Morningside: While Beryl Porter has used a labyrinth as a tool to showcase unique South African destinations at Innesfree Park, it also has a number of  therapeutic purposes.

Comprised of a circular pathway with twists and turns that ultimately lead to the centre, Porter explained the main benefit of walking a labyrinth was that of including calm and relaxation.

De added even if one did not use the labyrinth as a meditative tool, the act of changing direction and walking in these twisting circles caused the brain to release different chemical reactions that quietened ones mind.

“Walking the labyrinth can be defined as creating the future by healing the past. It is a tool that is meant to awaken in us the deep rhythm that unites us and, by surrendering to its winding path, the should finds healing and wholeness,” she explained. “It is also a means of releasing the feelings, the emotions and the experiences of the past.”

Quite aptly, Porter’s most recent exercise has been building a labyrinth in the Laundry Courtyard of the impressive former Women’s Jail museum at Constitution Hill.

 

“The labyrinth was to serve as a tribute to the women who suffered in the jail. It has been built of the original bricks of the old jail, “she said.

Porter enthused that a labyrinth could be used in a variety of beneficial ways. Besides being used to relax, the labyrinth could also be used to gain insight into life directions. A question is put forth before the starting out and the walker is encouraged to become receptive to solutions and insight when one reaches the centre. Porter stressed a clear intention would influence the quality of the guidance received.

Optimally, the labyrinth should be walked quietly and at a relaxing pace, while lingering in the centre to facilitate clarity, insights, healing and tranquillity. She pointed out that when horses and animals are walked around the labyrinth, they too exhibit signs of being calmed.

Following the temporary creation of Porter’s 50m labyrinth at Innesfree Park last year for the launch of Sandton’s Walk and Talk Tour, in collaboration with the Johannesburg Tourism Company, she hopes to see permanent labyrinths being created around the city. Ideally, this would be done on an asphalt surface, which would not impede it being used during exhibitions or events.

In the meantime, however, Porter has made a portable canvas labyrinth with a 10m circumference, which she hires out on a daily basis.

“I believe we need to get away from our stressful environment for at least half-an-hour a day.

Having a labyrinth where we could walk in safety would be a fantastic quietening tool, which is why I would love to see permanent created in our parks,” she concluded.

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