How to Differentiate Your Practice with Stone-Based Specialty Services

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How to Differentiate Your Practice with Stone-Based Specialty Services Webinar Transcription

Hello everyone! Welcome in! Thank you so much for being here with us today. We'd love to know

where we're tuning in from, so please use the chat. I am from sunny St. Petersburg, Florida.

Ooh. Now the sun shining today. Phoenix, welcome. Michigan, very cool. Arizona, wow, amazing.

Thanks everyone for being here. We can go ahead and kick things off. Hello everyone and welcome

to the Massage Magazine Insurance Plus webinar series in session. You might also

recognize us as Massage Magazine or MIP for short. I'm Shannon and I'm super excited to be

co-host today as we celebrate Massage Therapists Appreciation Month week. If you're new to MIP,

we're an all-inclusive liability insurance provider for Massage therapists, body work professionals,

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coverage that gives you peace of mind in your practice, but we don't stop at insurance.

We also offer a wide range of exclusive member benefits, including discounts on industry products,

up to 50 free CE hours with Neil Asher and other amazing continuing education opportunities,

and also a wide range of valuable resources tailored with the Massage and Body Work

community in mind. To learn more, I'll be dropping our website link in the chat for easy finding.

Just some quick housekeeping tips. Quick reminder that today's webinar is one hour and it is being

recorded. The recording will be emailed to everyone by tomorrow. Today's webinar is also eligible

for CEU credit. Instructions for earning the CEU will be included in the post webinar follow-up

email along with the full recording. We encourage you to ask questions, so feel free to use the

chat or Q&A feature and we'll be monitoring both throughout. We'll also reserve the last 10 minutes

for a Q&A session. With that said, let's dive in. The topic of today's webinar is how to

differentiate your practice with stone-based specialty services. Please join me in welcoming our host

Shelly Hagen, Massage Therapist, Educator, and Co-owner of Course Zones. Welcome Shelly and

thank you so much for tuning in to MIPS In Session webinar series.

This is so very exciting to be here. My name is Shelly Hagen and I've been doing massage therapy

for 25 years, so more than half of my life. Let me go ahead and pull up our slides that we'll be

doing today so that we can have something to get besides myself. So welcome again and

really, I think as massage therapists, we are always looking for ways that we can

make ourselves self-stand out in our services, but also something that we can do that also can

give us longevity to our careers. So with Course Zones, we have been able to merge the two most

highly requested services, your deep tissue session that people are asking for with that

facial work, but also a heat or a cold. And so with that, stones come in perfectly for that.

And so I want to take you through just understanding stone work, but then also understanding

what is course stone and what are you doing with this? And how is this different? So let's just get

started a little bit more about myself just so you can understand who you're learning from.

So again, I have been doing massage for 25 years. I love innovation. Anything that I can find that

can make our work easier along Jevity of our career, but also that our clients are very happy with

and they're re-booking. That really interests me. And so I'm always looking for these new

things, these new opportunities, and that is how I get involved with course stone. So it was about

five years ago. I have two professional massage offices, so I have a team of approximately 30

therapists that I work with. And because I say that, just because I want you to know that I

understand the plight of the therapist, the cleanup time, the struggles of getting the quality of

service that these clients are looking for. So when I was leafing through a magazine and saw the

core stones, I was thinking, okay, well, this is very interesting because currently we have our

pulled pork roaster, which is our water bath. I think all of you are familiar with the pulled pork

roaster. And we also had our river rock and we were running into a lot of struggles with heating

and with hygiene and all of the above. And when I saw these stones and the way that they were

shaped, it really intrigued me. So I thought, well, let's order a set. I turned them free on my team

to have them give it a whirl. And they came back and said, Shelly, we we've thrown the river rock

back into the roof. This is what we want. And I said, oh, so I ordered ordered a set waiting for

them to come. And at the time, Dale Grust was the was the owner and creator. And she called me. And

we got to talk because she had a had to ask some questions about the order. She was in the process

of retirement. And she really wanted core stones to continue. So by the end of the phone call,

here I am in Fargo, North Dakota. I had a plane ticket booked out to Newport, New York to go

train with her and take a look at her, her operation of what she was doing. And and then,

of course, then purchased the company. So for the past four years, going on five, my husband and

I, Scott, we've worked the company together. We were then the proud new owners of core stone.

And then come taking it from there, figuring out how we can get this movement. How can we get

this change of mindset? Because what I've found is a lot of therapists have abandoned their work

with stones simply because of the hurdles, the struggles that they were having. So here we are

educating therapists across the United States and internationally, Canada, Canada counts

to be go international. I also have a massage therapy school. We have a 750-hour program in Fargo,

North Dakota, but also in a 1100-hour program. And so we pull a lot of information from innovation

into our school. And I also do consulting with therapists just because I've been at this long enough,

25 years. It is the School of Heart Knocks. That is my certificate. And if there's anything that I

ever can do to help another therapist, I will do so because that is the goal together. We achieve

more. So one of our objectives for today, what with our work together, we want to get the most

out of this hour. So let's talk about what we want to recover. So we want to talk about safety,

safety and your tools. So whatever tools you're using, we want to talk about that, how to heat

them. Also, all tools are not created equal. So we want to make sure that our tools are ergonomic

or how are we holding them so that they are ergonomic in our hand. If they are not, then we are creating

more fatigue and now we're not winning. We also want to talk about body mechanics. If you are not in the

right frame or working with the smarter, not harder mindset, there you have again struggles

to keep your longevity in your practice. Also, we're going to talk about different techniques

that you, why Corestone was developed and how we can use them in a myofascial trigger point,

talking about using stones in a full body routine versus a spot treatment. Also, how stones can be

used hotter cold. Our core stones are both hot or cold use. And so the advantages of your body

work and using those temperatures. But also, this is the one that I really like to touch on as well,

is increasing our income with our new service. So right now we all know that everything is

happening across the United States, prices tend to be to be going up the costs and as massage

therapists that we need to keep on pace with our, with our charging of our sessions. So Corestone's

has definitely become one of those, those unique benefits in that adding this to your sessions.

Now you have something to give when you are increasing your price. So that is one thought

process. There is quite a few of them and in setting your pricing, but that is one that

therapists have told me time and time again that they are so thankful that now they have something

to offer extra in their session and have a reason to have that increase in pricing.

So we can touch about that later. So why would you use Corestone specifically in your work? Well,

you want to save your fingers, save your thumbs, save your wrists and shoulders.

As you can see in the picture here, we have all these different shapes and they're all designed

to fit as an extension of your hand. So when we talk about our classes, upgrade your hands,

that is the reason we're upgrading them in the sense that you're creating new and better hands.

Right? So you have that ability to use that that thinar eminence and then the pocket of your

hand. So when you are doing your movements, it is no hand gripping. Okay? And we are pinning the stone

between our client and allowing for easier work. Corestone's allow the service provider to target.

We can target trigger points with direct accuracy, deep layers of tissue without excessive force

on us, and we can roll, compress, cross fiber friction, address fascia with ease, and really

get the alignment of those tissues. Also, Corestone's is made of soapstone and soapstone is not soap.

So a lot of people ask me if it's going to dissolve or disintegrate and that is not.

It is soapstone because it has a smooth silky feel to it. So you have the ability to use very,

very, very little product. So when you do that, we are working with a tool with intention,

a tool that is sinking into the fascia layers, gripping the fascia so that we can really strip

through those areas, work through those deep adhesions, and really save on these. Okay? So it also

allows a more thorough treatment of tough, intense areas, axillary borders, and subscap work. I really

enjoy working with these two because of the length of the stone. It provides space between you and

your client. So if I'm going to be doing some work off of the sternum for because I want to

address the pecs, I totally can do that because now I have a length of stone. I'm draping modestly,

and now I can roll, pivot, and do some frictioning that before would seem a little bit invasive.

Also, because a lot of times I don't care how short you clip your fingernails. You still can feel

fingernails. So if anybody is trying to get into your subscap work, subscapularis in there,

and now in the armpit region, now you are feeling these pokey fingernails, not anymore.

We simply use a stone rolling, pivoting, and it's just so luxurious. Then we also have the use of

heat or coal. So when I'm teaching and I'm out and about, I hear this all the time. My client is

always too hot. My client is always too cold. And so to have the ability to use a tool, and sometimes

I will just warm it slightly so that it's above that cool temperature so that I can have my client

at that perfect what they need, and really allowing you to work with the temperatures and the circulation

as well to getting those nutrients to the tissue to help healing. So lots of benefits of using

these in your work. Now, when swinging back to when I originally came about with stones,

they were all brought over from New Pulse, New York to Fargo, North Dakota, and with them came

three pulled pork roasters. And these pulled pork roasters came along, and I was instructed,

okay, now when you are teaching, what you're going to do is you're going to put three roasters

at the front of your classroom. Everybody's going to come, they're going to scoop their stones out,

and then they're going to take their stone one by one back to their table. And I had already had

a lot of experience with a water heating source and really having a lot of struggles simply

because the time that it would take me in the morning to get them warmed up. Also, after you were

used your stone, I couldn't put it back into the water because now the water would be contaminated.

So the time in between really got to be a burden and the other thing to note too with stone properties

with your basalt stone, it is a porous stone. So with that, that means that you need to really

take time to clean, scrub, sanitize, to get the pathogens out of those pores. Soapstone on the

other hand is a non-porous stone. So simply wiping it down the surface, you don't have to be scrubbing,

you don't have to be soaking, and that was going to be a huge win. So from there, I thought,

okay, well what else is there out there that I can use to really, really effectively and safely.

So let's talk about safety. So what I found was a lot of people were using kitchen appliances. So

a crock pot of some sort, a pancake griddle. We have a towel warmer. I was there. I did that

because I was doing the whole, I'm going to save money. I'm going to use my hot towel warmer.

But what we found was the, they would really, really heat up the stones way too hot and way

too fast. And now when we went to go get them, so whether you're opening your towel cavity, we had

to have oven mitt. So now we have, I was having team members get burned. Now this is where the

danger comes in for working with your client because all your clients have different sensory

and they, and then of course, if you can't hold it, you should not be putting it anywhere near a

client. So, you know, we'll talk about that too. So we thought I was, I purchased every single device

that I could possibly find because I was like this, we have got to, you know, there has to be some

new innovation. And I was not finding it. So I thought, okay, what am I going to do? So I came

up with a few different hacks and by, and, and trying to, trying to put this all together.

And what did I want? Okay. These, these are the features that I wanted. I wanted an auto timer off.

I wanted something that would not, if it, if I would leave the office at night, that it would

automatically turn off, that I wouldn't be laying in bed wondering, did I turn off my

XYZ? Because every morning when I come to the office, I know I will find a towel warmer on,

I will find a table warmer on. And it's just, it's just happens because we're busy people.

But I want it. So what I created. So with this invention of mine, I created from one hour to six

hours, you could have it auto time. So it'll just turn off. Now, this is the question I always get.

Well, Shelley, my, my day is longer than six hours. I, so this isn't going to work. And I will

raise my hand back and say, well, if you just gotten again, now you can work for 12 hours.

So I am not limiting you to a six hour work day. Oh, no. So you just simply hit the button again.

And now you have another, another six hours, one to six hours of your day. Also, I didn't want

water. I wanted something that would not require slime, scum, and sloshing because I just didn't

have time for that. So something without water, I wanted a silent control so that when I touched

it, it wouldn't be it would be very quiet. I wanted it to be very, very easy to clean.

So with that, I created a silicone top that fits over the top of this. So, so when you touch it,

when your hand touches down onto this, this warmer, it does not burn. It is, it is quite lovely

in the sense that if a customer comes walking up and touches them and goes,

you don't have to freak out because they're not going to burn themselves.

I also wanted something that would regulate temperature that I could manage the temperature

so that I wasn't riding the rails of this too hot. And then all of a sudden it was just too cold.

I wanted it so that I could open open source, no lid, use reheat, use reheat. So then when I got

to the end of the session, I would only have the amount of stones that I used to clean. So it wasn't

anymore having 30 to 40 stones avalanching into my sink. And then when you have more practitioners

with you, now you have a million stones falling into the sink. And then who didn't clean their stones?

Again, that's, that's for the HR webinar. So we'll save that one for later.

But also not only with the controlling of temperature, I wanted it to be compatible with other

tools because with our work that we do, we should have, we should think of ourselves as a chef and

we're creating these recipes. And each recipe is unique to each one of our clients. So to think

that one tool or one avenue is going to be the only thing is shortsighted. So I, this is not

created to be a one trick pony. This can be compatible with your Himalayan salt, your bamboo

tools. Now my one of my favorites is heating up the silicone cups on it because it just heats the

rim so nicely. And with that heat, you get this beautiful, beautiful, beautiful

traction with the fascia. Also anybody that does anything with, with lotions or creams,

you can put it in a silicone bowl and heat up your lotions and potions so that you can be using

those during your session as well. So with that, the ability to control the heat, not ride the rails,

open warmer, no cling clang of a lid, cling, cling, cling, cling, and then people always ask me,

is this like a, like a going to a gas station and you see the hotdogs that are rolling on the roller?

Do you know, do you have to roll them like, like that? And absolutely not. With, with the stone,

it heats all the way through. So it's not like you have to flip them like a pancake or anything,

and it does not heat up your room either. So those are some huge, huge benefits and why I called

that 1-800-Invent invention. So I don't know if you've ever had it, have seen those. And I called

them, called them up and got connected then with a engineer and manufacturer so that we could bring

core stones in to the world and this warmer. So talking about temperature and safety,

so again, managing that temperature and safety, we want to make sure that you remember that if you

can hold the stone, it's ready to use. So I don't want to hear anybody say, I'm going to use a

potholder or I'm going to like go really, really fast. Oh, I'll just move it super fast. No, you

cannot move a too hot of stone fast enough. And that also goes with cold. You do not want to

get in there and and shock a client with a too cold of a stone. So, so when we cool our stones,

we will put them in the fridge. There is no need to put it in a freezer. They also will feel

organically cold at room temperature. So that's another advantage to not have to have a lot of equipment

and people will you will use them right room temperature and they'll say, wow, that's really

nice and nice and cool. So do not hold them with a potholder. Do not think that you can move

them fast enough because you can ruin a service with one ill temperature stone. Okay, because every

time that you come near that client again, they're going to be flinching and wondering, oh my goodness,

what is this going to be now? And we don't want to give them post-traumatic stress. So always

communicating with them also remembering that the upper shoulders and deltoid area is going to be

more open to your temperatures. Where is this low back region? You might as well yell clear,

like cliche, right? We don't want that with our clients. We want to be able to ease them into

the parasympathetic nervous response. We do not want them in flight or fight. Okay, so communicating

with them, adjusting that temperature. And I like to start out with my with my heat. I will start

out cooler and move up to what they what the client might request versus starting out where I think

that the temperature like, oh, I really like it up here. And sometimes they that will be way too hot

for a client. And you know, it doesn't feel like that at all to you. Okay, so how I've developed

to a communication with my client is putting together a communication chart. Now, the reason I

have done this and I can provide you copies with this as well is because numbers do not have an

emotion. And I don't know if it happens in your area, but it sure does in our Minnesota,

North Dakota, nice. How's that feeling? Fine. Good. And so what do I, how's that session? It's fine

argument, right? However, the client leaves, they, they then, they leave me a review, worst massage

ever XYZ. And I it's so difficult because I would have gladly done any adjustments they would have

needed. And I, I am not a mind reader. I, I do feel like I'm intuitive to my client. And I'm,

I'm watching for the cues and I'm, I'm looking for the twitches and the extra breaths and things.

But sometimes they just are, they're so worried about hurting my feelings. So I was like, no way.

We have got to, we have got to take the error out of this because if we are not,

we're not meeting their expectations and then exceeding their expectations, we are not going

to be getting our returners. And it is so much easier to keep the clients that we currently have

than constantly trying to go out and to find different clients. So again, you use what you

find, but this is, that works, but this is what I really, really educate my clients on. So a one

to 10 for pressure. A one is way too light of a pressure. Are you even at work today? A 10 is the

WWE. This is like coming from the top ropes with the elbow into the, the, the, the, the Paris finals

or the glute way too much. We're, we're then putting them into that, that flight or fight because

now they're fighting, they're guarding. And now we are not working together. We're working against

each other. So a six or a seven. So six, seven. And I, I kind of try to tell my students that I take,

I've taken credit for that movement of the six, seven, but it, it just kind of happened that way.

So a six is a perfect relaxation pressure. A seven is their perfect deep tissue session.

Because I'm sure you've all had it happen where people come in and they're like,

give me the deepest pressure that you could possibly give me. And so you're out stretching in the

back. You're in the, in the break room ready to bring the heat and you come into the room and

oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. And so before you know it, the whole session, you've been, you've done like a

two or a three number for them. And, but to them, that's a seven. Okay. So, so the same thing,

somebody comes in, oh, I just want a nice, nice relaxation. I just don't want anything too crazy

today. And I'm thinking, Oh, okay, good. Cause I've just had, you know, three others that have

wanted me to, you know, bring the heat. And now all of a sudden they're like, well, you can use more.

Well, you, it's more. And before I know it, I'm practically had my foot on the wall. And I am

struggling for gear life. So subjective people's what they're looking for and closing that communication

gap is so important. So when I'm communicating, I can simply say, what number is that for you?

And they'll say, it's good. I'm like, it's great. I am so glad it is good. But can you put, give me

a number for that? And they'll say, Oh, well, it's a five. And I'm like, okay, good. Good. I need

dial two up to be able to get to their ideal pressure that they're looking for. Then I do that.

It's two clicks. Now I'm in the zone and they are so happy as opposed to a little bit more. Well,

how much is a little bit more? You're getting my picture. So this happens with the cold and the

hot we want to make sure that if it's going to be a little on the cooler side for them, it would be

a six, a seven would be that perfect, nice, warm temperature. A 10 is crazy hot. A one is super

cold. And of course, if you were going to be doing contrasting, which is a class that we do,

you know, we are using them quite chilly. So, so it's good to have that ability to close those gaps.

And just looking at using hot and cold, just in the contrast, the physiological effects and

clinical applications, we know that heat has healing benefits, enhancing tissue pliability,

reducing resistance to pressure. So really you get somebody that comes in and you feel like they

are just, it's like a just ting ting ting their muscles off getting some heat down there and then

getting a heated tool. Now you are just relaxing the guarding reduces the that that pliability comes

into play. We also have people that come in and they need cold. So cold also can help desensitize,

but also constrict the blood vessels so that we then bring some heat as well. So now we get that

vasodilation, vasoconstriction happening, and now we're getting that healing effect. Also sensory

input, definitely working with the nervous system with our heat and cold, clinical applications,

we have the trigger point that we want to get to, we have the hypertonic muscles with tender areas,

and then of course, our pre and post manual therapies working with those who need that help

with that, with the pumping for muscle soreness. So cleaning, so cleaning our tools,

with course done, you can use anything to clean them. And the reason why I give you this chart is

because it I really didn't know until I started working with with cleaning and and you know COVID

too, brought a lot of of information forward. But having something such as we use a prevention

wipe with our with our core stones, and because I do that, one minute turnover, one minute kill time.

So it's a hydrogen peroxide derivative, and it can get to all the different pathogens that would

be potentially then with our soapstone, of course, it's just a nice wipe. And no health hazards,

it's not taking color out of my scrubs, you can use it on your table, your door, whatever.

People always ask me, can I use my Lysol, my Clorox, my whatever, absolutely, just pay attention

to kill time. So kill time means how long it needs to be wet to kill your pathogens. And so if it's

say we are looking at the Clorox, it's a four minute kill time. So what that means is we have

wipe it for one minute, wait, wait, wait, wipe it for another minute, wait, wait, wait,

wipe, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. So for me, that's three minutes, too much waiting,

because I am a squirrel on Mountain Dew. So I am moving and grooving. And the ability now with my

session now, I can keep I can change out my tool and have it ready for be ready for my next customer

within my 15 minute turnover window. So that's another value to me because now I am saving my hands,

my clients work is more effective, and I haven't wasted a ton of time dingonging around washing

things at a sink. So again, just this is something great to know just for cleaning in general.

So the different shapes of our stones, the different huts, depending upon hand size,

and the and what type of work you're doing. And so we have our baton, and this is 2.2 pounds,

the benefit of working with the the weight of the stone already means that you are the client

will feel pressure and will feel like you are working, even when you're just simply rolling it on

quads, hamstrings, glutes, upper traps, sub occipital traction. So as work, this one's phenomenal for

that. It's simply just putting it right into the so as and letting it just the weight sink alone,

and then and then once we have it have it sunk in, then what I call is stir the pot. So now you are

moving your arm is just slightly letting that that warm the tissue and there's no guarding.

The smaller serenity stones fit in the hand very nicely. So you can use this as your stone thumb

we have the longer for people with, you know, bigger hands. Again, a stone thumb beveled edge

reflect stones for the feet are too. This one is really nice because of the two rounded ends and

you can really meld into, you know, those trigger points pin and stretch. And then the seven is just

the baby of the baton for smaller areas. And we also have our omni stone and our fascia stone

that are created for your scraping, but also they for your gua sha type techniques,

but they also the heel of the stone is what is the unique part is that it's ergonomic. So it fits,

it just fits like a glove really. A lot of the scraping tools are very thin. So I call it birdie

fingers. So when I'm teaching, I will remind therapists no birdie fingers because if you are

holding a stone like this, like this, now you are no longer working with the whole part of your

hand. And then you can't have that whole wrist elbow shoulder in that nice supported alignment.

Okay, so holding our stones with these, we are holding them really against our thin our eminence.

Okay, so when we are working and we are our our hands are doing pretty much nothing. And that is

the the biggest thing for my students when I'm teaching them, they will say, Shelly, I feel really

guilty about this. And I'm like, what are you talking about? And they'll say, I feel so guilty

because I don't feel like I'm doing anything. And I'm like, you're welcome. That's exactly what

we're talking about. And the client will be like, wow, I didn't, I can't even, I feel it warmer,

but it just feels like an extension of their hand. And I'm like, yes, that's exactly right. So,

so pushing against the the thin our eminence, keeping the the the wrist and the elbow and the

shoulder and nice alignment. We have also had them looked at by our ergonomist because I wanted that

this to be for sure something that I could say that this will help prevent cumulative trauma for

massage therapists when we're doing our work. So with that, we have the support of an ergonomist

that's that's absolutely recommends this to to help with your hand fatigue. So you can also put the

stone on its side and and hooking the stone in a horizontal and a horizontal way. Okay, so when

you are pushing, now it's simply cradled against the eminences as well. And when you are holding your

omnes or your fascia stones, you hold them like a skipper. So if you've ever gone to the lake,

picked up a stone and chucked a stone into the into the water like a skipper, that is exactly how

you would hold that that one as well. And I really enjoy especially working with these in the feet

because feet are tough. We have the calcaneal bone, we have the fat, the plantar fascia and you can

really do a number on your fingers, whether it's thumb walking or even a knuckle or you're trying to,

you know, a fist, all the different things. So being able to hold this is simply, like I say,

a screwdriver even. So think about using a screwdriver and now you are pressing in and gliding like chalk

and drawing on people and it it just makes life so wonderful.

So how to transition your regular clients to a core stone integrated session or working with

with your stones or or bringing, you know, having them try it because that's I think that's part of

the hardest thing because, you know, people come in and they're like, well, you know, I don't

know if I want to try something new. So what I suggest is doing an inset session demonstration.

So a lot of times I'll say, you know, we let's, I've learned this new technique or I have this new tool

because you want to integrate things that are going to keep you in the in the business longer as well.

But also you want something that they're going to be really happy with. So giving them a little

demonstration and you know, it's like, hey, we're working on this adhesion. Let's let's see how that

feels also explaining how your your work is going to reach deeper muscle layers more efficiently

than just manual pressure and positioning them to the client that it's really a specialized

clinical tool. This is a tool with intention. This is not created to be an efflerage.

Can you efflerage with them? Absolutely. But just just that different framing of the mind

that this is a tool with intention working those special layers, the structure. Also, share that

using the stones are going to help your that your joints ensuring that you can provide high quality

sessions for years to come. You want me to, you know, continue to be able to be your partner for

wellness for years to come. You want to, you know, and it let them know how how wonderful it is for

you to be working with them on them. And also you want to, after a session, suggest, you know,

whether you want to use these in a spot treatment. So a lot of people will will have their their their

tools. And maybe they're working on a scapula. Maybe they're working on a glute and they reserve

them for the specific spot treatments. So they're doing their magic and now they're interweaving

them in absolutely a perfect service. You can also do a signature service. And so of your core

stone sessions. So basically it's stone stone stone with your hand and work in between. But what

we call that is the signature core stone massage. And so that is another opportunity for you to to

elevate and change your mindset and and communicate with your client on on what is going to be most

effective for for their wellness goals. So that's that's really exciting. So I also love some different

scripts that you can, and I can share these with you for, you know, how you can talk to your client

and how you would educate them on on what fascia is, why they would want to, you know, be doing

this different type of service, whether it be hot, whether it be cold, definitely, definitely

ways that you can encourage them to try different things. So during the session, you can you can

you can do a script like I'm going to take just a minute to perform a quick 60 second

core stone assessment of the upper shoulder using a warm stone. And you can just say to them,

notice how the heat immediately relaxes this fascia and really and really talking to them about that.

And this and you can let them know that this allows me to feel the underlying structure,

giving a more precise assessment and immediate relief. And this heat assisted work informs a

much more efficient treatment plan for your next visit. Now the next, you know, some something else

that that comes to mind when I'm going through this, if you haven't worked with tools before,

it could be really scary. And because we have spent so much time creating these eyeballs

in our fingertips, our palpation, and we are at tune with this session, and we have our,

we have our sessions just figured out because we've been performing our art because I always

talk about us as massage therapists as artists in the sense that if you go to one of those painting

classes, if you've ever done that, everybody gets an, an easel, everybody gets a, it gets a,

what do you call them, a frame? No, it's not a frame canvas is the word I'm looking for.

And they'll say, okay, make a bright orange circle for the sun and make the grass, make the,

make the trees. And at the end, everybody turns their easels around and you will have the same concept,

but so many different ideas and nuances that have gone into this art. That is the same thing

with massage therapy you created to create your own art and your, your treatments with your clients.

And just because somebody else learns the same style of what you're doing, you will have a completely

different feeling because each and every one of us is unique. And so with that being said,

we have all of these brushes and with an art, with an art, but the same thing when we're talking

about our corestone work. So each stone or each tool is your brush and how you use it is going to be

unique to your service. So for a lot of people, they haven't used tools. Now all of a sudden,

it's like you've put blind blind folds on your, on your eyeballs of your fingers and people freak

out. And this happens all the time. They're like, Oh my gosh, this is so scary because I know these

are good. I know what I'm doing is really good. And now when I start using a tool that makes me

nervous. And I say, absolutely, I can completely understand why that would be. I understand when,

when you start in massage school, I'm sure it took you more than a couple days to get your palpation

skills done, right? So maybe a couple, maybe for you overachievers, it was day three that you had

your palpation skills down. But for the rest of us, it probably took us a little while into the

program before we really could start feeling things. Now that is going to be the same thing

when you start working with a tool. So it's very important. Number one, I will tell people to use a

scout hand. Okay, so when you are working, send a scout out ahead of your tool. Okay, so that is

going to allow you to do some assessment and people will feel that that it's just very nurturing and

very wonderful. So it's not, you know, we're like, well, well, they think that's weird. No,

absolutely not. So use a scout hand so you can kind of feel along what you're doing. I also

encourage you to really move slow. I think as massage therapists, we tend to be racing the clock.

A lot of times 60 minute sessions are a vapor. And it is so challenging to get to all of these

requests from our clients in 60 minutes. So I can understand people get really

moving and grooving really fast. But I encourage you when you're using your tool to really slow down

because when you do that, you're going to be sinking into the layers. Very little product.

But you're also going to be feeling what's happening underneath and through that tool. And you absolutely

can. But if you're moving too fast, if you're not connecting, you are, you are going to miss

out. And we also want to make sure that we're taking a look at our anatomy, because stone and

bone do not get along. Alright, so when you are working with any type of tool, if you are not

well versed in where your bony landmarks are, we do not want to run into those and create

discomfort. So I have been in sessions before where people will be working on this on my back and

they will hit that superior angle with a scapula and they'll be like, wow, this is like the deepest

knot that I've ever seen in my whole entire life. And I will say to them, oh, well, actually you

have found my scapula. And so that is a bone. So let's not friction. Let's not friction that

anymore. I don't think we need to be going crazy in that area. So watching out for those bony

landmarks, because we want our safety, we want comfort for our client. We also want to maintain

our communication with our client in using that chart. And that way, we are going to be using a

tool too hot, because for the safety purposes as well, because we want to swing back to that.

And really tuning in and targeting those areas that need to have those extra work. We also want

to work within their comfort level. So to sit on an area and friction the heck out of it,

you know, we want to be bringing them into healing, not a healing crisis. So when I talk about

treatments, I really like to visit about a cumulative treatment plan. That means that we

are going to be actively working thinking about how long that it took these people to get to that

state of pathology. And we, as Americans, tend to be on this supersize my fries type of

type of mindset that if a little is good, then let's do a lot. And you know, what happens is

sometimes we can get too aggressive with our work. Now we create, you know, the tissue is inflamed

now. And now we've actually put them in a healing crisis versus bringing them forward. So I really

encourage you to work, find that cumulative effect to have them return, to keep working on them,

to keep bringing them to their, their future goals. So those are just a few ideas. All right, so

clinical, clinical framing. So just some different scripts that you can do,

talking to them about using that heated core stone, letting them know it's an extension of your,

of your hand. And because the thermal properties, you know, you're really able to

take that guarding out of there, creating that efficiency versus just, you know, that pressure,

that's just crazy pressure that you would maybe use with a, with an elbow or a thumb,

and letting them know that it's a specialized clinical tool for your sustained deep release.

So just some things that you can, can visit with them. And also, this, you know, a micro package,

package pitch. And this, again, connects really well with that cumulative effect that you are

creating that, that you can put together some plans that perhaps you are seeing people with

chronic neck issues. They're, they're sitting, lots of different, different issues in that regard

that you have them coming back, not supersizing their fries, and really getting them to, to the

relief they need. The details, you know, a quick overview of where, where these tools come from,

how you would use them, the safety of them. And we also have all kinds of different classes.

Happening, happening throughout the United States and Canada on this, so that you can

really, really get some time to understand and play with them, and see how they're so different

than anything else that is out there. So with that being said, we are now at our Q&A.

Hello, I'm back. Thank you so much, Shelley. That was awesome. We have great feedback in the chat.

Comment from Melania. Appreciate your quarter of a century plus dedication of energetic time and

space. Thank you for your infinite passion. I love that. Also from Jennifer, thank you so much for

all your insight, ensuring from your experience and heart. That's awesome. We love to hear that

wow, great presentation. So cool. Cool. We can go ahead and kick off the Q&A. I know we had a

lot of questions come through while Shelley was giving her awesome presentation. So we will start

with Ashley. When using these stones, are your hand slash fingers still gliding on the skin with

the palm? Or are your fingers lifted just so just the stone is making contact?

It's on how you choose to do your work. The way I teach it is that the stone is making the

contact with the client so that your fingers are just along for the ride, really. They're just

hanging out. So you find your inner lazy, you're compressing in between the client and you're just

gliding along, but also using that whole, that whole ergonomic pressure, it is just wonderful.

That helps people that will use their fingers along with it because they kind of use their

fingers as a scout with it ahead of it. So again, a lot of it comes into just playing with them

and that's what we have a ton of fun. Awesome. Question, how did these compare to synergy stones?

Well, I personally have not used a synergy stone, but I can tell you with ours, we are made of soapstone,

which is the best thermal conductor of a stone. And that's why a lot of people will make their

fireplaces out of them and also cleaning. So they also have a feel to them that grips in your hand.

And so the feedback that I have heard from different therapists is that they enjoy the

course known because of that grip feel and the smaller size to fit ergonomically. That is what I

have heard from people. And then of course, the warmer and how easy it is for cleaning. Yeah.

Awesome. Question from Valerie, which of the stones are fully round versus have a flatish side to them?

So stones are which? What's the advantage? I'm sorry, I didn't hear the question quite

then. Valerie asks, which of the stones are fully round versus have a flatish side to them?

So we have various stones. We have some that are two rounded ends. We have some that have one

beveled edge, one rounded end. And it really kind of comes into what type of work you want to do.

If you're going to be more stripping, you want to get more like a thumb simulation. That's when

you have that beveled edge. So and you just have to look at the different different stones and you'll

see which ones are around and which ones are beveled. Awesome. How long do the stones take to warm

back up after the first use? So it takes about three to five minutes.

So when I and I'm using stone stone stone, then I'll bring my warmer up to a hotter temperature

so it can keep up with me. But when I get to work in the morning, I'll turn my warmer on. It takes

about 10 to 15 minutes. So while I get there, I turn everything on my table warmer, my whatever.

Now I go get my first customer and now I'm ready and they'll be ready within 10 to 15 minutes.

Awesome. Question from Violet. What is a good price for a Corso massage in a salon, not a spa?

Most are therapists who do our work and have the signature session will do at least a $10 add-on

with them and then with their service pricing will at least be a $20 increase in price. So they'll

call it their signature Corso session and then they will have an additional $20 at least. I've seen

some people do more but that would be a moderate increase. Awesome. Question from Patricia. How long

do these stones hold their heat? Should I get all the time? A lot of times it will depend on your

client's temperature of their body as well because sometimes I'll have people come in and they'll

be freezing cold. And so for me to give you like one like this is for me for this amount of time

but then they try it and they're like but my client was cold or my client was hot. What I will

say about five minutes. So it's a it's a good amount of time. It'll feel cooler to you as a

therapist but your client will still say man that still feels nice or warm. So and then of course

when they when you're just heating and using them then you know the next one is already ready.

So there's really no break in between. Awesome. Question from Latisha. Can you give any insight on

considerations or concerns for a mobile massage therapist preparing to incorporate core stones?

The great thing is when with these is you know if you're mobile even you show up at the house

the first thing that I would do is set up my warmer and put my stones on it then get my table out

and start setting up my table putting the sheets on my table so that they'll be ready for you when

when your customer is ready. We also have a carrying case for them so that it's a custom foam

that you put your stones in so when you're done it's just wipe them down stick stick stick stick

click click like a suitcase and out you go the warmer is very light so it would easily be be put and it

cools down you know in a in a good timing so you don't have to it's not like a curling iron you know

when you're like what do I do with this it's still hot I can't put it in a bag it would come down

you know after you are finished with your service by the time you get your table packed up and

organized you'll be ready to pack it up. Awesome. That's a great question though yeah. Great.

Question from Debbie there's two questions. I am from Florida can you provide a CE broker provider

number and CE course number accepted by the Florida Board of Massage. Oh heck yeah we are we

are well into Florida we've got some classes actually coming up we've got one in Jacksonville

and we've got one in Orlando we're very involved with the FSMTA and so yes absolutely we got those

numbers. Awesome and then another question from Debbie which you might have answered this but do

core stones hold heat longer than river rock stones? Yes yes absolutely and that's and that's why we

chose the soapstone because they are an excellent thermal conductor. Awesome and then question from

Kathleen can you heat them to a specific temperature and how long do they retain heat versus basalt

stones. Exact numbers on those like I haven't like beta tested them side by side and then took a

thermometer but what we generally find especially the manufactured stone that you would get you know

out of a catalog that are like they're all uniform they those tend to really cool fast

whereas this is this is legit legit stone that is you know that is manufactured here in the United

States and just cut into ergonomic shapes. Awesome we do have a question Teresa she said great job

do y'all have any kind of deal going on for this week like some kind of discount for a bundle set?

I can we provide it we have provided you Shannon with a link for for our I believe it's 20 percent

excellent yeah wanted to mention it I wanted to answer it mentioned in the call because the discount

that you provided along with the code and the link will be included in the post subinar follow-up email

that everyone will be receiving um so that special offer will be included along with the way that

you can purchase the core stone products. Question yeah I wanted to make a mistake Shannon I was like

oh Shannon answered that one yeah yeah yeah we do have an offer and it will be included in the

email for only people that are here so it will be available to you. We are definitely exclusive

this is a cool kid club yes for sure yes awesome um and then we do have quite a few more questions so

maybe we'll have three more questions and then we will be including uh Shelley's contact information

in the emails please yeah any other specific questions you can definitely reach out to her

directly um we did have a question does the warmer have a case as well well not have a case

but um it would easily fit in a rolling like a travel size rolling suitcase if you were if you

were a mobile person so it fit nicely in there with your sheets and your oils and off you go.

Awesome Patricia asked will you be coming to teach in California anytime soon?

I would love to so send us a message we definitely um we definitely love to um to travel and go to

uh places um so if you can you have some ideas let's chat we'll bring class to you.

Awesome a question from Kathleen how many stones would you need for a full body treatment?

Joy I enjoy the upgrade your handset myself because that is like the full toolkit

it's got um it's got 14 stones in it and it just has everything you need for all the like

nuances of the neck or the fingers or the the big stone for the glutes and everything

could you buy with less absolutely so I really encourage you to find to come to a class find

a class because then you can practice and play with them and see what you like and then we can

figure out what you want so then you just get what you you need for you so that would be one one

piece of advice but otherwise I would do the upgrade your handset because now you know you're

covered from head to toe for all the different things. Awesome uh Gertrude asked do you offer

hands-on sessions in other states like Ohio? Yes we've got a whole bunch of practitioners in Ohio

so then you we can connect you if you want to go to our website you can see who's already a

practitioner and then you can get a session yourself so then you can kind of see what it's like

absolutely so I encourage you to go to our website and scour it we also have our Facebook

page that you can join and you can get all kinds of information and then after you come to the class

we have an alumni page where our alumni trade ideas and plans and it's just yeah it's really

fun. Awesome and then a question from Monica can you heat them in a microwave for like 60 seconds

and I'm so glad that because if go to YouTube and let look up rocks in microwaves and you will

never do that again simply because there is metal properties in stones a lot of times and because

of that they will blow so my suggestion if you really had to heat one fast run it under hot water

run it under a faucet with hot water to heat get that chill off and then put it on your

core stone warmer and you'll be you'll be flying. Awesome perfect well we're going to go ahead and

wrap up today's session I really appreciate you Shelly for sharing your expertise with us today

and for all of our attendees that are here thank you so so much I did see a couple messages in the

chat saying that they didn't receive their email from yesterday's webinar I did just confirm with

our marketing team it was sent out so please send check your spam folders we also uploaded the

recording on our YouTube channel and our webinar page on our website which this webinar will also

be added to that page as well so you can also find the recording there but please check your

spam folder or reach out to our team directly and we will try and resend that email to you as well

but we did send it out yesterday so thank you so so much Shelly and be on the lookout for the post

webinar follow-up email and happy massage therapist appreciation week. Bye everyone.