Hot stone therapy

Everybody wants to feel warm and cozy as well as relived from stress in monsoons and a hot stone therapy is the answer to all your monsoon woes. We share the goodness of this treatment and list places where you can avail the treatment.

Getting Hot:
A hot stone massage which is warm and comforting on a cold, rainy day and can be availed at many places all over India. This therapy dates back to centuries and involves the use of basalt, a black volcanic rock that is supposed to absorb and retain heat well. You are gently massaged with a light oil first or the stones are coated in oil. Often, the therapist will massage your body with these heated stones. Ideal for monsoons.

Getting Stonned:
Usually therapists will not apply hot stones (they are soaked in water that is at a temperature of 120°-130° F) directly on your body. They will warm their own hands and then gently massage your body before proceeding to rub the stones directly on the body. “Your body cannot take the temperature change suddenly,” explains Nancy a therapist from Vidya Tikari Studio, New Delhi.

Getting De-stressed:
The massage therapy with hot stones helps to dissolve knots in your muscles and opens the energy centers of the body. The hot stones with medicinal effects are placed along the spine, shoulders and neck to stimulate and balance the vital energy points, giving you relief from pain and stress. Placing the warm stones along specific parts of the body causes constriction and dilation of the capillaries, which increases blood circulation. The feeling after the therapy is similar to that of a good workout, except that it’s a passive process. The therapy helps to de-stress, relieve tension, pain and fatigue, resulting in blissful relaxation.

"We believe that the monsoons are a fabulous time for cleansing not just the body but one's inner soul as well. Rain, dampness and excessive humidity makes the body to look and feel dull hence we present spa therapies that helps regain lost balance and equilibrium," reveals Nisha Javeri, owner of the Myrah the luxury day spa, Juhu, Mumbai.

Getting Cautious:
Hot stone therapy is recommended only during the monsoon or winters because the climate during the rest of the year is too hot and the therapy will not be pleasurable. If you have a very sensetive or acne prone skin or if you suffer from high blood pressure, avoid having this therapy.

Listings:
Earth Stone Massage at the Spa, Ananda in the Himalayas
http://www.anandaspa.com/spa/earth_stone.asp

Fire massage, using hot lava shells, at the Spa at Oberoi Wildflower Hall, Mashobra,

http://www.oberoihotels.com/oberoi_wildflowerhall/spa_fitness/spa.asp

Hot Stone massage, Vidya Tikari Studio, Lajpat nagar, New Delhi. http://www.vidyatikari.in/

Royal Stone massage, Myrah the luxury day spa, Juhu, Mumbai. http://www.myrahspa.com/

Hot Stone massage, Kayakalp, ITC Sonar Bangla, Kolkata http://www.itcwelcomgroup.in/KayaKalp/itckayakalptreament.aspx?ID=2

Amber Full Body Stone Massage at Leo Juventa, Centre for Integrated Medicine, Hyderabad http://www.leojuventa.com/


The list is endless where you can avail the therapy so find out where you can induldge in this relaxing treatment in your city and get instant relief from all the pain and stress this monsoon.

Parimita Chakravorty