•Focal point for community wellness programs

    •Improves sensory processing, eye-foot coordination, and balance

For more than 30 years, Dr. Herbert Benson, founding President of the Mind/Body Medical Institute  at Harvard University, has championed the physiological benefits of meditation, which he calls the "relaxation response."  His research has clearly demonstrated that meditation counteracts the harmful effects of stress by slowing heartbeat and metabolic rates, reducing anxiety, and lowering blood pressure.  As a form of meditation, walking the labyrinth elicits the same relaxation response with similar verifiable results.

The health benefits of walking labyrinths have led a number of health care facilities to install labyrinths in recent years.  Labyrinths are being used for a variety of wellness services, including staff relaxation and stress reduction, patient family waiting room alternatives, cancer care, cardiac rehabilitation, grieving programs, patient outings, and community outreach.  To see a list of the growing number of hospitals, health care facilities, spas, and wellness centers that are using labyrinths, please visit Labyrinth Enterprises Web site.

 

To read about the benefits found on the labyrinths of Toronto, Canada, read "Winding paths can lead to wellness" by Janice Mawhinney of the Toronto Star.