.

Fortunately, I live in the Pacific Northwest and I love hiking and exploring. I have found my stones at various rivers and beaches on my journeys.

 

[swimma]

I am taking a stone massage home study course, and have to get some stones to work with.

During the summer months, I spend a great deal of time at my home along Lake Winnipesaukee in NH. Directly in front of my home is a beach that just so happens to have many rocks at the shore line. Every morning when the sun comes up, these rocks glisten under the clear water, slapping the shore line in gentle waves.

This, I thought, is where my rocks will come from!

 

[The Brat Princess]

I second going out and getting them yourself. Going down to the river bed under a full moon will make your rocks much more special to you, and they will have more energy. Its also the best way to choose the stones you want rather than have them chosen for you.

 

[gutter_fly]

go out into nature and find your stones.

This is a great idea for some people and would definitely be cheaper than paying shipping costs.

I wish we had rocks in my "neck of the woods." Not much around here other than sand.



Angie

 

[Nostalgic for Disaster]

Collecting your own stones is a great idea, BUT it is pretty difficult for most people, not only because of lack of stones, but also because getting enough stones to work with initially of the correct shape and size can be a HUGE challenge if you've never worked with stones beforehand. I think for first time stone users, buying a small set to start with and then add to it as you figure out how you work with the stones. Some people just use them to apply heat when massaging and some big weighty stones would be a waste for them, some use stones for placement so large stones are good for that. The Rub Rock sets I've seen have been good for stones just for massage, not great for placement stones. You can always add to a purchased set of stones, but putting together the initial set is hard (unless you are in one of those areas covered in smooth rocky beaches, but even that are a challenge these days with so many people going and collecting stones - I know there is a shoreforum.xxxe of "grandfather stones" in many areas, 10 years ago a grandfather stone was 3lb+ now what is often labelled as a belly stone is only about 1-1.5lbs if you are lucky.)

 

[Ompa Lompa]

Back in january I picked up 2 sets of rocks from http://www.rubrocks.com and have been thrilled with them. Their "limited time" special seems to still be going on the set I purchased http://www.rubrocks.com/Shop_N.mvc?p=hcbbackbody&Category_Code=_specials . I also purchased a set of medium pillow stones, which were nicely paired.

They are hand crafted and very uniform in shape and size. Personally, I like them much better than the naturally shaped stones in the set I use at work, since those can be tough to pair up, and because of their shape the natural ones seem to slip and roll more often when I place them (unless someone has any hints - I try NOT to go overboard with the oil.)

I'll probably go there first, next time I decided to add to my collection.

 

[ALLAdmin]

because of their shape the natural ones seem to slip and roll more often when I place them (unless someone has any hints - I try NOT to go overboard with the oil.)

I was taught that when doing placement stones, that you place them beforeapplying any lubrication. If they are on dry skin, they stay much better. Another hint is to cover them with the drape and tuck them in.

Angie

 

[nodumgys]

I have used an extra towel to drape and tuck in to hold stones, but depending on the build of the client, some of the upper back stones will still shift.

The way I was taught to do a hot stone massage was to basically address each area with a few swedish strokes to introduce touch (so I'd be using a few drops of oil - nothing much, but just enough to get a little glide) then to pass the stones back and forth between my hands to warm my hands, while continuing to massage (to introduce the heat.) Once the clients skin was warmed and ready, I'd then massage with the stones. After massaging with the stones, I'd then place them and move on to the next area. In prone, I would do this to the back, then go work the legs. After working the legs and placing stones there, I would return to the back and remove the stones, finishing with more massage. The problem tends to come in the time I'm working the legs, (depending on the build of the client) the stones around the rhomboids begin to migrate towards the neck or off the shoulders... especially if the client breaks a sweat.

Hmmm... maybe a little super glue would do the trick...



:

 

[Peyton]

I think a lot of places teach you to leave stone on the client's back when they are face down because of all of the photos showing one or 2 nice neat rows of stones on the back in magazines, not because it really adds to the treatment. I think it's the same thing as when you see the blissed out face of the client with their face truned to the side in magazine photos for a massage - no-one is ever using a face cradle. What works for photos and what works in the real world are not always the same thing.

Most of the older styles of hot stone massage (LaStone, Sacred Stone, Healing Stone Massage, etc) start with the client face up lying on the stones. That really does melt the back muscles before they turn over, but it makes for a really boring photo. Massaging the back and then leaving stones on the back doesn't do much more melting muscles - you've already massaged the area, you're probably not going to go back and do deeper work, it's just a lot of what is expected rather than what is required for the outcome. If you know the stones are going to slide from an area, don't worry about putting them there, just make sure they are well covered to keep the heat you've applied in. You can always put stones on top of the drape and they will be a bit more secure, though probably fresh hot stones from the heater would add more heat through the drape rather than the stones you've worked with. Even with the drape you will probably find stones slide off on some people, so you don't bother putting stones there. I use a sheet with a very wide bit folded back and will place stone in the fold, that way if they do slide towards teh head, they don't actually get out of the folded bit of the sheet and hit the client on the head, though they ca still slide out the side.

Placement stones work best when they are placed before you work the muscle, because they then do the work or melting the muscle before you get to the muscle. Placement stones placed after the work has been done aren't helping the work on the muscles, and I have to say particularly if you are using the hand carved Rub Rock sets - the stones are so light weight they hardly get into the muscle anyway when placed.

 

[Nala]

I totally agree with Melb. The purpose of leaving a stone stationary on the body is to do two things. One is to add heat to the area. How hot can the stone be if you're through massaging with it? All the heat from that stone has already been absorbed by the body. The other reason is to use the weight of the stone. When a stone (with some weight to it) is placed on dry skin, the weight allows to stone to sink in and can actually do a little myofascial work for you. A light stone on lubricated skin can't do that.

I've had stone massages where they did no placement stones before massaging and left the luke-warm stones on my back and to me (everyone is different) it just didn't do much for me and I was disappointed in the massage. But....then again I had high expectations going in to the massage so perhaps if I'd never had a hot stone massage using placement stones I wouldn't have been disappointed?????

To each his own though.

Angie

 

[walk 112 ??l?]

hot stones, found and FOUND!

Wow;

Plant a seed! I should have checked back here sooner.

I'm off to Vancouver Island next week to look for stones (among other things, I also have tickets to see Loreena McKinnet). My neice and I will drive to Tofino to see what we can find. Apparently there are many basalt deposits out there on the Island.

I found some awesome stones here in Manitoba on the shores of Lake Winnipeg! In the tradition, I left tobacco at the site that I gathered them from and I smudged the boughten and the found stones before using them. They are light grey, and there are millions of them. It is very difficult to find the "good" ones, shapewise, but many are deceptively good anyway. I did buy an expensive set from Relaxus, they came with a DVD and a workbook. I am slowly working my found rocks into my purchased rocks, as I do treatments. I brought enough of my "found" stones back to the clinic I work at that one of the other therapists picked out enough for a complete set. I got a massage for my efforts (YEAH!!!).

Keep the info coming, I leave in 5 days for BC. I like the idea of finding them in the moonlight.

 

[Sora Rumbleton]

hot stones, found and FOUND!

I'm off to Vancouver Island next week to look for stones (among other things, I also have tickets to see Loreena McKinnet).

Cool, think of me if she sings The Highwayman, my mom used to recite that poem to us when I was little. *sniff*

I like the idea of finding them in the moonlight.

Jon_O, you're such a romantic. :

 

[U.S.Veteran]

Found my stones!!!

I brought back 30 lb of basalt, and river stones from Vancouver Island. They are not quite as smooth as the ones from TH STone, but very nice for sure.

Loreena was incredible! (Sorry she did not sing the highwayman)

Low tide was 9:00 am, so no moonlight stones.

Jon