There’s no right or wrong way to walk a labyrinth, but one thing is certain: Doing so can help strengthen your physical and spiritual well-being.

This week is National Spiritual Care Week, and MountainStar Healthcare hospitals across the state have been hosting in a traveling labyrinth to help their workers, patients and families find a quiet time to walk through and gain a sense of peace and tranquility.

“It’s a time for people to take the opportunity to take a break and intentionally walk to the center and back out as they pray or meditate,” said Jon Draskovic, spiritual care lead at Ogden Regional Medical Center. “A labyrinth is not a maze and has no blind alleys or dead ends. You cannot get lost in a labyrinth. It is unicursal, meaning there is only one path that twists and turns on itself many times before reaching the center.”

The traveling labyrinth, which is owned by the Episcopol Church, was at Ogden Regional Medical Center all day Tuesday and will remain there until 9:30 p.m. It also will be at Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Mountain View Hospital in Payson from noon to 8 p.m. Thursday, and St. Mark’s Hospital in Millcreek from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.

Draskovic said even though the labyrinth is open to everyone at the hospital, he is hoping nurses especially will take the time to use it.

“Nurses have extremely stressful jobs,” he said. “They have to deal with some very difficult circumstances and this is a great way for them to decompress and deal with life in a stressful location”

Belinda Griffeth, clinical support coordinator and ICU nurse at Ogden Regional Medical Center, said she walked the labyrinth and found it to be very relaxing and calming.

“I think any way you can manage your stress level is always beneficial,” she said. “Like a lot of people in health care, I have a hard time shutting my brain off, so just taking that moment to physically move while meditating and pushing out any distractions and focus on what I was doing was really a wonderful experience.”

Griffeth said walking the labyrinth has encouraged her to seek out more opportunities to meditate.

“While we live in an age where we have so many advances available to make life easier, somehow we’ve become more stressed and overwhelmed,” she said. “I was just able to enjoy the journey and not worry about getting to the end. It was all about just being in the moment.”

Draskovic said labyrinths are an ancient tool for embodied prayer, sometimes seen as a metaphor for life, experienced by people of faith or no faith. He said for many, walking or tracing the labyrinth is calming, grounding and can symbolize the path of life.

“The serpentine path of a labyrinth design may serve as a reminder that life is full of options and open doors, as well as obstacles to overcome,” he said. “Labyrinth images are found in many ancient cultures. For some, it represents the journey of life, rebirth and spiritual growth.”

Draskovic said following the labyrinth can help people calm anxieties, quiet their mind and reduce stress. The path is designed to help people break free of negative thoughts of behaviors, allowing them to refocus their energy in a fresh direction. They also can help people feel a sense of peace, clarity and serenity and can be a healing practice by creating a feeling of holistic wellness when walking the path.

“It is often helpful to prepare yourself by sitting quietly and breathing calmly,” he said. “It can be a place in which to become mindful of your thoughts, feelings and emotions. If you can’t make it down to the large walking labyrinth, hospital chaplains will be distributing labyrinth stickers for tracing.”

In addition, anyone seeking inner calm also can begin meditation as a way to reduce stress. Draskovic said some people prefer to sit while they meditate, often focusing on a word or phrase, while others like to walk.