In what ways are the movement meditation practices of yoga and labyrinth walking similar? How are they different? What happens when the two are combined? Is it possible to design a labyrinth that can be used as part of a yoga practice? What might it look like to walk a labyrinth and practice yoga poses simultaneously? How might it feel? These questions and others have inspired an emerging project exploring custom labyrinth designs that support a yoga pose sequence during a labyrinth walk.
Many yoga sessions involve a sequence of poses that begin with a warm-up session, move on to more engaging and sometimes demanding standing or sitting poses, and finish with more calming inversion and/or restorative poses. Although this format is not specific for every yoga practice, it does offer a nice rounded experience along the journey of a given practice. Likewise, walking a labyrinth can offer a similar sequence of experiences with the “letting go” at the early stages, to the engagement (physical, emotional, and/or spiritual) required towards the center, and finally through the preparation to depart from the labyrinth as the walk comes to an end.
This presentation will explore these questions and concepts, and will offer a preview of some labyrinth designs created as part of the project. The presentation will feature images and feedback of using these designs during a yoga practice through a visually engaging PowerPoint lecture format.