Hot Stone Therapy Courses Toronto

CERIFICATION IN HOT AND COLD STONE THERAPY

Stone Therapy is a system that includes a number of techniques and protocols that utilize both hot and cold stones for bodywork and relaxation purposes in spas, healing centres, massage therapy and physiotherapy clinics.

Stone Therapy (often called Hot Stone Therapy due to prevalence of hot stones being used during the average treatment) integrates:

breathing techniques (pranayama) with Swedish strokes

Shiatsu treatment and the theory behind Meridians with decongestive lymphatic drainage

therapeutic cold and hot applications (hydrotherapy) with elements of aromatherapy

Yoga practices (especially hot yoga) with body work

An eastern view of the human body, especially an emphasis on the constant movement of vital energy called Qi, will be one of the determining factors in deciding how and when to apply the stones. An unobstructed flow of Qi may prevent illnesses and promote an optimal level of mental, emotional and physical health.

Our stone therapy courses incorporate both Eastern and Western approaches, allowing you to experience the benefits of both thermotherapy (heat applications) and cryotherapy (cold applications). Our practical/hands-on methodology is also eclectic, combining both Eastern and Western types of body work.

"Ancient traditions have long associated holy wells and springs as very special places of the Goddess or anima mundi: symbolic of the Great Mother and associated with birth, the feminine principle, the universal womb, the prima materia, the waters of fertility and refreshment and the fountain of life. The dreaming sites, as they are called, have also been associated with visions, healing, and other paranormal experiences. In ancient Greece, for example, there were more than three-hundred medical centers placed at water sources, where patients experienced healing." Christopher McDowell

Stones in Ancient Mythology and Healing Practices

Greeks and Romans attributed stones to the god Saturn. In Roman mythology,Saturn was the god of fertility and agriculture. He was commonly identified with the Greek god Cronus (Kronos), also known as the keeper of time.

In Ancient Chinese healing tradition stones were used quite frequently as an excellent massage therapy tool for increasing the heat and fire element in the body.

In Ayurveda, five elements make up the essence of all life: ether, air, fire, water and earth. These elements provide our bodies with different gifts � structure and frame as exemplified by our cells and skeletal system (Earth), flow and motion as in the circulation of blood and lymph (Water) � and abilities � to transform and digest (Fire), to coordinate movement and be creative (Air) and to maintain an internal sense of space and peace (Ether). People, animals, food, music, exercise, colours, etc., are all comprised of these five essential elements. Ayurveda notes that these five elements are responsible for the makeup of the Universe and affect everything according to their mutual relationships (click here to find your Ayurvedic element charts).

These five great elements create three vital forces called tridoshas or the three Doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. It is Ayurvedic healing theory that a balance of the three basic Doshas guarantees health. An illness is merely an excess or deficiency of one or more of the elements. For example, an overabundance of fire can create a heat rash or a hot temper while an overabundance of water may lead to inertia, an overweight body or water accumulation in the chest region.The Ayurvedic massage approach also follows the nature of the three Gunas energies, so the touch that is used could be Sattvic (light, gentle, slow for mostly Vata types), Rajasic (active, energetic with firm pressure for Pitta types) or Tamasic (heavy, solid, repetitive for balancing Kapha types).

Alchemy, an ancient art that preceded modern chemistry, investigated transmutations of base metals into gold or silver which, they believed, will eventually would lead to extension of the human life. The ancient practice of alchemy started in Egypt and flourished in Alexandria and in China almost at the same time. The central object of alchemy in all traditions was the Philosopher's Stone.

Originally, the Philosopher's Stone (believed to be the matter that changed base metals into silver or gold) was first mentioned by Zosimos the Theban, a third century Gnostic mystic and alchemist. Throughout the centuries the Philosopher's Stone, often being called -the secret of life and health-, has been attributed to an immense collection of powers. The list of its spiritual attributes expanded even more until it evolved into an elaborated ceremonies that led to the initiation of junior alchemist into a full alchemist practice in 13 century. Strict practice and continuous search for the Philosopher Stone was part of the alchemist commitment to energizing and restoring the Earth. The Philosopher's Stone represented the force behind the evolution of life as well as the universal binding power, similar to Tao in Eastern philosophy. It was believed it will help to unite minds, souls and bodies in an intricate network and heal all that as to be healed. The purity and sacredness of the Philosopher's Stone was thought to also lead to more altruistic existence of practitioner.

Alchemist and philosopher Johann Isaac Hollandus, in his Of Natural & Supernatural Things (London, 1670), spoke of the elusive powers of the Philosopher's Stone that, according to alchemist tradition, emerges from the planet Saturn and guards man's body from all types of disease.

Do stones guard health?

Any stone heated to extreme temperatures will have its core transformed, thereby becoming a truly powerful healing tool. Traditionally, Saturn, stones and stone therapies are also linked to maturation, frame, structure, bones, rigidity and stiffness. Traditionally, stones are often viewed as an ancient gift from the Earth that gives structure and order to anything they have touched. Once the stones are heated, they are able to transform their outer attributes (cold and dense) into their opposites: warmth and fluidity.

When the Saturnine form (stone) transforms its core (cold into heat), it also transforms Saturnine attributes (stiffness, arthritis, rigidity) into their opposites (flexibility, elasticity, softness).

Rigidity and stiffness slowly change into their opposite attributes as the heated stones are applied to the body. The resulting flexibility, relaxation, and warmth awaken the body's vitality at all levels. This is a common result of any Hot Stone Therapy treatment.

Heated stones are, in some ways, a homeopathic remedy: like cures and balances like.

What the stone therapy is and what it is not is sometimes hard to pinpoint. The modern definition often ties stone therapy to hydrotherapy part of massage therapy field rather then thermo therapy practices.

"What is laid down, ordered, factual is never enough to embrace the whole truth: life always spills over the rim of every cup." --Boris Pasternak

Hot Stone Therapy Courses - Who Takes Them?

Since 2001, Stone Waters Continuing Education has been training therapists in the field of stone therapy. People interested in learning our protocols belong primarily to two walks of life: the massage therapy/energy work field and the esthetics/spa industry. Our graduates include hundreds of professionals from all over the world.
Our students come from different professional backgrounds: registered massage therapists, sport massage therapists, acupuncturists, yoga teachers and practitioners, reflexologists, reiki practitioners, aromatherapists, shiatsu therapists, Thai yoga massage practitioners, estheticians, spa owners and spa attendants, hair dressers, various holistic practitioners, nurses, care givers, healers and people who take classes simply for the purpose of their own self-development. Regardless of the professional backgrounds or motives to pursue the study (therapy or self-development), or goal has always been to ensure the highest quality education combined with dynamic style of instructions as well as creating an uplifting and supportive learning environment in which every individual will be both respected for who she or he is and also integrated into the larger tapestry of the therapeutic massage network.
Also,as many of you already know, it has been shown repeatedly that it is not only the training that creates a (stone) therapist.
More than anything else, a humble attitude, careful development of listening skills, strong intuition and uncompromising integrity are must-have ingredients in creating a successful and long-lasting career in all helping and healing professions. From the technical point of view, we believe in the integration of both Eastern (acupressure points and vertical pressure) and Western body work techniques (mostly Swedish).

All of this, in combination with the essentials of Stone Therapy, will ensure an understanding of a broad spectrum of issues that can be improved with hot and cold stone applications.