In the hustle and bustle of modern city life, it is easy to lose touch with the rhythm of nature and the mind-body harmony that goes along with it. Thankfully help is at hand courtesy of the new Five Elements LaStone Therapy at The Peninsula Hong Kong, a holistic therapy that seeks to balance guests physically, spiritually and emotionally while easing tension and bringing lasting relief to stressed muscles.
An exclusive collaboration between The Peninsula Hong Kong and geo-thermal therapy experts LaStone, the Five Elements LaStone Therapy uses stones of alternating temperatures and a treatment ritual that blends LaStone’s unique ethos with the ancient traditions of the East to create an experience that offers maximum stress reduction and deep relaxation.
Priced at HK$ 1,600* for 90 minutes, or HK$ 2,000* for two hours, the Five Elements LaStone Therapy uses a variety of coloured stones that represent each of the five elements as well as Mother Earth herself. Each of the basalt stones is harvested in Mexico, and they are then tumbled naturally to give them a round, smooth finish.
The hot placement stone used in the treatment is red and represents the fire element (heart and vitality), while the warm stone is green and signifies the wood element (liver and will power). The neutral stone, which is at body temperature and is placed against the forehead during the treatment, is white in colour and relates to the metal element (lungs and communication), and there are two cool stones – one marble/beige, the other blue – which represent earth and water (kidneys and emotions), respectively. Finally, there is the hot basalt stone with a high iron content, which is used for melting away tension and stress through massaging and represents Mother Earth.
*Subject to 10% service charge
By using the stones, and contrast therapy which alternates between hot and cold, therapists are able to achieve better results with fewer strokes: one stroke with a hot basalt stone, for example, equates to five strokes by hand, while a stroke with a cool sardoniyx stone is equal to nine strokes by hand. This means that the Five Elements LaStone Therapy achieves more concentrated benefits than comparable therapies in a shorter timeframe. All therapists are expertly trained to the highest standard, meaning that the treatment is safe for all skin types and that guests’ muscles and deep tissue are treated with the utmost care and attention.
The treatment begins with the ritual cleansing of the face and body. Guests then lie on a bed of hot and chilled stones, the former to help relieve stress and the latter to reduce toxins, resulting in a profound sense of lightness and well being. The five placement stones charged with labradorite are laid individually on different parts of the body for energetic connection, which helps to release the tension and inflammation in the muscles. Hot basalt stones, which are Yang in nature, and alternating cool nephrite stones, which are Yin in nature, are used to massage the legs, arms, back, waist and face. Therapists then employ special deep massage penetrating techniques such as tapping, spinal spirals and cocooning to bring about total relaxation, a greater mind-body balance and an energetic connection between the stones, the guest and the therapist.