I really had no idea what to expect. I didn’t even know what to wear?? Massage in my head is lying down on your belly naked and having a Swedish oil massage (like in the movies). I wore my pajamas and I went into the room shocked to see some sort of contraption thing and I was told to straddle the thing. It was kind of uncomfortable at first, sitting in that position facing the corner of the wall, but I did it anyways because I knew I needed to go to a Rose Scholars event this week or I probably would fail the class. Anyways, the lady told me to just relax and close my eyes as she kneaded my back. One thing that really surprised me is the fact that areas that were really tense took very long to massage. Anyways, after it, I felt pretty relaxed, and I wished it was longer. The after effects didn’t last so long though because I started studying for a really difficult prelim. I wonder if anyone had a similar experience? How does acupuncture work? TCM?

One thing that really stood out to me was the fact that I felt all the movements on my back. Last year, I took a class called Brain, Mind, and Behavior and I learned that our sense receptors on our skin are really weak!! Except on our lips and our fingers. Test it out even: put 1-5 fingers on someone’s back and ask them to guess how many fingers, they can’t! Anyways, how can we make our senses all over our body as sensitive as our lips, well, my class taught me that different types of drugs do that. It’s all about how much chemical neurotransmitters a synaptic cleft takes up.

This week I was thrilled to see that we are having the massaging activity, since I enjoyed it so much last semester, and it was such a great experience so I signed up for it immediately. And it was indeed such a wonderful ten minutes experience and it literally made my whole day.

I like being massaged because it reminds me of the tensions I hold every day and the importance of relaxation. When the massagist press my back and my whole body will relax and my breath will go even, and my brain also fells clear. It was a really wonderful moment, and you really think about nothing in the brain but to follow the music and feel the body as water scatter out and floating around. Breathing is important, and normally my breathe is quite shallow, but when i was being massaged I can feel I’m breathing deeper, and sometimes when I was having difficulty falling asleep I will always reminding myself of the massaging feelings to relax.

After the massage, I feel myself as light and energetic as in the morning, and more efficient and focus doing my works and study, which is really surprising and wonderful. It’s so interesting of how much relaxation can bring us focus after. I really like this activity overall!

Last week I had the pleasure of getting a massage. As a person who is always hunched at a desk or carrying a heavy backpack, my shoulders, neck, and back are always tense and I was very much in need of a massage. This was my first time being massaged by someone who actually knew what they were doing. Working at a physical therapy clinic before, I was always wondering what it felt like to be massaged by a professional. It was a great experience, the only downside being how quickly it went by! She helped with the knots in my shoulders and neck. I found it fascinating how she was able to create a gentle trembling sensation in my back. After this event, I will definitely be trying to relax more often including getting a massage. I’m very grateful for those 10 short but relaxing minutes and hopefully there will be more events like this in the future!

I was really glad to see the Saturday massage event, and I signed up for it as soon as I could. It was nice to have something small to look forward to throughout the week. The massage didn’t disappoint. It was very nice. I felt very relaxed, and the ten minutes went by faster than I expected. This was a great break during a busy week. It also made me consider looking into one of the massage classes here.  A friend of mine tried one and mentioned that it was fun.

Last weekend, I was able to take advantage of the massage at Rose. Thinking back, I think this was my first massage by a massage therapist in only four years. The ten minutes went by quickly. I was at the later end of the massage sign-up, so the massage therapist had seen a fair number of people before getting to me. Before she started, she mentioned how most people had tight necks and shoulders. Right after she started, she noted my poor shoulders that felt like they had been weight lifting. When I asked if they were significantly worse than other students that day, she said that they were definitely up there.

The massage went fairly quickly. Before I knew it, I was back to my normal life with all of its stressors, but at least I was able to relax. I left feeling a lot more aware of my shoulders. I realized I never really think about how my shoulders feel unless they’re bothering me. At this point, I’m not even sure what a normal shoulder feels like compared to mine. This massage was definitely appreciated, and the relaxing state it put me in ended with a deserved nap after an busy Saturday morning.

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.

I got my first massage at Rose Main this past weekend, and it was a very cool experience.  I was overall very stressed about all of the work and prelims I had to deal with; however, this 10 minutes provided a relaxing and stress-free environment where I didn’t have to think about any of that; in addition, the very soothing music playing in the background was able to put me more at ease as well.

Even though I knew that my body was tense, I was surprised by how much certain parts actually hurt in my shoulders and back when she pressed into them.  That being said, it was even more surprising how much better my shoulders and back felt afterwards and in the ensuing week.  Although it would’ve been nice if the massage were longer, it put me in a better frame of mind in general as I went to go do my work and other obligations.

I love massages! There is nothing more boujie (bourgeouis? )!

I feel so fancy having my face smooshed into a soft, lavender smelling pillow, and to let my problems melt away as skilled hands massage the tension from my back with soothing music playing in the background.

Ok, ok a lot of description, but it’s definitely something you’d want too, lol.

If only our massages lasted longer than 10 minutes! But I’m just grateful to have the opportunity to have a massage at all.

*Sigh* Wish I could get another one now.

They say that prelims have a season, but once the first one hits it seems as if they never end. The massage on Saturday was a great stress reliever from the prelim season, and the constant stress that the semester always brings. At the end of my massage, my masseuse told me that it was good to drink a lot of water after a massage, something I had never heard before. It made me curious so I looked it up to see why. Apparently massages release a lot of toxins which need to be flushed out. Overall, Saturday’s massage was a relaxing and informative experience.

There is no question that prelim season is in full swing, bringing with it unwanted tension and stress. That is why I feel fortunate enough to take a step back from studying for prelims and writing papers and receive a relaxing massage. The massage came at the perfect time as well: the weekend before two prelims and some additional assignments due. As a result of my constant studying and sitting at a computer all day, my shoulder muscles were tight, and my back was aching pretty badly. However, when I got onto the massage chair, I could feel almost instantly my muscles loosening up and much of my built up tension disappearing.

Being very active throughout high school, I am used to muscle cramps and aches. I used to participate in a sport during almost every season, which took an eventual toll on my body. Typically, I would remedy my aches through additional stretching. Though, particularly following sports seasons, when my muscles would be especially overworked and strained, my remedy of stretching would be insufficient in reducing my pain. After looking for ways to relieve this issue, I decided to get a massage in an effort to help heal my body. My very first massage brought great benefits to my body, as my muscles would feel less tight, and I was almost instantly prepared for another sports season.

Just like after the massages I received in high school following sports seasons, I felt great relief following the massage I received this past weekend. In fact, the effects lasted days following the massage. I hope to receive another massage soon so I can continue to gain its full benefits to both my body and mind.

Someone once told me that a massage is to the human body what a tune-up is to a car. However, there are multiple academic studies and personal accounts that prove that the benefits of massage are not only physical, but beneficial as well.

Physically, massage therapy is designed to stretch and loosen muscles. It also improves blood flow. It can 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 pain killer.

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.

Just got a 10 minute massage, and now my back and shoulder feels so much better. When I was younger, my grandma would always give me a professional Chinese massage with pain and all. Now that she passed away and me in another country, I really miss those days. When I was sitting in the massage chair, I just felt so sentimental of my childhood days.

My grandma used to say that I should become a masseuse myself, because apparently I have special lines on my hand that made me good to give people medical treatment. Strange and superstitious I know, but it is still a part of the Asian culture for me. I’ve always enjoyed a good massage and I would often give massages for my fencing teammates in leisure or in preparation for a major tournament. After coming to America, I never had someone give me a massage the same way my grandma used to, and I kind of wish I did.

The massage itself was really nice, but it is a shame it was only 10 minutes long. For me, since fencing is such a imbalanced sport, I have many tight spots in the common places. The lady also pointed out the left side of my hip seems a lot tighter and so does the left side of my shoulders. I think it was a good experience overall, although I think this just calls for me to go out and get a proper massage myself, because after 10 minutes I already feel much better, and so a full session will probably help out even more so.

The return of the the massages at Rose this semester was a very welcome one. I went to the event last semester and found that it was one of the event that I most enjoyed, and it’s very likely that the same can be said for this semester.

I appreciate that this event was an option again this semester. I think it really shows the way that the school, and more specifically Rose House, takes into consideration 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.

The ten minutes that are set aside for this event make it easily accessible for students to take a short break. It is a moment to relax and be mindful, which is something few students take into consideration regarding mental health. These few minutes offer a way to de-stress from what may be occurring in their personal and/or academic lives.

While some may say that 10 minutes would inconsequential in the goal of mental health, I believe that it can make the entire difference for the way a person feels on a certain day. Taking the time to relax, despite the time frame, is essential to the well-being of a person. I think that Rose is making the effort to ensure that students are getting a break through events such as these.