Star Treatment

Getting Warmer...

This holiday season, ZenSpa rocks clients out of their comfort zone. The Calabasas, California-based facility has taken a favorite wintertime treatment and given it a new spin.

Lead massage therapist Patty Callahan recently reworked the spa's Hot Stone Massage (80 min./$159) to incorporate a number of Native American rituals. In this treatment, the stones aren't just an add-on to a regular massage; they're integrated into every step. This allows spa-goers to enjoy a more meditative, spiritual experience.

The protocol:

1. Prompt the client to lie face up on the massage table and find a comfortable position. Then, have her sit up while you place hot stones in a custom pattern on the table below her. Cover them with a towel before asking her to lie back down. If the stones are too warm for her liking, add another layer as a buffer.
2. With a soft, healing touch, create an energy connection by placing warm stones along the client’s seven chakra points. (Check out a guide to the location of the chakras here.)
3. Use more warm stones—along with eucalyptus oil—to massage the client's neck, chest, cranial area, scalp, arms and legs.
4. Synchronize your breath with hers to encourage positive emotions.
5. Remove the stones from the client's chakras. Ask her to sit up once again, and clear the stones from the massage table. Then, prompt her to turn over onto her stomach.
6. Replace those stones with warm ones over the client's chakras to maintain a steady temperature, and use the extras to massage her back and body. Slowly conclude the massage by delicately removing the stones.
7. End with a gentle awakening touch to bring the client out of her meditative state.

For more protocols, please see our recurring Star Treatment column.

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