The Student Recreation and Wellness Center opened a new relaxspace wellness pod within the wellness suite Feb. 23. This space was designed to help students with stress and provide the feeling of relaxation.

The pod is located in a small room that is isolated. The pod is designed as an egg-like structure that requires the person using it to sit or lay down inside.

There is a small iPad connected to the pod which generates options to choose from. The options include nature videos, scent infusions, meditation and breathing exercises, heart-rate monitoring, healthy living and self-improvement tips and heat therapy. A description of each of these options is on the website.

“This is a way for people to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the day, as well as to detach and reset,” said Beth Michel, assistant director for fitness and wellness. “This can give people time to shut the world out, shut the light out, shut the noise out.”

This is a great way for students to have 15 minutes to themselves and destress. Each session lasts about that long.

“I experience stress every day just from balancing schoolwork, my job, and finding time to focus on myself and I feel like this would be a great way to help with that,” said Jayce Killian, sophomore education major.

Students will automatically have their relaxspace membership added for free. They will be required to book their own sessions.

Sessions can be booked online, in-person at the front desk in the REC or over the phone.

For anyone who doesn’t have a REC membership, there is a one-week free trial before signing up which allows people to try out everything in the REC including the relaxspace pod before acquiring a membership.

Malina Andamasaris is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].