Recognizing that many members of the Harvard community often know more about, say, ancient history and physics than they do their own health, University Health Services (UHS) is taking steps to create a more enlightened student body.

Today, the UHS Center for Wellness and Health Communication launches its second lecture series, "The Benefits of Complementary Therapies" aimed at educating students and staff about topics in alternative medicine ranging from aromatherapy to Yoga.

With levels of stress and Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) on the rise, Harvard affiliates are increasingly looking for relief in unconventional places: massage, Yoga and other movement techniques.

Program Manager Keli M. Ballinger says she recognized a need for the lectures after seeing many patients, including students, searching for information about these "complementary therapies." Arriving with an interest in exploring therapies they had heard about or seen on the 'Net, Ballinger said she was concerned individuals were coming to Holyoke Center with unreliable information.

"There's really a lot of misconceptions out there about these treatments...but there's a big interest," Ballinger says. "We wanted to make sure people had the big picture. This is an opportunity for people to get correct and reliable information and to test out some of the therapies."

According to Ballinger, UHS debuted the free lecture series during the summer with great success. Each of the eight one-hour talks , she says, attracted between 75 to 80 people.

"It was really clear to us then," she says.

For the summer series, UHS recruited local experts to present the lectures, which covered Shiatsu, Massage Therapy, Alexander Technique, Acupuncture, Reflexology and QiGong.

Now, with a few of the former presenters on board as consultants to UHS, Ballinger says the six-weeks series will cover a new set of topics.

Starting today, the weekly lectures will take place Fridays at noon beginning with mediation, covering aromatherapy next week, biofeedback Oct. 23, yoga Oct. 30, herbal remedies on Nov. 6 and Feldenkrais (a movement technique) Nov. 13.

According Michael A. Hoyt, Resource Center coordinator at the Wellness Center, the lecture series seeks to the address misinformation concerning the alternative therapies and techniques as they become more mainstreamed.

"We're really trying to create a...health-literate population," he says. "People have to become consumer of [their] healthcare."

Hoyt says reaction to the first lecture in the series was overwhelming.

"The response that I got was very positive and a lot of people were thankful that they got this information," he says.

Hoyt acknowledges that this "wellness-focused initiative" reflects a new direction for UHS.