What's a Labyrinth?

I am getting so excited about my return to the Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France next week! If you’ve been following my adventures these last couple of years, [blog post: Life is Messy] you know I’ve become an outspoken labyrinth enthusiast. I find this ancient spiritual practice so deeply effective, enjoyable, and revelatory, I’m telling anyone who’ll listen and everyone I meet. (Okay–maybe I’m not THAT overboard, but it’s not far off.)

I have so much enthusiasm about labyrinth practice, I just want to know more, do more, and lead. That’s why this trip is for me to do my Labyrinth Facilitator Training with Veriditas in the most well-known and well-walked labyrinth in the world; the blueprint for thousands of other labyrinths: Chartres Cathedral. 

Since you’re going to hear a lot more in this space about labyrinths and meetups and pilgrimages and events, I thought I’d answer the first main question that comes up:

What’s a labyrinth? And is it like a maze?

A labyrinth is a single winding path that leads you from an entrance to a center and back out again. It has no tricks or dead ends—just one way forward. Walking it becomes less about finding the right turn and more about allowing the path itself to guide you. It’s an ancient design, found in sacred sites across cultures, that invites us into meditation through movement. With each step, the twists and turns mirror the journey of life: sometimes circling close to center, sometimes seeming to move away, yet always carrying you where you need to go.

Alternatively, a maze is a puzzle made of many paths, turns, and dead ends. Its purpose is to challenge your sense of direction and problem-solving skills. Unlike a labyrinth, where the way forward is steady and assured, a maze asks you to make choices, backtrack, and sometimes feel lost before you find the exit. It’s playful and engaging, built for entertainment and mental exercise rather than meditation. Where a labyrinth invites you deeper into yourself, a maze keeps your mind busy with figuring things out.

A maze creates a ‘you versus the maze’ dynamic. The labyrinth says ‘we’re in this together.’

I know many of you out there are already seasoned labyrinth walkers. Some of you even have one on your property! If your interest is piqued, you can check out the World Labyrinth Locator and see where there’s one near you at labyrinthlocator.org. I encourage you to visit one and see for yourself. 

I go into more about the labyrinth, and I guide a handheld labyrinth tracing, on the online workshop Pilgrimage to the Heart: Yoga and Labyrinth, now on my YouTube channel. You can participate with a printable labyrinth HERE, or take the video with you to an on-site location. There’s also an app called Labyrinth Journey that you can download and trace for a virtual practice. 

If you decide to do it, let me know how it goes! The important part is to not judge you or your experience. Try to be open to what comes, just like in life. You might come away with more questions than answers, and that’s totally ok. Just walk, observe, and reflect. It’s a zero pressure zone!

Next week I’ll address the question, 

What does this have to do with yoga?

And thank you so much for being a reader of my blog. I appreciate having this space to connect with you on things I’m noticing, pondering, encouraging, and cultivating. And I always love to hear from you. Do you have questions in the yoga/spirituality/meditation realm? Do you have comments or encouragements you would like to share with me? Is there anything I can discuss here that would be interesting or inspiring for you? I know the world is loud. I’d love for this space to be one of peace, contemplation, and a dash of humor for us all.

May you ponder your own personal journey, may you find your way to your heart, and may you discover a world of peace within.

Much love