Wellington Wellbeing Space yet to relax into popularity
The new Wellbeing Space in Wellington’s Campus is still unheard of amongst students, despite the site opening in October last year. The Wellbeing Space was created for students to destress through positive activity such as guided meditation, restorative yoga, and ‘drop-in’ relaxation sessions.
The space, which is opposite the library, is in a crowded and public area of the University, where Bennetts Bookstore was previously located. Currently no information about the space exists online; students must log into the MyHub Massey page to see timetables for the centre. Most returning students Massive spoke to were still unaware of its existence. Third year student Florence said, “I'd be very keen on partaking in this sort of stuff, but personally I have no idea where this place is. It's not mentioned/discussed or advertised that much around Massey.”
The centre is not open outside of scheduled sessions. “It seems weird that I can’t just go in and mediate when I want to,” says one first year student. Some students also struggled with rules prohibiting the use of food, cell-phones or headphones in the space. Both students and staff use the space, a policy one student criticised, saying “it’s hard to relax and do yoga when your lecturer is right in front of you”.
Third year student Ben said “I reckon if more people knew maybe more people would be keen. I would consider using it, but I guess I just don’t have much of an interest or need for that sort of thing.” Commercial Music student Keegan was less enticed, saying "I probably wouldn't use it because I'm incredibly introverted”.
“There’s been really strong uptake from like five people,” one student said. “Five people love it, no one else knows about it or uses it. I feel like the process of making it was not in touch with students at all. Like, it could be really good, but I don’t think they really investigated what students want at all”. Others questioned the decision to have a wellbeing space at all, especially given that Massey Wellington doesn’t host a rainbow or women’s room.
Wellbeing Advisor and Wellbeing Space coordinator, Sam Hannah, says “We cannot avoid stress - it's a part of life. Not all stress is bad. However, when the demands of life outweigh our capabilities and resources for coping, that's when we experience chronic stress, which directly affects our wellbeing. We need to learn how to listen to our bodies and quieten our minds. To nourish our nervous systems so we can reset and restore more efficiently. This is what we teach in the Wellbeing Space.”
According to the organisers, these activities offered by the Wellbeing Space have proven popular so far in the four months it has been open. Sam plans to have regular opening hours and a schedule that includes journaling workshops, koru mindfulness courses and ‘learn to meditate’ courses, all of which teach students how to become self-sufficient at their wellbeing practices.