Lancers Recover and Student Health, Counselling, and Wellness Services are hosting a walking labyrinth on campus Thursday as an extension of Campus Mental Health Day activities.

The labyrinth will be located in front of Leddy Library on Oct. 27 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Walking labyrinths are an opportunity for quiet self-reflection and have been used for centuries as a contemplative tool, integrating mind, body, and spirit. No experience is necessary — volunteers will provide instructions and thought prompts on the day of the event. To ensure that venturers are spread out, sign up for a time slot at https://bit.ly/uwin-labyrinth.

Benefits of walking a labyrinth include:

• Reducing stress;
• Quieting the mind;
• Opening the heart;
• Deepening self-knowledge and self-awareness;
• Empowering creativity and urging action;
• Promoting the interaction of the mind, body, and spirit;
• Promoting wellness;
• Facilitating spiritual growth;
• Engaging both right and left hemispheres of the brain;
• Calming for those in transition, seeing life in the context of a path;
• Giving solace and peace to those in sorrow;
• Promoting connection to the earth and greater community.

The journey of the labyrinth is different for everyone, says mental health promotion assistant Rebecca Dandach.

“Each person brings with them their own experiences, uniqueness, and personal intention,” she says. “Many exit the labyrinth with a greater sense of oneness and unity.”

The walking labyrinth that will be drawn on campus is known as the Classic Seven Circuit Labyrinth or the Cretan Labyrinth. Associated with the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, it has been found on Cretan coins dating back more than 4,000 years.