Can Quilting Really Promote Good Health?

May 2005 – La Mesa, California – Around the world, there is

an increasing awareness of the health benefits derived from

participating in various forms of art.

In hospitals across the US, doctors, nurses and patients are

discovering that participation in the arts – including

quilting, dancing, listening to music, and working with beads,

clay and collages – is beneficial to the healing process, and

in staying healthy. As a matter of fact, last year more than

300 health and arts professionals gathered in Alexandria,

Virginia for the 13th annual conference of the Society for the

Arts in Healthcare (SAH). This group is slated to meet in

Alberta, Canada in June 2005, and will combine its conference

with Partners in Healthcare.

Stories abound of patients suffering from cancer, ALS, Diabetes

and stress-related diseases, whose recovery has benefited

tremendously from their participation in various forms of art.

Once considered on the fringe of healthcare, the arts are being

used by a growing number of healthcare institutions around the

globe. Here in the US, the University of Washington Medical

Center uses art in its entrance to create a friendly, welcoming

environment and reduce the stress of actually walking in to

their hospital. Quilts, paintings, sculpture and musicians

scattered throughout the hospital continue the theme of

relaxation and reflection through art.

Frequently patients are given directions to offices or labs with

references to sculptures or the Healing Garden. Nurses are known

for taking a piano break, and providing soothing live music in

the corridors. Artists work with patients teaching them new art

skills so the patients can express themselves creatively during

their stay in the hospital.

And what's the Quilting Connection?

The Society for the Arts in Healthcare sponsors the Healing

Gardens Quilt Show, a collection of 27 quilts made by Northern

Virginia Quilters. These quilts are currently on tour and

available for members to display in their healthcare facility.

Each quilt depicts a plant currently under study or being used

as a potential source of cancer-fighting drugs. This display

uses art to educate people about a healthcare issue.

While men and women find joy in making "happy" quilts – baby

quilts, wedding quilts, graduation or friendship quilts – many

find relief in making quilts that depict life's tragedies such

as divorce and death. A case in point is the AIDS quilt project

which now contains more than 44,000 quilt panels; each panel

memorializes the life of a person who died of AIDS.

And, if quilts and making quilts can be helpful in healing, won't

it be helpful in preventing illness?

It must! Advice from healthcare professionals around the world

includes engaging in constructive, creative activities as well

as contemplative activities. Quilting is all of that. During

the planning and construction of a quilt, all of your contemplative

and creative talents are tapped into. As a matter of fact, many

quilters report that they get completely "lost" in their quilts

time and time again, thereby providing relief from life's stresses

and promoting good health.

So, the next time your spouse or other family member asks you

about your quiltmaking activities, just say "I'm doing it for

my health!"

©2005, Penny Halgren

Penny is a quilter of more than 24 years who hosts

7925 Pasadena Ave.

La Mesa, CA 91941