San Juan Regional Medical Center is committed to providing a healing environment for our patients, caregivers and visitors. To facilitate healing, promote health and encourage reflective meditation, we now have a labyrinth in our beautiful Healing Garden.
An Ancient Symbol
Labyrinths have long been used as a meditative and healing tool. An ancient symbol in the form of an elaborate circle, a labyrinth represents the circle of life. It is a medieval pattern whose path leads each of us to our own center. San Juan Regional Medical Center’s labyrinth is a Chartres labyrinth, the same design laid in the floor at Chartres Cathedral in France. It articulates an ancient cosmology, much as the medicine wheel does for Native American culture.
Walking the Path
A labyrinth is a sacred path. Upon entering, our world of splits and divisions disappears. The path is clear and well-defined. There are no tricks to a labyrinth; the way in is the way out. Walking a labyrinth can be a way of relaxing and discovering answers to our deepest questions. It is a useful space for meditation and prayer, movement and contemplation.
Promoting Whole-Person Care
As advocates for whole-person care, we promote care and nurturing of the body, mind and spirit. The labyrinth nourishes each of these. It’s a place to get fresh air, to be out in nature and walk the path. It is a spiritual journey, an opportunity to relax and refocus our mind. The circle inward cleanses and quiets us as it leads us in. The unwinding path integrates and empowers us on our walk back out.
To fully understand a labyrinth’s benefits, we invite you to experience it for yourself. Walk its sacred path with an open heart and an open mind, letting your experiences guide you.
San Juan Regional Medical Center’s labyrinth honors the lives of the caregivers who passed away during the pandemic.
Click here for our guide to walking the labyrinth