What is Hot Stone massage?

A hot stone massage is a form of thermotherapy (thermo - heat, therapy means to be able to help). It is the practice of using warmed smooth stones in a massage. They can be used by hand to massage or can be left on tense spots to heat and relax sore and aching bodies. It simply feels amazing [link] 
Cast your mind back to the last time you felt tense and stressed out - how did your muscles feel? Can you recall what was going through your mind? Think of the last time you were tense and stressed out - how your muscles felt, what was going through your mind and how you eventually got relaxed again. Now go back and imagine how your mind and body would feel if warmed and massaged?  Hot stones get the job done faster. One glide of a hot stone is estimated to be worth 10 regular glides.
The use of hot stones therapeutically is evident in China, India, the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Egypt. The Romans are well known for their fabulous construction of elaborate bathhouses like Bath Spa.  A massage was a standard therapy for Greek and Roman aristocrats and gladiators. Later on in the 18th-century wealthy people began to take “the waters” and visit spa towns around Europe taking advantage of thermotherapy, massage and mud baths. Here in NZ we have a long heritage of spa’s, indeed New Zealand as a tourist destination began as it was known as a thermal wonderland.