Heatwaves and Hot stones? 🔥🥵Cold stones!❄️😎

Are you someone who loves hot weather, or someone who struggles to cope with it?

 I love blue skies and sunshine...

  But I am more of a 'coper' when its as hot as we've had it lately! 

 I have had a surprising (to me at least!) number of people over the last few weeks booked in for Stone Therapy: Hot and Cold Stone Massage - a massage and treatment primarily with HOT stones.

I've done a bit of research, and while I didn't find any very helpful information or guidelines re specifically Hot Stone Massage in hot weather - the World Health Organisation recommends a maximum comfortable working temperature of 24°C, and Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy recommend a maximum indoor working temperature of 24°C. Maximum safe temperatures are also suggested in the range of 25-27C. Discomfort and safety are also impacted by humidity levels, with higher humidity on top of heat being less comfortable and more dangerous.

This has lead to me reviewing my policy and practice in terms of wellbeing and safety for both my clients and myself for having added heat when the ambient temperature is already high. Safety in heat waves is something we all have to start considering as the climate continues to heat up and become more unstable.

I am lucky in that due to its thick stone walls and overshadowed North-West facing back windows the temperature in my room has almost always stayed under 24C.

However, Hot Stones are heated in a water heater (like a crock pot) at around 120-135F or 49-57C - which heats the room up some and raises the humidity. Lovely in winter! Not so great when its already close to uncomfortably hot!

Use of the hot stones for placement and massage can raise not just the skin temperature but potentially the core temperature of the client. If you are going out then into a hot day, or a hot car, or to a hot office or house (and lets face it, not only do most of us not have air conditioning, but our houses and buildings are designed to stay warm, not to keep cool!), there is a safety issue as this may put undue stress on the body (especially the heart and circulation) and its ability to cool down and regulate core temperature.

With that in mind I have contacted the clients who have booked for Hot Stones recently and explained why it is safer and wiser for them - as well as more comfortable for me! - to work with Cold stones only in this kind of weather.

Going forward, for my own comfort and wellbeing, I have decided not to ordinarily offer Hot Stones in July and August in future - unless we are having a cool patch in which case I may add some availability in.

Furthermore I will keep an eye on predicted temperatures in other months and added a proviso to the forms for the booking of hot stones that in the event of predicted temperatures of 24C or above and / or of a weather warning for heat, I will review whether the use of stones is safe and advisable for client and myself, and reserve the right to only use cold stones in those circumstances, or for the session to be rescheduled to another day and time. I hope no-one will be too disappointed with this decision. 

Stone Therapy  

Cold stones and cooling oils on hot days - you can add cold stones as a £2 add on to other treatments.

Best wishes for the rest of the summer!

On a smartphone? How to navigate

The bar above (Move to ...) is a drop down menu.

 
Please use it to look around - the other pages are likely more useful and interesting than this blog page of updates!

(Blogspot does not allow the home page to be something else.)

Summer holiday plans and self-care

A few people have started to ask me about my plans for the summer - ie will I be away at all? I actually have a trip away - just down to see family in the South and be with my dad for Father's Day - in a couple of weeks time. Holistyx will be closed for a week from Tuesday 16th to Tuesday 23rd June.
I am going to be available as usual throughout July and August - and I have just put August availability in the online calendar.


If you know you are going to be too busy in the holiday period to come for a session - whether looking after children, going away yourself - or covering at work for other people's time off - maybe get yourself booked in sooner rather than later for some care and attention to get yourself feeling relaxed and good in body and mind to better enjoy the summer!

Alternatively some people like to come just before a trip away, so they don't arrive too stressed and tense to make the most of it - or after they return in case the journey back is tiring and difficult, and as something to look forward to to take the sting out of the end of the holiday!

Email Holistyx@gmail.com if you need booking information. 

£3 price rise from 6th April 2026 - book yourself massage or Reflexology now for current prices!

There will be a price rise of £3 for all Holistyx appointments made on or after the 6th April.

 
Appointments are available up to the end of May. If you get yourself booked in now - or by the 5th April - you can get your Massage or Reflexology session(s) for March, April, May booked at current prices.

 
Feel stressed out, tired, tense?
Stiffness, tightness, aches, pains?
Feeling low, anxious or not sleeping well?

Take time out to relax, unwind, and be more balanced and at ease.
- Relieving tension, discomfort or pain.
- Reducing stress.
- Feeling more looseness and freedom of movement.
- Improving and supporting your physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing!

To book, use the Holistyx Online Scheduler if you have the link, or contact me at Holistyx@gmail.com and I will send you the link and full booking information.

New Year - Hot Stone Relaxation?

Happy New Year! Are you feeling rested, relaxed and restored? Or have you been busy running around looking after everyone else this festive season? Do you enjoy the cold, dark months, or does your mood dip?

New Years resolutions tend to be all about pushing ourselves to change - and 'do better' - but how would it feel to be kinder to yourself instead?

At this time of year, I recommend trying a Hot Stone massage. Carefully heated smooth round basalt stones are placed on the body and used in the hands for massage. The relaxing and pain relieving effects of heat penetrate deeply into muscles. Great if you have fibromyalgia, arthritis, or chronic pain but also just for a wonderful experience of deep relaxation.

Gift Vouchers

 Its that time of year again!

With the winter festivities coming up (whether you are thinking of what you are getting for others, or what you'd like them to get for you!) Holistyx Gift vouchers are available at a variety of price points for presents for Christmas or other celebrations of the season.

A gift of enjoyment and therapeutic benefit, to relieve tension and stress, to alleviate pain or discomfort, for improved mood and sleep, to look after mental, emotional and physical health. Some time out to relax and unwind, to balance and restore energies and for a real sense of wellbeing!

How to use Each voucher contains a unique Coupon Code which is used when booking an appointment on the Online Scheduler.

Expiry Date: The code will be usable until the expiry date - 4 months from the date of issue.

Options: By email OR through the post
An e-voucher - which I will email you as an attachment, and you can then either print out yourself, or forward on. OR
A physical voucher and leaflet through the post to yourself or directly to the person they are for.

Options: Price and Type
Vouchers match treatment options and prices, with a price range from £40 to £75.



If in doubt whether it is appropriate to buy a gift voucher for someone please ask before you purchase. However, a refund is available up to the expiry date of the voucher, if I am not able to treat due to medical reasons or if my terms and conditions, including Covid safety policies, are not accepted by the recipient.

How to Buy, How to Pay You can find full information, including what information I need from you on this page on the Holistyx website, link below. Scroll downpage for direct payment links via Paypal (you don't need an account) or details on other ways to pay.

BUY HERE

New Cancellation Policy

You can cancel or reschedule your appointment yourself on the online scheduler, using the links at the bottom of your appointment confirmation or reminder emails right up to the appointment time, but not afterwards. 

For preference, if you are intending to rebook, please use the 'reschedule' option, especially if you have already paid. 

For cancellations made more than 24 hours before the appointment

If you have already paid, using online payment, I will refund you the fee, minus only any payment processing fees where relevant. My online Scheduler uses Stripe, which currently charges 1.5% of the fee + 20p. This is currently, for example, £0.95 on a £50 appointment, so you would be refunded £49.05. Alternatively, if you have rebooked instead of rescheduling I may contact you offering to make arrangements so that the payment is counted by the booking system for that booking instead.

 

Late cancellations - non-attendance without 24 hours notice

- If less than 24 hours notice has been given, there is normally* a 50% cancellation fee. If the full fee had already been paid, I will refund 50%. If no monies have been paid, I will contact you about payment, and if necessary take the 50% owed from a card that is on file from previous use.

- *However there is an exemption to the cancellation fee which applies if cancellation is due to symptoms emerging which the person cancelling reasonably believed could be caused by an infectious disease including cold, flu or Covid-19; the client's household or someone they have been in close contact with has tested positive for Covid-19 or has Covid-19 symptoms; because they been required or told to isolate by Health Professional, local Public Health Officer, Border Control, or UK law or guidance, because their medical practitioner has advised against it, or for other legal, infection control or health protection measure that arose at short notice where the client was not able to inform me of this prior to the 24 hour cancellation period. In these circumstances, please inform me before your appointment or as soon as it is possible for you to do so. In this case, as above, if you have already paid, I will normally refund you the fee, minus any payment processing fees if relevant, or may arrange to have the fee count against a future appointment. 

This cancellation policy is on my booking forms and must be agreed to in order to book an appointment. 

Music

Do you like music during a session? Do you have a playlist of music on your own phone or device that you'd like to use? 

Just ask to connect it via bluetooth to my speaker to play your own music which you know you enjoy, or which would help you feel how you want to feel in your session - whether that is calmed, uplifted, or inspired!

Another beneficial way to use your own music, is that if you always play a particular playlist during your session, it becomes associated by your brain with how you feel during the session. So, for example if you feel more relaxed and calm during your session, when at home, you can play that music, to evokes the calm and relaxation you felt and to reconnect with that relaxed feeling.

Tipping

A client has just alerted me to the fact that when she went to book, the Holistyx Online Scheduler (hosted by Acuity and separate to this website) had the option to give an 18% tip ticked as a default, turning a £50 appointment into a £58 appointment. I want to apologise for this as I had no idea this was the case!

I am only given the option to allow people to tip, or not allow people to tip. The tip options or default is not editable by me. I have emailed them about this, to suggest this is changed.

Tips are NOT expected let alone at such a generous amount.

I have added "Tips are enabled but not expected" to the instructions on how to book at the top of the scheduler and going forward it will be included in the information I email to prospective new clients.

What can Holistyx do for you?

Feel stressed out, tired, tense? 

Stiffness, tightness, aches, pains?

Feeling low, anxious or not sleeping well?

Take time out to relax, unwind, and be more balanced and at ease with a professional and effective treatment session with Ceri Turner, a caring and intuitive therapist with knowledge and skills from 15 years of experience in Massage, Aromatherapy and Reflexology.

Relieving tension, discomfort or pain.

Reducing stress and improving mood.. 

Enabling more looseness and freedom of movement.

Supporting your immune system. 

Improving or supporting your physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing.

Opt for Swedish / Holistic Massage, Stone Therapy (Hot and Cold Stone Massage), Aromatherapy Massage, Indian Head Massage, Reflexology, or Pregnancy and Post-natal treatments.

Holistyx provides a high standard of protection from Covid-19 and other infectious diseases, including ventilation, air filtration, masks and hygiene, so you can feel safe to relax, in a warm, comfortable, accessible therapy room in Central Lancaster with free parking. 

Check out options and prices. 

Contact Holistyx@gmail.com for details of how to book in online.