Last year, Harvard Law started this program called "Wellness Wednesdays" ("WW"). In the beginning, it was really a pathetic little program, and consisted of a table set up in the Hark with a bowl of fruit. Some Wednesdays it wasn't there at all. Pretty much no one paid attention to WW. And that made the Dean of Students sad.
This year, WW came back with a vengeance. There are posters, and banners, and health professionals. There are four tables, with fruit, and Tylenol, and stress balls, and other types of good-for-you goodies. There are brochures on everything from the benefits of a brisk ten minute walk to directions to the nearest mental hospital. And there are chair massages.
I said, THERE ARE CHAIR MASSAGES.
You can bet that when I saw the sign-up sheet for a free ten-minute chair massage I threw down my bags and climbed over three students to get an open slot. And when it was my turn for the massage, I'm pretty sure that I only got out "do your worst" before sinking onto the chair and beginning to purr.
I loves me a good massage.
As the massage therapist began to work, he encountered the twisted knot of muscles that make up the right half of my spine, and after a startled gasp, started asking questions.
"Are you under a lot of stress?"
"Mmmm."
"Do you have pain in your lower back?"
"Mmmm."
"Do you sit for long periods of time in front of a computer?"
"Mmmm."
"Do you carry a particularly heavy bag?"
"Mmmm."
"Headaches?"
"Mmmm."
I'm not terribly responsive when I am receiving a back massage, but I think he could tell that those "mmmm's" were in the affirmative.
At the conclusion of my ten-minute massage, as the other masseuses told their clients to have good days, mine told me I could probably benefit from seeing a good chiropractor. Then he got out a brochure and said that the Harvard Health Center did therapeutic massages, and I would really benefit from regular sessions. And by lessening the amount of weight I carried, the length of time I sat in front of a computer, and decreasing my daily stress levels. In other words, I could benefit from quitting law school.
But back to the massages. If a massage therapist recommends getting regular massages, is it the same as doctor's orders?
Do you think I could present it that way to Patrick anyway?
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4 comments:
Sure! He has the word therapist in the title, right? I say that's the same thing as a doctor. And actually, I think what he was trying to say was that you would REALLY benefit if your sister had the massages, because she does all of that high stress, sitting in front of the computer and carrying heavy bags too. Yes, I think family therapy is in order here.
You've been missing out, dearest, they had the chair massages last year too. It's just that the lines were usually so long that you had to get there right at the beginning of the Wellness Wednesday festivities.
I hear from another blogger that the Student Activities Fair was pushed further toward carnival status this year. Dean of Students Office is on a happytime RAMPAGE.
I concur with your sis... regular massages appear to be the order here. And I think Patrick would go for that before he'd be down with the idea of you qutting law school, especially now that you're so close to the end. :) Note to self: book massage that I have a gift card for...
Count me in for the family massages!
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