Last week I received a chair massage. Even though it was only ten minutes long, I nearly fell asleep.  I don’t really realize it from day to day, but the stress of school tends to find itself in my neck and shoulders and it was very relaxing to have someone begin to relieve that.

The lady who gave the massage noted that my left shoulder was much more tense than my right and I initially wrote it off to the fact that I am left-handed. However she said it was more likely to how I carry my backpack. A lot of people carry their heavy bags on only one shoulder, especially when they go to open doors or in the case of a backpack, for a period of time before putting the weight equally on both shoulders. This can lead to unnecessary pain and tension. I noticed as I walked out of the room at the end that out of habit, I immediately swung my backpack onto my left shoulder. Her comments made me much more aware of how I wear my backpack to and from all my activities and mindful about making sure I evenly balance the weight so I don’t continue to strain myself.

She also told me to think about using heating pads when I felt particularly tense as a way to help relax my muscles. I have little microwaveable heating pads but up until then, I hadn’t really been using them for muscle pain. I found that they helped a lot and are a good technique for general stress for me. I think I will continue to use them as I head into finals week which is a stressful time when a lot of tension tends to sneak up on me.

Last Saturday, I got a wonderful 10-minute massage at Rose. I was debating whether or not to get the massage because Saturday was an extremely busy day for me. The club that I am the president of was hosting its largest event of the semester and I was back on campus briefly between two shopping trips at the time of my massage. I planned out my time and realized that I could probably make the massage and decided to go – a decision that I didn’t regret.

When I first sat down for the massage, I tried to relax but my mind was racing – I was going over plans for the evening and reviewing all the tasks that needed to be done. But I soon scolded myself and tried to relax. I tried to stop thinking and just focused on the movements of my masseuse. She spend a lot of time massaging my back and neck area but also focused a lot of effort on areas that I didn’t realize she would massage, like my shoulders and arms. This surprised me because I don’t usually think about the fact that stress effects all parts of my body – not just the most obvious ones like my back.

The overall experience reminded me to make time to focus on my own health and well-being by making time to relax. On the day of a prelim or a big event, like this day, I usually wouldn’t take time for myself. I would study in every moment that I had or try to plan out every detail I could. But this massage reminded me that making time for myself can be as simple as a 10-minute break and easy enough to do on even the most stressful of days. Last semester, I took a PE class about stress management and relaxation. I left the class promising to make time everyday for some sort of relaxing or pleasurable activity, whether it be reading for pleasure or starting the day with meditation. It was easy enough to fall out of that habit but I have a renewed interest in pursuing it again. As finals roll around, I want to take time each day to destress and I hope you do too.

When I told my friends in other houses that I was going to get a massage as a part of Rose Scholars, they all thought that it was one of the luckiest things that could’ve happened. I felt that way as well. It was so nice to be able to go on a Saturday afternoon and just relax for ten minutes.

I appreciate that this event was an option this semester. I think it really shows the way that the school, an more specifically Rose House, takes into consideration- and is placing more of an emphasis on- the mental health of students. I believe that this is one of the ways, even if it is for a smaller group of students, that shows the progress towards higher awareness of the different mental health issues that are just starting to become more publicly recognized.

While I wasn’t particularly stressed that day, I do think that the massage helped brighten my day a bit. For someone that was more stressed than I was, it probably had an even greater effect. Small events like this can help in even better ways to someone’s overall health, apart from just being a relaxing experience.

With finals right around the corner after an already stressed filled semester, I have been stressed since August. There is barely ever a break and the days until winter break are on a countdown. On Saturday I had a brief moment of relaxation when I received an amazing massage. I had chills the entire time, and was finally able to forget about some of the things I had to do, which usually loom over my head at all times. I asked my massage therapist at the end whether she could feel how tense someone was when she did a massage,, she immediately responded with yes. I found the massage very beneficial and can see the need for a little relaxation in a stressful life.

Someone once told me that a massage is to the human body what a tune-up is to a car. The benefits of massages, however, go beyond just physical. Along with physical benefits, there are emotional and even mental benefits of getting a massage.

Physically, massage therapy is designed to stretch and loosen muscles. It also improves blood flow. It can also facilitate the removal of metabolic wastes and increase the flow of oxygen and nutrients to our cells. Of course, massage therapy results in the release of endorphins–the body’s natural stress/pain reliever!

Emotionally and mentally, massage therapy provides relaxation and reduces mental stress. This reduction can enhance our capacity for thinking and creativity. This therapy is also known to reduce anxiety levels, giving us an overall “feel-good” mentality.

It’s very important to give yourself a break. Whether it be a stroll around campus or a quick ten-minute massage, everyone needs a little “me” time. My massage this weekend was such a treat after the end of my prelims this semester. Being a student at any college or university is challenging, let alone an ivy league institution like Cornell. Sometimes we get so caught up in our studying and problem sets that we forget to take care of ourselves. The human body can only take so much stress before it starts to break down. We can’t continuously pull all-nighters and give up our sleep just to get the grades. It’s essential to take a little breather every now and then. My massage this weekend gave me ten minutes of pure relaxation. Everyone needs to find time to let themselves recharge. Thank you Rose House for giving me this little break to recuperate and get myself ready to tackle the next few weeks of studying and late nights!

Yesterday I was ecstatic to go into Rose as I knew I would be getting my own individual ten-minute massage. I have never received a professional massage before. I have been really stressed out because of all my exams and I think the massage at Rose was a wonderful activity to help de-stress students and get them ready for Thanksgiving.

When I went inside the room I could smell the essential oils and I could hear the soft tunes of music coming from a small speaker. My masseuse Retina was super nice and made me feel relaxed. She told me she could tell I was stressed from the knots I had. The massage was over so soon and although I was sad it was over I was happy I got to let go for ten minutes, I am really considering making a massage appointment at Cornell Health. What do you think?

This was my first time being massaged and it was the most amazing experience I ever had. I sat on the chair not knowing what to expect for before I thought it might be a little wiered to have another one’s hands on my back. But the massagist was so good that as soon as her hands pressed my back i felt the relax that I never felt consciously, it felt as if I was asleep. All my muscle was totally relaxed as floating water, and all my stress went away. I felt really stressed out recently due to both academic pressure and the huge amount of work, and this massage really led me to relax and just be at present. After the massage on my way back, I felt the happiness and easiness that I’d carry on in the next week on my study to make me more focusing. This a noval try-out for me and it was surprisingly good, thank you so much for organizing this activity and I enjoyed tremendously from it.

I think through out the participations of the activities led by Rose Scholars programs, especially through this activities, I learnt about trying new things. If it was not that my time this week only allow me to participate this activity I may never thinking about this way to release stress. I felt being massaged was a little strange before, and I never thought about trying it. This activity let me took a little risk to try something that I may or may not like and even anticipated before, and it turns out to be one of the most enjoyable moments for me this semester.

Massage let me realize how much tension that I held every day, such as the intercostal muscle and neck muscle even muscle on the top of my head. Through the relaxation of these mescle, I felt more clear and focusing in my brain. I also talked with the massagist during the massage about what I could do in my everyday life to relax my muscle and keep a good energy. She gave me a few useful advises.

I love this experience so much that I sincerely hope that we could have more of massage next semester as well.