Massage

How often do we hear comments such as, "Oh! My aching back," "Gee, I woke up with a stiff neck," or "I threw my back out"? The human body was built to move, to be mobile, to be ready for action--so why do so many people experience aches, stiffness or inflexibility?

A look at our environment can provide many of the answers. Each day we are faced with many physical challenges--as office workers holding arms over a keyboard, as construction workers hammering repeatedly, or as bus drivers sitting for long periods with insufficient support. Work stations are often built to accommodate equipment, not different body shapes and sizes. Society demands performance, but workers don't get the needed warm-up time before activities. Deadlines, traffic, air quality and many other factors lead to physical and mental stresses that eventually become evident as physical pain.

Massage therapy seeks to address some of these symptoms. While there seems to be universal agreement that massage "feels good," it also offers many specific benefits. The therapeutic use of massage affects all systems of the body, most particularly circulatory (blood and lymph), muscular, fascial and nervous systems. Massage therapy is also effective in the control of pain (chronic or acute), in stress reduction and in creating a sense of relaxation and well-being.

HOT STONE THERAPY is a type of treatment that uses heated stones to massage away muscular tension.
There are many benefits to treating with hot stone therapy:

• Improves back, shoulder and neck pain
• Improves lymphatic circulation
• Increases cardiovascular circulation
• Decreases menstrual pain
• Decreases joint pain
• Decreases tension headaches
• Decreases sciatic pain
• Promotes increased well-being and vitality
• Promotes grounding due to the high magnetic field inherent in the stones
• Reduces overall stress

This treatment is a great way to expand your conventional healing avenues. It combines the use of traditional Swedish massage as well as hydrotherapy in the heat of the stones. It also includes a holistic component, by addressing meridian alignment. Overall, this treatment is so well-rounded that it can surely benefit everyone.

For more information on Hot Stone Therapy please visit these websites:
altmedicine.about.com/od/massage/a/hot_stone.htm
thestonemassage.com
hotstonetherapy.net

For more on massage therapy, visit a few of these popular websites:

Symetrics Links

• Canadian Massage Therapist Alliance - group of provincial associations sharing the common aim of promoting the art, science and philosophy of massage therapy.
• Canadian Sport Massage Therapists Association (CSMTA) - seeks to educate athletes, coaches, and parents at the grass roots-level and up about the benefits of sport massage. Includes a newsletter, reading lists, and related links.