Getting a massage is something I only do when Rose offers it as an event.  The past two times I’ve gone, both masseuses told me I had a lot of knots in my shoulders.  This made me wonder what knots even are and what they were a result of, but I was too relaxed to ask, so I just kind of mumbled something as a response to both.  I do remember one asking if I was an athlete, which makes me think that excess physical activity could be a potential source.   After a quick search, it turns out that muscles adhere to each other over time and this creates hard lumps.  Left untreated, these hard lumps of muscle fibers eventually lose elasticity and can negatively affect your posture, which is where massages come into play in preventing these negative effects.

While the physical benefits of a massage are apparent as soon as the massager starts kneading your back like a ball of dough, the mental affects are even sooner apparent.  It takes me less than a second to be transported into a world of splendor where it feels like my muscles are melting like butter in a hot saucepan.  It’s kind of a numb, euphoric feeling that’s probably a result of endorphins flooding my brain.  It’s also interesting see the different styles of the masseuses.  My most recent one decided to play ambient music during the process, which eventually grew on me and was pretty enjoyable.  This is the kind of event that makes me consider being a Rose Scholar again next semester.