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 Some of the emotional benefits fo walking labyrinths include:
- Triggers relaxation response
- Soothing and restorative following trauma
- Helps lift depression
- Helps reduce negativity
- Can be used for emotional ceremonies such as weddings
Emotional benefits have been noted by parents and teachers observing children responding to the labyrinth, and by trauma victims who have use the labyrinth - such as New Orleans and Baton Rouge residents following Hurricane Katrina. Visit Beyond Katrina: Labyrinth Events to Aid in Recovery to see how powerful the labyrinth experience can be on the path to emotional recovery.
Cornell industrial engineerng major Cheryl Yeoh was inspired to create the Cornell Labyrinth Society, after walking a labyrinth and feeling something profound. Read her story in "Student brings the concept of beneficial labyrinths to the Cornell campus," published in the Cornell Chronicle.
Other benefits were outlined at the Labyrinth Top Ten Benefits List on the Web page, Labyrinth: Journey to Wellness, sponsored by Palo Alto College's Staff Development Day. The page is no longer online, but the benefits are listed as:
- It is a gift of self-care you give to yourself and share with others.
- Gives you the opportunity to listen and search for your own answers. Teo be self-dependent, self-responsible and connected to your inner source.
- Give you the opportunity ot express your personal needs to yourself.
- It is a way to get in touch with the inner self; the self that knows you best.
- Mysteriously works with the chakra system and chi meridians used by Chinese acupuncturists throughout the ages for healing and balancing the organs and body.
- It is a walking meditation promoting relaxation, deeper breathing and release of stress.
- When the labyrinth is outdoors, it is an opportunity to connect with nature and Mother Earth, allowing you to realize how sacred and precious everything is.
- Allows you to be part of human history...people all over the world have been walking these patterns for over 3,500 years.
- You can experience an ancient archetype symbolic of wholeness and life's journey.
- It is a right-brain task involving creativity and imagery. There is no logic or maze trickery.
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