Hot Stone Massage in NYC Chinatown

We use smooth basalt stones held in a water heater beside the table, so they come out at a steady working temperature rather than cooling between strokes. The therapist tests each stone on their own forearm, then on your lower back, before using it along the spine.

Roughly the first third of the session is stone gliding with oil, which is when the heat reaches muscle; after that the therapist parks warm stones either side of the spine and works by hand on the shoulders and neck while the heat keeps holding those areas open. Smaller stones are used under the shoulder blade and along the base of the skull.

This is the treatment to choose in a Chinatown winter, or when your back is stiff but sore to press — the heat does the work that pressure would otherwise have to do. It is also the quietest of our body treatments; most guests fall asleep around the halfway point, and we do not wake you to talk.

Heat is not for everyone: skip hot stone if you have neuropathy or reduced skin sensation, uncontrolled high blood pressure, an inflamed or freshly sunburnt area, or are pregnant. Deep tissue tuina or an oil massage is the safer pick, and we will say so at check-in.