Every
month, Leslie Bolt puts on her walking shoes, pulls the laces
tight and heads from her home in Unionville to the Eaton Centre.
But it's not visions of iPods or a new summer dress that fill
her head. Instead, she pictures herself rising from her wheelchair
and walking a labyrinth.
Just
beyond the doors of the shopping mecca sits the Toronto Public
Labyrinth. Within its circular shape, which measures about 22
metres in diameter, is a path marked by two-toned interlocking
bricks. The path weaves walkers left and right before leading
to the labyrinth's centre and back out.
The
labyrinth gives people a break from their chaotic lives. "You're
outside following this specific path. It's not a maze. ... It's
a really relaxing, brings-a-peace-of-mind activity," says
Ms. Bolt, a former patient at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute
(TRI), who had surgery for a brain condition.
Labyrinths
are enjoying a resurgence as a rehabilitative/spiritual tool,
easing into mainstream healing practices. According to the Labyrinth
Community Network, there are 91 in Ontario, and the Labyrinth
Society lists more than 1,800 in the United States, located in
hospitals, churches, schools, jails and people's backyards.
Wanting
to share the wonder of the labyrinth, Ms. Bolt teamed up with
TRI and Jo Ann Stevenson, chair of the Labyrinth Community Network,
which launched the TPL project. "It's a very sort of focused,
be-in-the-moment activity and it's very calming. ... It can be
spiritually quite uplifting and really good for some people who
are agitated or having some mental-health disorders as well,"
Ms. Bolt says.
Tucked
away in Trinity Square Park, with the Eaton Centre, a Marriott
hotel and Church of the Holy Trinity as its neighbours, the TPL
sits in a surprisingly quiet green space. It's surrounded by a
patch of lush grass and encircled by small green shrubs.
The
TPL is one of 18 public and private labyrinths in Toronto. Some,
such as the one at the Metropolitan United Church, are indoors,
drawn on a portable canvas, while others, such as the one in High
Park, are painted on concrete. Toronto landscape architect Michael
Presutti of MEP Design adapted the design for the TPL, which opened
in 2005, from the 13th-century pattern on the floor of France's
Chartres Cathedral.
About
five patients from the TRI use the TPL on a weekly basis, says
Angie Andreoli, a physiotherapist who chairs the TRI's Labyrinth
Working Group. "We had done some things really well - their
physical rehab, their cognitive rehab - but not so much their
emotional or spiritual rehabilitation," she says.
"In
trying to build in community integration, transition, interaction
[into patient care], we decided that the labyrinth is a really
good fit towards meeting all of those goals."
While
each walker sets his or her own pace, it takes about 20 minutes
to walk the TPL.
"If
you've been in a car accident, that's a long walk for you,"
Ms. Andreoli says, "so they share their amazement with their
ability to do an activity that they previously hadn't been able
to do."
For
patients whose mobility level is restricted, hospitals and TRI
have introduced finger labyrinths. These allow them to trace a
smaller version of the labyrinth's pattern onto a piece of paper
and follow the path with their finger.
The
TPL is wheelchair-accessible. A Braille version, which works similarly
to a finger labyrinth, is planned for a nearby plaque this month.
You
don't have to be in rehab to gain the benefit of the path. Ms.
Stevenson estimates that 15 to 20 people from all walks of life
use the Toronto labyrinth each day. "It's a universal tool
for a spiritual journey."
No
minotaurs here
All
labyrinths are universal, meaning they have one path that leads
you in a roundabout way to the centre and back again. They are
designed to calm and quiet the mind.
A
maze has branching paths, i.e., there are several different routes
to choose from. A puzzle to get lost in, it is designed to trick
and deceive.
