Mental Health Awareness Month

The Department of Recreation & Wellness kicked off Mental Health Month 2017 at UNCG with Yoga on the Lawn and Spartan Scents Aromatherapy, two events designed to get students thinking about how they handle the stresses of being in school.

“Yoga on the Lawn has been a six-year tradition” at UNCG, said department Coordinator for Outreach and Peer Education Jamie Stephens, who organized the events. “It kicks off Mental Health Month and is a way to orient students that mental health matters and that UNCG has a culture that cares.”

Approximately fifty students took advantage of the warm weather to practice yoga poses in front of the Elliott University Center. Further Yoga on the Lawn events will be held on September 13 and 18, beginning at 5 pm.

Spartan Scents Aromatherapy, held in the Kaplan Center, allowed students to choose from an array of essential oils that can have a calming effect and relieve stress. The oils can be mixed and include scents such as peppermint, bergamot and lime.

“You can make an inhaler to take with you,” said Stephens. Other ways of using the scents include spraying an essential oil in a room or adding a few drops of an oil to your bath water.

Other events scheduled for Mental Health Month include a “Light the Night Vigil” on September 12 and “Arty Party: Painting a Path to Eating Disorder Recovery” on September 20. For more information on other Mental Health Month events visit beta-recwell.uncg.edu/wellness-programs/.
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