Current Release: April 28th, 2009 | Vol. XXX Iss. 10

Photo by Lori Hanley

Relieve stress before it starts

By Margaret Windley

mnw777@verizon.net

Don t cram for exams. Study. And get massage therapy on May 6 or 7 in the Batten Center between 12 noon and 2 p.m. The massage will release the stress of preparing. Of course, you don t have to wait for exams to get a massage. It can be any time.

Last month, 92 students, faculty and staff received the benefits of massage therapy on Monday, April 6 from therapists-in-training from Everest College, Chesapeake.

Wesleyan student Brad Jones enjoyed his experience and looks forward to the next in May.

 I did not think there would be time to take me but when they did squeeze me in, I enjoyed it, he said.  I wish it wouldn t have ended, but it did.

Everest College gave three sessions during Monday, April 6.

The upcoming sessions in May will be offered during Reading Days by therapists from another massage school, Fortis College, Virginia Beach.

Two therapists will be giving free chair massages for about 15 to 20 minutes each.

Mary Cureton, director of health services for Wesleyan, explained that the therapists-in-training brought along special massage chairs.

 The clients sit in them backwards so that the therapists-in-training can reach their necks, backs, shoulders and arms, said Cureton.

The massage therapy students have to put in 48 hours in clinical hands-on activities, explained Karen Hobson, program director of Fortis. Massage therapy is a nine month program and its students need a total of 720 hours of classroom time as well as actual hands-on activities before they can graduate.

Lori Hanley, Wesleyan staff nurse, explained that not only did our students enjoy the relaxation of getting a massage, they also learned about the benefits of massage therapy in relieving stress.

 Afterwards they got re-hydrated with fluids and filled out a survey, said Hanley.  They were entered into a drawing for a free CD on relaxation. This was an effort to be able to work in collaboration with the other schools, expose our school to them and vice versa.

In the past, the school used to have massage sessions during its Wellfest in the spring. Cureton estimated that the school held Wellfests beginning in the 1990s and continuing until a few years ago.

Then she explained that health education started getting away from the idea of healthfests in favor doing things year-round.

 Once a year was not enough to get the ideas across, said Cureton.  They favored the idea of doing a variety of things for wellness and health. In the fall we gave out apples with labels saying it was one-fifth of the needed daily servings of fruit and vegetables.

They have done clinical screenings in February for blood pressure and body weight indicators and offered videos with ideas with the Massage center and healthy and unhealthy ways to relieve stress.

She listed a few other healthy ways to relieve stress besides massages.

 These are meditation, watching a funny movie, prayer, massage, listening to birds twitter, and just sitting still for 10 to 15 minutes.