At the age of five my Mom taught me to knit. I remember watching her knit Barbie clothing for my dolls and wanted to make them like her. My first project was a pair of basic slippers that were knitted in a square, then the edges sewn together. In those days, I remember going to Woolworths and picking out yarn a (blue acrylic) they just had the basic colors ( red, white, blue, black). Today yarn fibers are hand dyed and come in a variety of materials ( Merino Wool, Alpaca, Cashmere, Cotton, Silk, Bamboo, Vicuna, and Possum) to name a few. Yes, I said Possum! I knit a beautiful scarf out of Possum yarn from New Zealand. In addition, the needles are not the usual plastic or metal they are made of materials like wood and bamboo.
There is a lot to think about when embarking on your journey to the knitting world. Once you have finally selected your pattern, and yarn ( not in that order) we knitters sometimes find the yarn first then look for a pattern that might work after. That is a whole other Blog post!. If you are like me, I spend hours working in my craft, with all these hours of sitting your body gets, stiff and may tighten up. So it is necessary to take a break!
So I have come up with a program that might get you moving a bit to prevent injuries that will take the time away from your craft.
Note: If you experience any pain with the program below you should STOP and contact your Health Care provider.
Warm Up - Break- Stretch - Strengthen
Warm-Up - Begin with wrist circles forward and backward, flex and extend wrist, palm up and palm down. Do 5 receptions of each one.
Break- taking breaks is very important. Have a cup or tea and pee!. You should break, stand up and change position every 20 minutes. I try to work a row or two then get up. Or if you are adding a new color, new stitch before you begin take your break. Your mind and knitting you will Thank you for it.
Stretch - Get up and Reach for the Sky. “Try to make yourself Taller”. Hold each stretch for 20-25 seconds
Neck Stretches- rotate and look over each shoulder, ear to shoulder, chin lift
Prayer Stretch - Palms together
Elbows at Waist - Palm up/Palm down
Seated Chest Opener- hook hands around to back of chair, puff chest up
Warriors- or Lunge and hold
“Bat the Body” or “Empty Coat Sleeves”
It not enough to stretch but we must keep our muscles strong
Strengthening
1-2 lb weights
Wrist Flexion and Extension
Palm Up and Palm Down
Crack a walnut with your Scapular ( try not to elevate your shoulders)
This is a brief program that can be modified and expanded for your level of activities.
For more information and a personalized program for you contact me :
annmarie@integratedmindandbody.com