At the beginning of your hot stone therapy, smooth water-heated basalt stones will be carefully applied to key points on the body. This direct heat relaxes the muscles, which means that the massage itself is more effective and intense than it would be otherwise. The size of the stones varies, according to which part of the body they're being used on.

The stones are coated in fragrant oil to increase your sense of relaxation and calm. When oil is smoothed gently onto the body, each stone in turn can be worked along by the therapist's hands. Most therapists will alternate the application of the warm stones with frozen or cooling marble ones, aimed at stimulating the nervous system.

After a vigorous game of Football, players will often sit in ice-baths to reduce muscle swelling; the less extreme among us have a hot bath! It is generally accepted that treatments of warmth and cold are beneficial, and help to soothe an aching body. What we often need to do is combine both hot and cold. There's a method behind the apparent madness of leaping from a toasty sauna into an icy pool - and hot stone therapy uses the same principle. The hot stones expand the blood vessels and the cold ones constrict them. The warm stones sedate the nervous system and the cooler stones gently wake it up again.

The combination of relaxing warmth and refreshing coolness is thought to encourage the body to detoxify and heal, increasing lymph flow and helping to flush out waste. The body becomes relaxed in a much shorter space of time, and the therapist can focus on a deep working of the tissues using both stone and hand strokes.

As with all therapies, you should never underestimate the feel-good factor. Hot stone massage will make you feel nurtured, pampered and special.

You'll be able to undress and lie down in private, while your therapist waits outside. When you're ready, she will place the warm, oiled stones on many different acupressure points around your body, perhaps even tiny ones between each of your toes. As you relax, you may start drifting off into a dreamy state and stop counting or noticing where the stones are being arranged.

Your therapist will then use a variety of strokes and techniques to massage you, working the stones and her hands over the kinks in your muscles. The massage may be quite strong, although you are unlikely to feel the intensity since your muscles will be relaxed by the stones. The therapist will probably alternate between the hot basalt stones and much colder, marble ones.

As your body sinks further into a state of relaxation, you may even stop noticing the extreme change in temperature. Your treatment is likely to last about an hour; plenty of time for melting away all your knots, aches and worries.

You will probably feel deeply relaxed and meditative after your massage. Some people have reported closing their eyes and seeing bright colors. Enjoy the afterglow, float slowly back to the real world and re-hydrate your body by sipping plenty of water.