Adventures in Medknitation
There’s a lot of talk about stress management and anxiety reducing activities right now. Covid-19 has brought a lot of intense feelings to the forefront, and while these are real feelings and it’s important to honor them, it’s also important to let them pass and try to center ourselves. Meditation is a great way to do that, and it may not be what you think it is.
For example, you don’t need to contort yourself into a yogo pose (unless you want to!), or literally clear your mind. According to author, yoga instructor, and knitter Suzan Colón, “Meditation is about training your focus on one thing so your thoughts gradually recede into the background, the way you no longer notice anything around you when you’re really into that intarsia. The usual points of focus in meditation are your breathing, or a mantra or prayer, but it can also be something active, like walking, eating, and (yes, yay!) knitting or crocheting.”
Yay, indeed. Suzan interviewed some knitters for her series of articles about medknitation, which uses knitting (or crochet) as a meditation aid. Knitters across the board talked about the calming, repetitive nature of knitting being relaxing, and I agree.
Author and yarn expert Clara Parkes says “The rhythmic, repetitive motion of knitting absolutely brings on a meditative state for me. The minute I sit down and assume the knitting posture, hands together, eyes cast downward, fingers performing the familiar motions, I can feel my body begin to relax. My mind shifts into a place of quiet calm and focus.”
Alanna Okun, author of The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater, agrees: “Knitting is rhythmic and calming and entirely in my control, even when the rest of the world feels like it might not be.” “I reach for it to quiet my brain and prevent myself from fidgeting, like on the subway, during movies, even in some of my work meetings.”
The Interweave staff decided to give mednitation a try, with varying levels of success.
Julia’s Medknitation for a Busy Mind
I already meditate regularly, usually as part of my yoga practice. It’s interesting to apply the same principles of breath and focus to knitting. Whenever I follow a guided meditation, I often find myself either breathing faster or slower than the guide despite my best efforts. But, if you use a pattern repeat, for example, or a set number of stitches to match your breath to, you can find a pace of breathing that works for you.
All in all, I would medknitate more often. However, I do love being able to watch Netflix and knit, and I can’t usually meditate during the shows I tend to watch!
—Julia Pillard, Assistant Editor
MENDitation with Laura
Well, I completely misunderstood this assignment. We discussed it in a meeting, and I thought it was supposed to be about trying MENDitation, not medKNITation. So I tried menditating and found it very relaxing! When you’re trying to darn a hole in a sweater, that’s pretty much all you can do. You have to be mindful of where you’re anchoring the yarn and keeping track of where you are in the over-under pattern while weaving over the hole. I plan to do more menditating while repairing some thrifted cashmere sweaters.
—Laura Hulslander, Managing Editor
Allison: Yeah, no.
Deliberate meditation just makes me angry. I’m good with knitting, thank you.
—Allison Korleski, Video Producer and Fiber Nation Podcaster
Kathleen: Medni-what-now?
I tried it, but I think my tech addiction overrode my need for calmness. A lifelong multi-tasker, I found myself unable to lose myself in my knitting without some sort of background noise. I turned on a podcast (the Knitting Nerdcast—check it out!), and all of a sudden, that send of calmness descended upon me and I relaxed. Silence isn’t golden for me; never has been. I might need to work on that, or maybe that’s just how I’m wired.
I also might have been working on too difficult a project, which Suzan doesn’t recommend. Here are her tips for a good medknitation practice.
How to Medknitate by Suzan Colón
Here’s how to get in a daily dose of relaxing, wellness-promoting medknitation:
- Dial down distractions. Turn off the TV, music, or anything else that’s making noise, and silence your phone. If you’re using your phone as a timer, choose a soothing tone as the alarm and silence all other notifications. If you’re with friends, agree to work in silence for ten minutes.
- Align your spine. If sitting, lengthen your spine by sitting up tall. Your body doesn’t have to be rigid; just make sure you’re not slumping. Allow elbows to be at your sides, and lower your chin enough to see your work. If standing or walking, choose a project light enough that it won’t weigh your hands and head down, or let it rest on a tabletop or in your bag.
- Keep it simple. Choose an easy project, one where you don’t have to refer to a pattern for the duration of your medknitation. Counting is okay.
- Be mindful. While knitting or crocheting, bring your awareness to your breathing . . . the way your body feels while sitting, standing, or walking . . . the feel of the yarn . . . the colors . . . any sounds. Let your focus be gentle but steady.
Cheers,
Kathleen
P.S. Have you medknitated? Tell us about your experience!
We do tai chi regularly, and as an asthmatic, I have difficulty regulating my breathing in a meditative way. That said, I use knitting to calm myself any time I need calming. I find knitting to be a very grounding, calming activity, and keep multiple projects going so I always have one that works for whatever situation I’m in.
I have used knitting and other handwork as meditation for many years. The work written on “Flow” helped me the most. If what you are working on is too easy, your mind will wander. If the work is too hard and requires you to keep an eye on a pattern, or double check yourself too often, you cannot enter that meditative state. It is only when your skill and the difficulty of the task are perfectly matched that your mind can enter that flow or meditative state. It does work. I have also used a mantra that matched my stitch pattern to help me stay focused.