How to Heat Hot-Rocks in a Crock-Pot

If you’re a massage therapist looking for a practical way to heat basalt stones for hot stone massages, then look no further than your own kitchen for a practical solution. Your Crock-Pot may be a great vehicle for making slow-cooked pastas and meat dishes, but you’ll also embrace it for the ease it provides in heating the round, smooth stones for your massage clients. Although “hot-rock massages” have been employed for thousands of years, they are enjoying a revival of sorts -- leading massage therapists to transplant their Crock-Pot from the kitchen to the massage therapy room, and with inspiring results.

Instructions

• 1

  Set the Crock-Pot to the “high” setting about 30 minutes before your client arrives. Just as with cooking food in the Crock-Pot, it is more expeditious to quickly raise the temperature in the Crock-Pot and then lower it to reach an optimal temperature.

• 2

  Arrange the stones in the bottom of the Crock-Pot, in the reverse order you will need them for the massage. If you place the larger stones on a client’s back first, arrange them last (or on top of) other stones in the Crock-Pot.

• 3

  Cover the stones with water.

• 4

  Test the temperature of the water with a thermometer after 30 minutes. It should register at about 140 degrees.

• 5

  Reduce the temperature setting to “low” to achieve an optimal temperature of between 120 and 130 degrees. Wait 15 minutes and then test the water temperature again with a thermometer.

• 6

  Pour a bit of cool water in the Crock-Pot if the water is too warm.

• 7

  Keep the Crock-Pot on the “low” setting until the massage is complete.