As the spring semester progresses, it becomes easier and easier for students’ lives to be overtaken by stress. Striking a balance between school work, sleep and a social life is no easy task even for the most organized Tiger.
That’s where MU’s Stressbusters come in to help.
Every Wednesday in room 2206 of the MU Student Center, Stressbusters provide students with free five- to seven-minute back rubs.
“We started the Wind Down Wednesday event so that students would know that we had a consistent weekly drop-in, a place we would always be at a certain time of the week, where they could always stop by for a relaxing back rub,” says Tony Simon, a graduate assistant with Stressbusters.
Simon says student volunteers provide the back rubs. And any MU student can become a Stressbuster. But what is the training process like?
“Every (volunteer) receives about three and a half hours of training from the founder of the national Stressbusters organization, Jordan Friedman, and a licensed massage therapist,” Simon says. “The training teaches the volunteers the physiological and mental health benefits of receiving a back rub. The volunteers are also trained in about 15 different back rub techniques, and each receives supervised practice while they are learning the methods.”
Sophomore Vivian Hor says the free massages most certainly help her wind down.