DIY Meditation Sand Labyrinths

This is a sand labyrinth I've used as part of my personal practice for more than ten years.  Mindfully tracing the path in the sand with my fingers helps me to transition from a restless state to a place in my mind calm enough to meditate.  Whenever I bring this tool to my Meditation classes, the children respond in a similar way.  You can buy one here.

I wanted to find an affordable way to offer this tool to all of my students when they're at home.  So we made our own.  First we searched the internet for labyrinth patterns that we liked and printed them out.

I found these trays at a local craft store.  

The wood is impressionable enough that simply tracing over them in pencil will carve the pattern into the wood.

Next we carefully traced the pattern with a hot glue gun.   We laid about three layers of hot glue, giving time for each layer to dry before adding more to it.

After the glue had dried, and those little hot glue strands were pulled away, we were left with a pattern like this in each tray.   

Finally, the kids poured sand into their trays.

We took turns trying out each others meditation sand labyrinths.

While waiting for friends to finish their projects, one of my students created a walking labyrinth with random items he found in the classroom.

This led to an entire sequence of Mindfulness activities.  After tracing each sand tray, students mindfully walked through the mini-maze.

Then they'd trace a maze created on the chalkboard with an eraser and create a new maze for the child behind them. 

I love when activities like this magically flow from an orignial idea!

Try it with your kids and tell me how it works!

May all be free from suffering by the power of the Triple Gem!