New Year, New You: The Road to a Healthy Lifestyle at the College of Law

To start the new year off right, the UK College of Law introduced Raise the Bar, a wellness program for students, faculty and staff. Jane Bloom Grise, Director of Academic Success and Professor of Legal Writing, came up with the idea for a wellness program after attending, A Conversation about Mental Health and Wellness in Law School and the Legal Profession, hosted by KYLAP and the Dave Nee Foundation in November.

She posed the question, “if 30% of law students are depressed, why aren’t we doing something about it?” Grise believes programs like Raise the Bar can make a difference and ultimately drop depression numbers.

So far, students, faculty and staff have been very receptive of the program. Around fifty people attended each of the first two sessions, 1st Semester Grades and Pilates.

“I think it’s important for students to see that faculty support it,” says Grise.

Students have enjoyed the program so much that they have ideas of taking it a step further by forming a wellness club. Third year student Yvette DeLaGuardia enjoyed attending Pilates and encourages other students to come out and participate in the future.

“Rob Turner taught us some really interesting things about breathing techniques, posture, and where we carry stress,” says DeLaGuardia. “I've been much more aware of these things since the sessions, and I am trying to incorporate what he taught us into my daily life.”

Grise has three other sessions planned for the remainder of the semester: Mindfulness, Yoga and Cooking Demo.

• Mindfulness will take place on February 27 with Professor Ruth Baer from the UK Psychology Department. Attendees will learn meditation techniques to help face complex and challenging problems.
• Yoga, which aids in stress reduction, follows on March 13 with Debra Booker from the Lexington Healing Arts Academy.
• Cooking Demo will be led by Beth Loiselle from Nutritionist Good Foods Co-op on April 15. She will teach students how to cook healthy food on a law school budget.

If you’re interested in attending a future Raise the Bar session, RSVP to Jane Grise The free sessions are limited to 95 participants and held in room 213 at noon. A healthy lunch is provided.

Here’s to a fresh start in February, UK College of Law!