If you’re still feeling the stress of the holidays, the pandemic, and the start of a New Year, you may have made some resolutions to kick off the year in regards to self-care, relaxation, and becoming healthier as it relates to both your mental and physical wellbeing. While there are many ways to take care of yourself, hot stone massage therapy at Square One Salon promises to ease away the tension, relieve muscle pain, detoxify your body, and increase circulation for an overall boost to your health.

What is a Hot Stone Massage? If you’re familiar with massage therapy in general but have never indulged in a hot stone massage, you may not know what to expect. During your hot stone therapy, flat, smooth, heated stones will be placed on specific parts of your body and are accompanied by a traditional Swedish massage. The stones are made of basalt, a type of volcanic rock that efficiently retains heat to warm your muscles. Your heated stones will be strategically placed at touchpoints along your spine, stomach, chest, face, palms, feet, and toes. Your Square One massage therapist will determine which touchpoints on your body will benefit you the most based on your personalized needs.

Why a Hot Stone Massage? Hot stone massage can offer enhanced benefits when used to target and address specific conditions. The heat of the stones assists in relaxing the muscles so that the therapist can access the deeper muscle layers. The stones also expand blood vessels, encouraging better circulation to alleviate chronic pain, promote relaxation, and reduce stress.

The overall experience, accompanied by a full body massage, has many benefits for healing.

Reduces anxiety and stress. Mental wellbeing is key to a healthy body and mind. As your hot stones are placed, tension will melt away, creating a calming effect to reduce stress, anxiety, and allowing the mind to relax at its deepest level. Calmness of the mind is essential to help your body feel re-energized.

Relieves muscle tension and pain. Heat is common in alleviating muscle pain by helping to boost the blood flow to the affected area. Heat also improves flexibility, reduces muscle spasms, and increases the range of motion for better mobility and movement. If you suffer from inflammation, your massage therapist may alternate hot and cold stones during your treatment since cold therapy is effective in reducing inflammation. Hot stone massage has been found to provide pain relief from ailments including arthritis, carpal tunnel, and fibromyalgia.

Encourages deeper sleep. There have been many studies showing that massage therapy help to improve the quality of sleep – allowing you to enjoy a deeper, more restorative sleep. Enjoying a regular massage will not only help you fall asleep, and stay asleep, but you will also wake up more alert, active, and positive in the morning!

May ease symptoms of autoimmune diseases. Fibromyalgia and Rheumatoid Arthritis can cause chronic, widespread pain. With massage, studies have found that there are fewer trigger points and a decrease in the level of substance P which is a substance in the body that’s involved in transmitting pain signals. Less pain, greater range of motion, decreased pain, and greater grip strength can mean the world of difference to those suffering from autoimmune diseases.

Indulging in a hot stone therapy massage at Square One can also help boost immunity, regulate and lower blood pressure, and reduce water retention.

If you are ready to start 2022 off with a healthy mind and body, make an appointment for a hot stone therapy massage and experience the difference that massage can make in your life. If you need to rejuvenate both your body and mind, make an appointment at any of our Square One Salon locations. You can book online or call or visit one of our Ohio locations directly.