Hot Stone Massage in Fort Collins.
Heated basalt stones worked into a session — warmth that loosens tight tissue before the hands do. Something I bring in mostly through the colder months, or any time you ask for it.
Heat as a tool, not a gimmick.
Hot stone isn't a separate kind of massage so much as a way of using heat.
Smooth basalt stones, warmed and worked over the muscles, raise the tissue temperature so it softens and gives more easily - which means the hands-on work that follows can go deeper with less force. The warmth itself is calming: it brings blood to the area, eases the sense of tightness, and settles the nervous system the way a hot bath does at the end of a cold day.
I use the stones seasonally and by request - most often in winter, when the heat lands differently, and any time you want that deeper, radiant warmth as part of the work. It's less about the stones themselves than what the heat lets the rest of the session do.
Hot stone isn't for every session.
But when it's the right fit, the warmth does something the hands can't do alone.
Dense, chronic tension
Years of desk work, locked-up rhomboids and traps that don't give easily. Sustained heat softens dense tissue in a way that's hard to reach with pressure alone - so when the hands follow, the work lands deeper.
Cold-weather bracing
Mid-winter, when the whole body is clenched against the cold and everything feels a step tighter. Heat is often what unlocks the rest - which is why the stones come out most in the Fort Collins winter.
Low-back tightness
The QL and glute med (the deep muscles of the lower back and hip) often respond well to weighted heat first, softening the area before the deeper hands-on work begins.
When you just want the warmth
Sometimes the goal isn't a specific problem - it's an hour of deep, radiant warmth and a nervous system that finally settles. On a hard week, that's reason enough.
An integrated session, with stones when they fit.
The stones are part of the work, not the whole work. Most sessions blend stones with hands-on technique throughout.
Intake & assess
What's going on, where the tension is, whether the body is warm or cold today. We decide together whether stones earn their place in this session.
Warm the tissue
Standard Swedish warm-up; stones come in once the body is open. Stones are tested against my forearm before application.
Stones + hands
Placed stones provide sustained heat to dense areas; my hands work the rest of the body. Stones move as the session progresses.
Warm finish
Stones come off; closing passes across the body. Drink more water than usual afterward - heat work pulls more out of you than it feels like.
What people ask before booking.
How do I add hot stones to a session?
Just mention it when you book - or ask on the table. The stones come out most through the Fort Collins winter, but they're available any time you want that deeper, radiant warmth as part of the work. No add-on charge, no upsell.
Can I book hot stone as a standalone session?
Book any session and ask for the stones - the heat works best woven through the hands-on work rather than replacing it. A 60- or 90-minute session with stones throughout is the closest thing to a "full hot stone massage" I offer, and most clients find it lands deeper than the spa version.
Are the stones safe?
Yes - basalt stones are heated in a temperature-controlled bath, tested against my own skin before application, and never placed directly without a barrier layer. I will not work over recent surgical sites, neuropathy, or impaired sensation areas with heated stones.
When do the stones make the biggest difference?
For dense, chronic muscle tension where the warmth lets the work reach a depth hands alone cannot - locked-up traps and rhomboids after years at a desk, a stubborn low back, or mid-winter when the whole body is braced against the cold.
Where the stones fit best.
Hot stones are rarely the headline - the warmth does its best work inside a longer session.
Book a hot stone session.
Used as a clinical tool inside the session, not a spa add-on. Mention it when you book.