The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

A “new age” crystal trend helps students stay clear of rock bottom.

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By Travis Coltrain

[email protected]

With final exams looming, many students find themselves leaning on mother nature to cope with the stress. Iowa City is one of the many cities to fall into the “new age” spiritual health trend.

This trend is based around using older practices developed in Western nations according to Jeet Saini, owner of Om Gifts For Body & Soul, 105 S. Linn St. Some of these practices include meditation and yoga. It also includes the use of crystals and plants in order to “heal” or “cleanse” oneself.Iowa City businesses have profited from this trend, old and new stores have recently seen an increase in rock and plant purchases according to various Iowa City business owners.

One of these business owners is Anne Armitage, who opened her store Moss, 112 E. Washington St., roughly a month ago. Moss moved to Iowa City not only for the downtown location, but also because of the college town aspect. She believes the increase in “new age” allure is due to the fact that so many people have stressful lives and they need an outlet.

“In this digital age a lot of people are stressed and burned out,” Armitage said. “One way to kind of counteract the effects of the stress is to surround yourself with natural elements, with nature. We have a number of plants that’s presence not only can make the environment less stressful but can clean the air by removing toxins.”

This trend has even made the road less rocky for the University of Iowa’s American Association of Petroleum Geologists. The UI chapter held their annual rock sale at Trowbridge Hall, on Nov. 23 to 24 in order to fundraise for a trip.

The UI American Association of Petroleum Geologists President Erika Danilsen said although she didn’t know much of the “new age” trend, she said she has noticed an increased fascination in areas related to geoscience. She believes people not only are interested in the “spiritual” and health aspects, but the literal science behind it as well.
“Climate change has become such a big issue in the public’s eye and you need to understand the geology in order to understand what’s fully going on,” Danilsen said. “While people are learning about the scientific aspects of it, they also pick up on the fun arts of it like working with stones and rocks for stress relief.”

Saini also agrees a heightened interest in the world around as well as wanting to understand oneself has made this “new age” trend more popular in recent years. However, she believes it’s simply gained a lot of popularity through word of mouth and example like many trends do.

“Many of my customers are regular people and not college students,” Saini said. “They would have friends who started yoga and it actually made them more fulfilled and less stressed in their life.”

She said this knowledge of the “new age” trend would pass along from person to person, as they saw the active benefits its lifestyle offers. Seeing a change in someone else who was originally struggling really increases people’s chances of believing in this lifestyles success.

Saini compared the lifestyle benefits to a college class. While everyone might be taking the same class everyone is in it for different reasons and gains different things from it. The level of effectiveness can vary just like different students grades can vary in classes.

“You need to really believe in it because everything has two sides,” Saini said. “While it will benefit everyone, not everyone will get the same exact benefit.”

 

 

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