We are simply the feet that ‘walk’ the stones on the body” –
Jenny Ray, Stone Medicine Teacher.
As a student of Jenny’s Stone Medicine’s course I often heard the term stone walker. It is the term used by Mary Nelson, the American lady who converted the Native American way of using the stones to heal the body into a western model for clinics and spas in 1994. So much reverence and respect is given to these stones that you often wonder if they are living beings.
For Native Indians – they are just that – living beings no less valuable than the Trees that stand tall and proud- and so called the “Standing Tall Ones”, the animals that roam the land – “the Four Legged Ones”, humans that walk on two feet not four – “the Two Legged Ones”, the birds that fly high above us – “the Winged Ones”, the insects and reptiles – “the Creepie Crawlies” and the rocks – “the Stone People”. All are interrelated which reminds the Native Indians to be humble and allow only the “Creator” to be the healer.
Everything on Mother Earth is alive. Everything the Creator has made carries an energy that comes from the life force, the Great Mystery, Great Spirit or `Wakan Tonka Tankashilah` meaning Sacred or Holy Spirit Grandfather.
A Stone Medicine treatment is based on the original Lastone Hot and Cold Massage adapted by Mary Nelson from Arizona. The yin and yang of these stones creates balance and warmth – the ideal environment for healing in the body to take place. The hot dark basalt stones alone create too much heat which causes the body to work harder to cool down, much like adding some cold to freshen up a steamy hot bath that you have been wallowing in for half an hour or so. These basalt stones are from the volcanic regions of Native America and have been lovingly tumbled to smoothe off their edges. There are about 50 used in one treatment, each one having a place and a role. Grandpa stone is the sturdy one that takes pride of place on the sacrum when you lie on your front while Grandma stone sits in the heater overseeing her “children”. Chunky hand held ones, spinal flat stones, small flat face stones and the tiniest stones that sit between the toes all make up the set. The heat from these stones represent Summer (perhaps not an English one but a Mediterranean one!). After a little heat is lost on the body, they become Autumn.
In contrast the cold marble stones are the feminine energy in my mind – pure and white. These represent the Winter and through careful application create a warmer sensation than their partners the basalt. They surprise the body into pumping lots of blood to the area they have been added – so creating a place for reducing any inflammation in the body and healing any distressed tissues. Like the basalt, they come in all shapes and sizes. The half moons nestle into the neck ridding the body of neck tension, the heart shaped stone sits on the heart chakra, while the pillow stone is a place to rest a weary head. Spring time comes to the body after a few moments of cold on the body.
Stone Medicine is a ceremony. The therapist becomes the ceremony – smudging sage in preparation for treatment, clearing the aura with the feathers, and dancing with the stones. Everyone wears a “mask” at some point in their day – as a Mother, Wife, Father, Husband, or a Worker. Gently removing this mask allows the body the freedom to be open to the stones and their dance across the body. Native Indians or shamans are led by their Power Animals. Specific animals resonate with them and act as “guides”. So into the treatment comes the animals, the sounds of the crickets as two stones slide side by side, the dainty steps of the deer carefully placing one foot in front of the other while the horse trots and the bear takes big steps with a large paw like stone. Together they bring a different energy to the ceremony.
If you are curious to see what the treatment is like, give me a call on 07906186912 or 01491 577480.
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