Facility: The Long and Winding Road

Labyrinths, walking circuits designed to promote a meditative, contemplative state, are becoming more of a mainstay in day spas in the quest to promote overall wellness. Patrick MacManaway, M.D., who recently designed and installed a labyrinth for the Stoweflake Mountain Resort and Spa in Stowe, VT, believes these “reflective pathways” are congruent with a spa’s ultimate goal to provide an atmosphere in which clients feel deeply connected and nurtured.

Incorporating a labyrinth into your spa’s facility can bring several benefits. Walking a labyrinth is a wonderful way for both clients and spa practitioners to transition into a treatment. In fact, MacManaway says that massage therapists in particular can benefit from walking a labyrinth to become grounded and centered before a massage session. To introduce your staff and clients to the benefits of this ancient practice, MacManaway suggests hosting a candlelit labyrinth walk on a chosen night. (For more on the wellness benefits of labyrinths, go to Wellness.)

If you’d like to know what it would take to install a labyrinth at your facility, take note of the following basics provided by MacManaway.

Cost. A labyrinth doesn’t require a specific budget to construct. In fact, “More expensive isn’t better at all,” MacManaway says. He has created labyrinths in grassy fields for which the expense was the price of fuel for the lawnmower and grass seed. However, he has also constructed labyrinth projects carrying six-figure price tags whose installations have spanned several years.

Space. Labyrinths can be adapted to a wide range of dedicated outdoor or indoor environments. The most popular version—a classic, seven-circuit labyrinth—requires about 30 feet in diameter. MacManaway says the most important aspect is matching the spirit of the labyrinth to the type of

Above: The labyrinth at Stoweflake Mountain Resort
 

space, be it gravel, vegetation or even a sandy
beach. “Labyrinths have a very smooth, almost watery flow to them,” he says. “Elementally they are close to water.”

Commitment. If your spa lacks the space to accommodate a permanent installation, you can also construct a temporary labyrinth. MacManaway says one good option is to roll out a labyrinth drawn on canvas for use in a multipurpose room. However, he emphasizes that whatever space is chosen should be used exclusively to display the labyrinth for the duration of its use.

For more about facts about labyrinths, go to: Dragonlines.net
Labyrinthsociety.org
Geomancy.org

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