Origami, therapy dogs, de-stressing workshops, and yoga outside: Wellness Week at the School of Pharmacy ran from Oct 17-20 and saw students and staff engaging in all sorts of fun and relaxing activities.
School of Pharmacy staff worked in close consultation with RxPRN, a peer-to-peer pharmacy student counselling group, and together staff and students designed the program for Wellness Week. The event was scheduled after Fall Break and during midterm season so that students would continue to have opportunities to de-stress when transitioning back to class.
Programming included activities like completing a puzzle, building with Play-doh, folding origami and colouring. These activities have been shown to promote relaxation and were available to students and staff throughout the week. The 1000 piece puzzle was completed by Thursday.
For three days of Wellness Week, additional events ran. Monday, social worker and counsellor with University of Waterloo Counselling Services, Dave McKay, lead a progressive muscle relaxation workshop. Progressive muscle relaxation is an effective strategy for managing anxiety and can also reduce physical problems like stomach-aches and poor sleep.
Tuesday, St John’s Ambulance brought three therapy dogs to the School’s lobby. The dogs, trained to provide companionship and comfort to the sick and lonely, were a big hit among pharmacy students.
The Wednesday event featured Joshua Webster, certified yoga instructor, leading participants through an introductory hatha flow yoga session. Hatha yoga has been linked to mindfulness practice and the focus on the session was both increasing flexibility and reducing stress.
Thursday, RxPRN offered Inspirational chocolate. They provided a chocolate and hand-wrote inspirational quotes for each student, faculty and staff at the School of Pharmacy.
Staff and students alike took every chance to relax and enjoy the Wellness Week activities. The student feedback has been so positive that the School plans to host similar de-stressing activities around final exam season.
