Do You Know the Difference Between a Labyrinth and a Maze?

Sefton Labyrinth Project Teacher Pack

Have you ever walked a labyrinth? Do you know the difference between a labyrinth and a maze? Can you imagine why walking a labyrinth might make you feel calmer and more relaxed?

The story so far…

Sefton council secured funding from NHS Sefton for the creation of two labyrinths in public parks in the north and south of the borough. The two parks chosen to feature the labyrinths are Hesketh Park in Southport and Marian Gardens in Netherton. Over the last year the labyrinths were designed and installed and they are now open to the general public.

Hesketh Park in Southport (pictured on the right) was selected due to its ornamental nature and positive links with the community, including the Hesketh Centre which provides mental wellbeing services across the borough.

In the south of the borough Marian Gardens in Netherton was chosen due to its close proximity to the Feelgood Factory which also provides many mental wellbeing services to the local community.

The labyrinths were created with help from Creative Alternatives, Sefton’s arts and health service. Creative Alternatives was set up in 2007 and it provides lots of arts activities to people who are experiencing stress, depression and/or anxiety. In Creative Alternatives we engage with the theme of labyrinths, building and walking temporary (indoor and outdoor) labyrinths, as well as creating smaller labyrinths as paintings, drawings, mosaics and jewellery.

1 What are labyrinths?

The oldest labyrinths date back thousands of years. Throughout history, labyrinths have served as religious and ritual tools.

In everyday conversation the words ‘labyrinth’ and ‘maze’ are often used interchangeably. However, labyrinth historians will tell you that mazes are designed to get you lost, having several entrances and choices of paths along the way, whilst labyrinths generally only have one path, leading you to the centre and back out.

Have you seen the film ‘The Labyrinth’ with David Bowie? Now, that definitely features a maze - not a labyrinth!!

What does a labyrinth look like?

There are many different types of labyrinths. The classical labyrinth is the best known. It is based on a pattern that was first documented on a clay tablet found in Greece, dating to 1200 BCE. Classical labyrinths can have 3, 7, 11 or even 15 circuits which wind around the centre of the labyrinth. Labyrinths have been carved into stone, they have been drawn in sand and created with turf, ceramic tiles, metal, wood and many other materials. Below you find some labyrinth patterns:

Classical labyrinth Roman labyrinth Medieval labyrinth Contemporary labyrinth

“The labyrinth was a central feature in many of the European Roman Catholic churches in the Middle Ages and many of these still exist today. The most famous of these remaining labyrinths is at Chartres Cathedral near Paris, France. The labyrinth at Chartres was built around 1200. […] Sometimes this eleven-circuit labyrinth would serve as a substitute for an actual pilgrimage to Jerusalem.” 1

The Labyrinth Society

1 Source: http://labyrinthsociety.org/faqs 2 How do you use a labyrinth?

Today, people walk labyrinths to relax and unwind, to meditate, to go deeper into themselves, or just for fun. If you want to walk a labyrinth, we suggest you try the following:

 Walk along slowly, paying attention to each step. Feel your body moving. Look forward, not down, but don’t let your eyes focus on anything specific. Take in the whole scene.

 As you walk into the centre of the labyrinth, imagine you are walking deeper into yourself. When you arrive ask yourself “What is important for me right now?” or “What do I need more of in my life?”

 And when you return from the labyrinth into the world, imagine you take with you whatever you found in the centre.

Activities:

1. Labyrinths come in all shapes and sizes. Visit Labyrinthos, an online resource centre for labyrinths and mazes to see labyrinths from around the world: http://www.labyrinthos.net

2. Also take a look at the webpage of the Labyrinth Society which promotes labyrinth work: http://labyrinthsociety.org

3. Discuss what labyrinths or mazes pupils may have visited or seen in films. Here a couple of popular examples of mazes:

 Maize Mazes: Mazes created from cereal plants widely known for their edible grain … also known as corn on the cob! Visit www.maize-maze.com to find your local maze!

 Labyrinth (1986). Film, staring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. 15-year-old Sarah accidentally wishes her baby brother Toby away to the Goblin King Jareth. Jareth threatens to keep Toby, if Sarah does not complete the king’s labyrinth in 13 hours.

4. Draw your own labyrinth! There are lots and lots of good guides online which tell you how to construct a classical labyrinth. Here a few:

 http://www.labyrinthos.net/layout.html  http://blogmymaze.wordpress.com/2008/07/09/how-to-draw-a-classical-labyrinth/  http://www.gothicimage.co.uk/books/labyrinths.html

Once you have drawn your labyrinth you can walk it with your finger! Try synchronising your in-breath and out-breath with walking the labyrinth: On the in-breath move your finger along the path into the centre … pause … and on the out-breath move from the centre back out. Try repeating this for several minutes. 3 Labyrinths and mental health

The Mental Health Foundation, a charity which leads on mental health research in the UK, suggests that “1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year.”2 Anxiety and depression are the most common mental health disorders in Britain and about 10% of children have a mental health problem at any one time.

Mental ill health can affect anyone, regardless of their background or age. The Mental Health Foundation also reports that “about half of people with common mental health problems are no longer affected after 18 months, but poorer people, the long-term sick and unemployed people are more likely to be still affected than the general population.”3

The aim of the Sefton Labyrinth Project is to promote creative solutions as an innovative remedy for stress, anxiety and depression. The project combines the benefits of outdoor activities with the profound healing and revitalising effects of labyrinths.

How might walking a labyrinth might make me feel better?

Labyrinths offer us a way to slow down, to unwind the mind and to journey inwards. Although there isn’t a lot of research on the psychological effects of labyrinths, many people describe feeling calmer, more relaxed and re-energised by walking a labyrinth. There are some suggestions that labyrinth walking quietens the mind and enhances right-brain activity which is associated with creativity and intuition. The Labyrinth Society features useful resources for research on the effects of labyrinth walking: http://labyrinthsociety.org/research

Activities:

2 Source: http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/help-information/mental-health-statistics/

3 Source: http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/help-information/mental-health-statistics/common-mental-health-proble ms/?view=Standard 4 1. Exploring emotions: Discuss with pupils what stress, depression and anxiety mean to them.

 Ask the pupils to recall situations in which they felt stressed, depressed or anxious. Alternatively, find fictive examples in literature or films of stress, depression or anxiety.

 Ask the pupils to explore what these feelings look like, sound like and feel like:

 How do you know someone is stressed or anxious? What does their body look like? How do they move?  What do people say when they are stressed, anxious or depressed? How do they name the feeling? What words do they use?  What do we feel in our own bodies when we are stressed, anxious or depressed? Where in the body do we feel the emotion?

Employ creative methods to explore emotions, such as body sculpting: Split students into pairs. Let one become the artist, whilst the other is the clay. Instruct the artist to mould the clay to portray an emotion. The pupils who are ‘clay’ should remain still and allow themselves to be formed into the shape the artist desires.

Once finished, the clay sculptures should remain still, so that all the artists get an opportunity to walk around the exhibition space and look at each other’s sculptures. Afterwards swap over. You could also try creating a tableau, in which you put several sculptures together.

2. Find out what organisations in Sefton are doing to improve people’s wellbeing through creative activities. Visit www.creativealternatives.org.uk & www.healthysefton.nhs.uk .crativealternatives .org.uk 3. Discuss in your class why people from poorer backgrounds and those who are long-term sick or unemployed might not recover from depression as quickly as others.