Hot Stone Massage in Practice: Setup, Placement, and Treatment Planning

The quality of a hot stone massage is determined before the client lies down — by the stone preparation, temperature management, placement sequence planning, and intake consultation. This workbook-style course focuses on exactly those preparation and execution elements, giving you structured tools and decision frameworks for delivering a consistently safe and effective hot stone treatment. By the end of this course you will be able to set up a hot stone station safely and systematically, conduct a targeted client intake for thermotherapy contraindications, plan a stone placement and working stone sequence for a full-body treatment, monitor and adjust stone temperature throughout a session, and document the treatment with appropriate clinical and service notes. What you will learn: - Pre-session setup checklist: heater preparation, stone sorting by size, temperature testing procedure, and table layout - Client intake for hot stone: contraindication screening questions, temperature preference assessment, and consent documentation - Stone placement sequence guide: full-body layout with notes on anatomical rationale for each placement position - Working stone technique guide: grip options, pressure considerations, and integration with effleurage and petrissage - Temperature monitoring during the session: re-testing stones, responding to client feedback, and stone rotation protocol - Adapting the sequence: modifications for pregnancy-adjacent timing, circulatory sensitivity, and temperature preference - Post-session stone care: cleaning, sanitizing, and storage procedures - Session documentation template: treatment record including stones used, placements, client response, and follow-up notes Each module is built around a fully worked scenario, from intake through to post-session documentation. Blank templates follow each worked example. A reference card summarizing temperature ranges, contraindications, and placement positions is provided for use during preparation. This course is written for massage and spa therapists building competence in hot stone treatments. Basic massage skills and a familiarity with thermotherapy principles are recommended beforehand. This course is educational; supervised hands-on training, facility-specific safety protocols, and applicable professional certification must be completed independently.