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Labyrinth is latest holistic treatment
By Hillary Wundrow
Daily News staff writer
Beloiters will now be privy to a pilgrimage in their hometown.
A labyrinth painted in the grass behind the Midwest Acupuncture and Pain Treatment Center, 3005 Riverside Drive, serves as a walking path and is designed to improve health, mental clarity and spiritual awareness.
“It takes you to whatever the middle is to you and brings you back out to the busy world,” said Karen Dodson, a licensed acupuncturist at the Midwest Acupuncture and Pain Treatment Center.
Dodson will unveil Beloit's first public labyrinth during a dedication ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. The event is free, and will take place rain or shine with a chance to walk the labyrinth. Although it's similar to a maze, the labyrinth has no dead ends and no concrete destination. The goal is to wind one's way to the middle and then come back out again.
The exercise not only draws participants out into nature, but integrates the left and right sides of the brain.
“It helps people access their creativity,” said Loris Damerow, labyrinth landscaper and owner of A New Leaf Garden and Landscape Services. “We are stuck in such a busy binary world.”
Labyrinth patterns have been found in art for thousands of years. One of the most well known labyrinth designs is a Greek pattern representing the mythic tale of the Minotaur. Labyrinth patterns also have been infused in Europe's cathedrals, India's art and Native American baskets.
“I can't think of a culture without labyrinths,” Dodson said.
Dodson, Damerow and Dawn Boski, owner of Massage Therapy and Company, joined together to create a concentric labyrinth back in February. Dodson had been collecting finger labyrinths and had traveled a labyrinth in Michigan. Boski had been designing labyrinths in her yard for years.
“One day I was looking outside the office and suddenly thought we could make it here,” Dodson said. “We could enliven the field out there and offer it as a gift to the community.”
The group then spray painted a labyrinth pattern in the grass. For the entrance, Damerow's father, Dave Oatman, erected bamboo sticks. This summer the painted lines of the labyrinth will go unmowed for a more natural effect. Next fall the crew will consider tracing new labyrinth patterns behind the center.
The three women aren't shy about their love of labyrinths. Besides helping channel creativity, Dodson said walking the path can help people access their intuition and problem-solving skills. The act of walking a non-linear path can help one break from the rational and linear thinking now embedded in modern Western culture.
“You are walking it for the process rather than the destination,” Dodson said. “This is the lost part of Western culture. This is the other side - other part of our brain that connects to nature.”
Dodson stresses that the labyrinth is free and will be open 24 hours a day. For more information contact the Midwest Acupuncture and Pain Treatment Center at (608) 365-6771.
Daily News staff writer
Beloiters will now be privy to a pilgrimage in their hometown.
A labyrinth painted in the grass behind the Midwest Acupuncture and Pain Treatment Center, 3005 Riverside Drive, serves as a walking path and is designed to improve health, mental clarity and spiritual awareness.
“It takes you to whatever the middle is to you and brings you back out to the busy world,” said Karen Dodson, a licensed acupuncturist at the Midwest Acupuncture and Pain Treatment Center.
Dodson will unveil Beloit's first public labyrinth during a dedication ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. The event is free, and will take place rain or shine with a chance to walk the labyrinth. Although it's similar to a maze, the labyrinth has no dead ends and no concrete destination. The goal is to wind one's way to the middle and then come back out again.
The exercise not only draws participants out into nature, but integrates the left and right sides of the brain.
“It helps people access their creativity,” said Loris Damerow, labyrinth landscaper and owner of A New Leaf Garden and Landscape Services. “We are stuck in such a busy binary world.”
Labyrinth patterns have been found in art for thousands of years. One of the most well known labyrinth designs is a Greek pattern representing the mythic tale of the Minotaur. Labyrinth patterns also have been infused in Europe's cathedrals, India's art and Native American baskets.
“I can't think of a culture without labyrinths,” Dodson said.
Dodson, Damerow and Dawn Boski, owner of Massage Therapy and Company, joined together to create a concentric labyrinth back in February. Dodson had been collecting finger labyrinths and had traveled a labyrinth in Michigan. Boski had been designing labyrinths in her yard for years.
“One day I was looking outside the office and suddenly thought we could make it here,” Dodson said. “We could enliven the field out there and offer it as a gift to the community.”
The group then spray painted a labyrinth pattern in the grass. For the entrance, Damerow's father, Dave Oatman, erected bamboo sticks. This summer the painted lines of the labyrinth will go unmowed for a more natural effect. Next fall the crew will consider tracing new labyrinth patterns behind the center.
The three women aren't shy about their love of labyrinths. Besides helping channel creativity, Dodson said walking the path can help people access their intuition and problem-solving skills. The act of walking a non-linear path can help one break from the rational and linear thinking now embedded in modern Western culture.
“You are walking it for the process rather than the destination,” Dodson said. “This is the lost part of Western culture. This is the other side - other part of our brain that connects to nature.”
Dodson stresses that the labyrinth is free and will be open 24 hours a day. For more information contact the Midwest Acupuncture and Pain Treatment Center at (608) 365-6771.
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