As the semester progresses, work loads become heavier, time commitments to clubs and organizations become more pressing and overall stress levels tend to increase. These circumstances can lead to trying times for countless students, especially those with a significant other.
Some couples have found that massage helps them bridge the gap between unrelenting anxiety and building a healthier, happier relationship.
Ari Segal, a College fourth-year whose girlfriend attends another school, said he believed massage has helped strengthen his relationship by serving as a positive bonding experience.
"Over the summer my girlfriend and I went to Puerto Rico, and she treated me to my very first massage experience at a spa there," Segal said. "It was a very fun and relaxing activity for us, and was a highlight of our vacation."
The general health Web site Ediets.com reports that massage has become increasingly popular in American culture within the last decade. They showed online Yellow Page users requested massage 13.4 million times in 2003, a substantial jump from 3.4 million requests in 1994.
The American Massage Therapy Association also noted an amplified demand for massage, according to Ediets.
Web MD defined massage as the application of pressure to the body's muscles, skin and connective tissue. An increasing number of people say they view massage as having healing properties that can increase an emotional connection between individuals, the Web site said.
Sue Bovenizer, an independent massage therapist who works Downtown, said she believes massage definitely can benefit a relationship, especially when it does not always lead to full on sexual encounters.
"It is important to lovingly touch your partner without it always leading into sex," Bovenizer said. "This way your body can use that energy for self-healing rather than have that energy go straight to stimulation."
While arguing massage may be more beneficial when it does not always have erotic overtones, Bovenizer said, it often does.
"As the energy from the massage smoothly flows through the body, we become more relaxed which allows for more energy flow to sensual parts of the body," she said. "This in turn stimulates libido."
Suzie Hayman, a British Broadcasting Corporation sex counselor, outlined how couples should give an effective massage on the network's Web site.
Hayman suggested one partner lie down on a blanket in a balmy and isolated room while the other partner warmed their hands in hot water to remove any coldness before beginning massage.
She then recommended warming oil or lotion in one's hands before beginning to rub the other partner's neck, back and shoulders. Other techniques recommended besides rubbing include stroking, kneading, pressing, scratching, lightly biting and smacking.
In addition to having sexual benefits, massage also has many healing properties.
Erica Perkins, a fitness director at the Aquatic & Fitness Center, noted the variety of benefits massage provides.
"Massage therapy has been around for centuries," Perkins said in an email last week. "It is a safe and effective treatment that benefits people of all ages and walks of life, offering a non-invasive and drug free approach to assist the body's natural ability to heal itself. It is intended to reduce stress and fatigue while improving circulation."
Perkins also addressed an increased commitment to massage therapy on Grounds
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