Story by Katherine Hunt
Massage: A form of releasing tension throughout the body. These services are available throughout the globe, and now they’re offered at Drake? That’s right. Drake University offers multiple massage services at the Bell Center and has done so for well over a decade.
To those who don’t hit the spa frequently, massages are a great way to take care of one’s body. Besides achieving ultimate relaxation, massage therapy has other benefits such as increasing blood circulation, preventing personal injuries and relieving both chronic and temporary aches and pains. All of these benefits also lead to a critical winning point for why students get massages — they provide extreme stress relief.
Getting a massage on campus has enormous benefits. Johanna Determann, assistant director of wellness and user of massage therapy, sees three important benefits: convenience, flexibility and price.
“We have three very talented massage therapists who are flexible in terms of scheduling. Massages take place in the Bell Center, so it’s just a hop, skip and a jump from dorms or apartments. We understand that students are on tight budgets, therefore we have our rates set lower than most spas and studios in the area,” said Determann.
As a comparison, the cost of a massage at a local masseuse is $50 for just 35 minutes, and that’s just for a simple basic massage of the back and nothing more. The cost at the Bell Center is $30 for half an hour, $50 for 50 minutes and so on.
Director of Drake Wellness Jana Peterson recommends that all students, faculty and staff try getting a massage at least once as well as being proactive about their personal health.
“Sometimes, we do not understand the stress our body has been under. Taking a half hour or an hour can make a huge difference, and you can start to see benefits right away,” Peterson said. “It would be best not get to a point where you are beyond stressed. Be proactive with your health and start taking care of your body now.”
To acquire your own massage session, contact the Drake Wellness Program at (515) 271-2027. Each session is made by appointment. The forms of massage therapy offered are therapeutic, Swedish, deep tissue and Hawaiian Lomi Lomi.
