By Eloise Magoncelli ’22
Staff Writer
The Tiernan Field House will soon open a new space, adding to the long list of services provided by the gym. This room, which has been named the “relaxation room”, is furnished with a bean bag chair, a television, a couple couches and a massage chair. The space resembles a comfortable recreation room where, instead of huge tables designed for holding computers and various study materials, a coffee table is empty ready to hold card games, resting feet, or a mug of tea. It is intended to embody a space for wellness that reflects the core values of the TFH.
The central ideals of the Field House’s mission statement emphasize the provision of resources and support to develop holistic wellness and to promote an awareness of different forms of health throughout the community.
“At the core of the Tiernan Field House mission is to support holistic wellness and a life-time of well-being, thus dedicating a room within Tiernan furthers the accomplishment of our goals,” Lisette De La Trinidad, the Health & Wellness Coordinator at the TFH said.
While the addition of this relaxation room does mean that this space can no longer be used for exercise classes, spin bikes can still be used in the downstairs dance room and the supplies needed to host a range of drop-in exercise classes are now accessible in the room adjacent to the relaxation room.
De La Trinidad said that the ultimate goal of the relaxation room is to create “a new way to use TFH, enhancing everyone’s ability to engage in wellness-related activities”.
Not only does this new wellness space provide a place for casual relaxation like napping or getting a massage,TFH coordinators also plan on using it for “Peer Health Educators to host their office hours” and as a space to hold “program meditations or podcasts related to well-being,” according to De La Trinidad.
Additionally, the space will promote education by providing literature on wellness-related topics and will be a place to go for those in need of condoms or menstrual pads.
Unfortunately, one of the two massage chairs was stolen from the building’s balcony during the construction of the relaxation room. Despite this minor setback, coordinators are waiting for just a few more items before they officially open the space for all to enjoy within the next two weeks.
As a source of relaxation and education, it will be interesting to see the different role that this space might play in comparison to the other rooms within TFH and existing rooms like browsing and recreational rooms throughout the residence halls. The TFH continues to stray from the one-sided traditions of a gym, which typically cater only to physical exercise needs and lack an emphasis on mental health. The TFH is unique across the Claremont Consortium in its capacity to be used as a resource for physical strength as well as mental health.
The atmosphere created by being in wellness spaces that encourage relaxation alongside hard work is vastly different from that found in other 5C gyms, which contain traditional training rooms surrounded by offices. The TFH prides itself in promoting the importance of both mental and physical health among 5C students and the development of the gym itself, along with its resources within it, emphasizes this value.
Watch out for a message within the next couple of weeks regarding the relaxation room’s opening and an open house to see the new resources!
Image Credit: scrippscollege.edu
10/10, Volume XXIX, Issue 2
