The Original Hot Stone Massage

Stone Energy
by Nicholas Weaver

 

I have learned to trust what the stones say to me.

Science has revealed that matter is energy. Other definitions define consciousness as energy, though there are multiple definitions of consciousness. I believe that whatever has consciousness follows a particular pattern or structure. This is enough to convince me that stones, although inanimate, hold consciousness. It's a different form of consciousness, that's all.

In the early 1990s, I was introduced to meditation and began reading books on the energy of stones. I soon made the connection that not only did the stones mentioned in the books have energy, but that the stones in my garden had energy too. I began the practice of meditating with closed eyes and visualizing a stone while holding it in my hands. What began to happen has taken me on new directions that I never would have dreamed possible.

As I started feeling the energy of each stone I held in meditation, I would ask things like, "What part of my body does this stone affect?" I would then begin to feel specific areas inside my body being affected. I began to realize that energy is not limited to physical substance. Light is energy; sound is energy; shape is energy too.

I began visualizing the stones I was meditating with in specific shapes. As I did this, I would often feel their energy increase. I began to ask more questions, such as, "What shape would be best to enhance this stone's energy?" A shape would come to mind, and that is what I would visualize. Sometimes I would get more than one shape for a specific stone. This is when I realized that stones are multidimensional, just like people. I also discovered that some stones work well in multiple shapes, some only in a few shapes, and some are better left in their natural form.

In my meditations, stones have taken me to other planes of existence. I have stepped into past lives using fossils while meditating. I have healed myself of chronic disease and physical injuries using stones shaped as pyramids, eggs and other shapes that we have no names for.

As a lapidary artist, it was the shaping of stones that first interested me. I didn't want to be constricted to the pre-determined shapes found in rock shops. My early shapes were crude and unpolished. I figured that if you were using a stone for a tool, it didn't need to look aesthetically pleasing to work. Needless to say, I didn't sell many. As a personal joke, I sometimes wonder that if archaeologists dig up one of my older stone pyramids in North Dakota a thousand years from now and compare it to one of my newer ones in Alaska, they'll note the technological differences between these two areas and remark how one civilization was surely more advanced than the other.

I have learned that by polishing stones there is a beauty revealed that you often cannot see when the stone is unpolished. Usually, it is only after polishing and bringing out the inner beauty of stones that most people become attracted to them.

I have also learned that some stones do not look the same on the inside as they do on the outside. On a trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota, I found a stone that looked like yellow jasper. It was almost naturally a perfect cube. I sat down to meditate with it, to see where its energy went in my body. I expected to feel it in my second chakra, as yellows and browns are generally associated with the second chakra. I was extremely surprised to feel it in the base (root) chakra. I second guessed my intuition and determined that I was wrong. When I cut the stone open, I was surprised to find that within a half inch of all sides of the stone, it was a blood red jasper that could not be seen from the outside of the stone. This color is connected to the base chakra.

In the last ten years, I have had many interesting experiences with stone energy. Most importantly, I have learned to trust what the stones say to me.

Nicholas Weaver is a lapidary artist. He and John Troutman own and operate Nature's Jewels Rock Shop at 1921 West Dimond Blvd., Suite 4, in Anchorage. Call 349-7863.

The Original Hot Stone Massage
by Mara E. Brenner

 

This vascular gymnastics of the circulatory system assists the body in self-healing.

Have you heard about a type of massage where hot stones are put on your body?

LaStone Therapy is the clinical application of thermotherapy -- the use of heated stones alternating with cold stones. It's also one of the fastest growing massage techniques in spas throughout this country and across international waters. This form of bodywork involves the use of heated and cooled stones applied to the body in various ways to bring about relief to stiff and sore muscles, resulting in alleviation of many chronic and acute problems.

The use of different temperatures on the body to bring about certain reactions has been done for eons, and many different types of practitioners know that adjusting temperatures in bodywork can aid clients in healing. LaStone Therapy capitalizes on these traditional practices with a current approach. Basalt and marble stones are the medium, and the hot and cold temperatures are the message. This vascular gymnastics of the circulatory system assists the body in self-healing. LaStone Therapy administers this principle with unerring elegance.

LaStone Therapy goes beyond the physical experience of typical massage by entering deeper dimensions of relaxation, health and well being, creating a positive approach to the "body-mind-spirit" philosophy. LaStone Therapy produces alternately sedative and re-energizing responses to the body. The physiological benefits of alternating hot and cold to the body have long been medically proven, and clients love the potent recharge they receive in treatment.

There are two types of rock used in LaStone Therapy: basalt and marble. Basalt is a modified igneous rock that is formed by volcanic and sedimentary action. Basalt is the most abundant of the volcanic rocks. Basalt rocks have been broken and eroded by stream or water activity and then washed along a river bottom, where they receive their smooth, potato-like shape and size.

Marble is a metamorphic rock that at one time was nothing more than the muck at the bottom of the ocean. Marble was formed on earth via the entire geologic process -- a process that continues to create marble even as you read this. Marble, holding immense periods of time and records of the evolution of life, bears intrinsic beauty in its crystals.

Since the dawn of time, people have been drawn to the energies of stones. You need only look around to see the traces we have left from centuries of walking on Mother Earth. Monstrous stones have been carried unspeakable distances to honor kings and gods. We have created monuments of stones, where we have carved our faces and those of our gods. There are worry stones people carry in their pockets, and stone fetishes are created for many forms of healing, rebirth, wealth and relationships. The American Indians call the stones the "Stone Clan People." They have used heated stones in sweat lodges and on the belly of a woman to relieve the pain of menses. Shamans, medicine people and spiritual leaders from all over the world use stones and crystals in their healing ceremonies. Each color and type of stone reflects energy, purpose, clearing and releasing effect on the client as it is being used.

In Hawaii, the Kahunas use lava in their healing treatments. The lava stone represents healing and protection. In the Philippines, it is a common practice to use a rough basalt stone to slough off old, dry skin. In Russia, there is a tradition of using heated black stones in the bath. Even in the days when cowboys were roaming this country, it was a common practice to heat stones in the fire and place them on the ground under one's bedding.

I came upon the LaStone Therapy after injuring my thumb doing massage. Not wanting to give up my practice, and knowing there is not much call for a one-handed massage therapist, I took a class in this remarkable work. The stress to my body and hands while doing massage is greatly minimized, and I also get the benefit of the warmth and energies of the stones every time I use them. I have found that these stones will warm your soul as well as your body.

When I tell people about LaStone Therapy, they are usually skeptical. I pooh-poohed it after first reading about it, but I am now a believer. Having been both the giver and receiver of deep tissue massage, I can honestly say this is so much easier to both give and receive. There is no breaking down of the tissue. The heat and cold go directly to where they are needed. When I put a hot stone on a congested area and feel it cool rapidly in my hand, I know I have found the right spot.

There are numerous testimonials from many therapists and clients on the LaStone Therapy Webpage (www.lastonetherapy.com). Interestingly, if you look at the name spelled out as in the webpage, you will notice it can also be read Last One Therapy.

The originator of LaStone Therapy is Mary Nelson-Hannigan, a native of Tucson, Arizona. Mary is a 1991 graduate of the Desert Institute of Healing Arts, a licensed massage therapist, a wife and mother of two children. She has her own practice in addition to teaching LaStone Therapy.

Mara E. Brenner, L.M.T., practices at 310 K Street, Suite 200, in Anchorage. Validated parking available at the Captain Cook garage. Military discount. Call 264-6707 for more information.