The Wake

With finals fast approaching and winter weather creeping I’m bracing myself for what has become a tradition, a crippling cold that sets in about a week before finals and leaves somewhere after New Year’s.

It seems the yearly combo of stress, fatigue and the countless viruses flying through the air have always caught me off guard. At its worst, my finals cold lasted more than a month and included a staph infection that manifested itself in the form of a full-body rash (and coincidentally the loss of a potential boyfriend).
Like me, many students get sick during or around finals.

Dave Golden, director of public health, said that Boynton sees an increase in visits during finals.

“In general we get busier as we come into finals week,” Golden says. “That’s safe to say.”

This year, I decided, would be different. I was going to stay healthy during finals. Instead of looking for a hard-to-find flu shot, I decided to explore alternative medicine.

Alternative medicine, or complementary medicine, is defined by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine as “a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine,” and is gaining popularity.

A Harvard study found that 46.3 percent of U.S. adults used alternative health care. Many used this as a compliment to traditional medicine, but many also used it as a primary care tactic.

While not all types of alternative medicine are easy to find, some are offered right on campus.

The Center for Spirituality and Healing teaches courses on these subjects including a 12-day course on plant biology in Hawaii, but does not offer any services. When I asked them where on campus I could find these services, they looked at me like I was crazy and told me to try Boynton.

At Boynton Health Services, I asked the elderly lady at the front desk if there were any alternative health care options at Boynton. Looking like I had deeply offended her, she asked me, exactly, what I meant.

“You know like acupuncture, massage, herbal therapies, that kind of stuff.”
In as few words as possible, she told me they didn’t really offer those types of services, but they did offer massage therapy and stress management workshops.

The stress management workshops are held during the week and include Tai Chi, yoga, and Pilates. From my experience with the dreaded Winsor Pilates (exercise tapes sold at 4 a.m. on TV and purchased by a slightly crazy roommate of mine), I didn’t think Pilates offered much salvation from anxiety but rather just extremely tired abs.

In the past yoga has helped me relax, not a small task, and Tai Chi always looks very relaxing when I see people performing it on TV, so I decided to try one of the free classes.

At noon on a Monday, when my stress levels are at their highest, and I was imagining all the homework I could have gotten done over the weekend but didn’t, I headed over to Boynton for Tai Chi. I was a little apprehensive, (can something be called stress-reducing if it makes you anxious?), it was already late in the semester and I thought maybe the more seasoned veterans would laugh at the clumsy novice.

I didn’t need to worry. The class was super laid back and a minute into the first pose I was already relaxed. My intro to Tai Chi moved me through a series of positions while concentrating on my breath.

The poses look easy but as a beginner, I found, are anything but. They require bending and holding the poses, holding your hands in the correct position while making sure your spine is straight and lengthened.

By the end I felt relaxed. I think I was relaxed because I couldn’t think about anything besides trying to hold a pose and not fall over at the same time (this same relaxation technique is utilized when I try to practice yoga).

My instructor, David Philpott, informed me that it was all about controlling your Chi and moving it away from your mind. According to Chinese philosophy, Chi is the universal life force moving through all things.

Controlling Chi is also the goal of acupuncture. Acupuncture works to cure ailments believed to be caused by blocked Chi. To do this they place needles where the Chi is blocked. This helps to unblock the Chi and many believe cure the ailment.

Acupuncture is also available at Boynton and is administered by one of the primary care physicians.

At Boynton you can also receive massage therapy. They offer six different kinds of massage administered by a former gymnast from Romania. The prices are reasonable, $30 for a half hour and $40 for a whole hour, which is a much better deal.
With all these options on campus, I have resolved, heading into to finals, to be prepared for any germs that fly my way and just maybe I will balance my Chi along the way.