Tritons RISE Under the Sea

As the sun dipped below the horizon at La Jolla Shores, 200 UC San Diego students gathered for “RISE Under the Sea,” an event in a new quarterly series that supports well-being through evidence-based practices. Open to all students, the event—part of the Tritons Flourish initiative—was hosted at Birch Aquarium and featured mindfulness art activities, restorative sunset yoga, live music and private access to the aquarium.

A partnership between UC San Diego and UC San Diego Health, Tritons Flourish initiative provides programming that helps students create and sustain healthy behaviors and increase their overall well-being.

According to UC San Diego Recreation Director Rich Mylin, events are designed to meet the students’ needs. “Students are looking for opportunities to relax, find community and practice self-care,” he said. “This partnership between Student Health and Well-Being and Student Affairs and Campus Life makes student wellness resources more accessible, from pop-up events to weekly classes and large events like ‘RISE Under the Sea.’”

UC San Diego Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Assistant Director of Outreach and Clinical Psychologist Erin Bartelma noted that this partnership equips students with transferable skills and positive experiences that support their physical, mental and emotional well-being, which she says highlights the strength of UC San Diego’s collective approach to well-being and the enhanced learning environment provided through collaboration. CAPS is part of UC San Diego’s Student Health and Well-Being cluster, alongside Student Health Services and Health Promotion Services. Together, these programs ensure students have the support and resources needed to stay healthy and thrive.

“Partnerships and heart-centered practices such as these are gems that make UC San Diego a destination learning and leadership community,” Bartelma shared.

As a cornerstone of the initiative, the Tritons RISE Together program and workshops weave together evidence-based research from peak performance psychology, mind/body science and the field of positive psychology.

One such workshop is the SunRISE Yoga Session. Now in its fourth year, SunRISE is a weekly skill-based workshop based on research findings that combined psychological and physical practices can positively impact anxiety management, emotional regulation and mood. SunRISE’s academic-year curriculum, created through a partnership between CAPS and Recreation, is open to all students and co-facilitated by a CAPS staff member and a trauma-informed yoga practitioner from UC San Diego Recreation to incorporate experiential mind and body education through self-reflection via journaling, art and mindfulness practices.

Recreation Fitness & Wellness Director and RISE co-creator Tiffany Healy said that the vision for the RISE Yoga quarterly events series initially arose from the success of SunRISE. CAPS and Recreation wanted to expand access to RISE through quarterly well-being events that served a larger audience.

The quarterly events are hosted at popular UC San Diego destinations, like Birch Aquarium or Sixth College Lawn, using each location as a framework for the event’s structure. Healy acknowledged that, “by inviting students into these unique spaces through RISE workshops, the students feel a deeper sense of belonging and connection to the UC San Diego community and Birch Aquarium is a perfect partnership.”

“The venue embodies so many healing elements,” Bartelma said. “The ocean’s majestic yet calming presence, awe-inspiring experiences around every turn and nature’s lessons on how our ecosystems are intricately connected promoted reflection on the multi-dimensional and intertwining concepts of well-being.”

Following the success of RISE Under the Sea, the next event in the series, “Tritons RISE: Surf & Flow” is on Sunday, May 18 at 10:30 a.m. at Scripps Beach.