Lion Brand Notebook ®
I’m Hilary the V.P. of Sales for Lion Brand. Lately I’ve realized that two of my passions—health and yarn are converging.
I’m fortunate in that my passion is my work and my work involves selling a wonderful product that encompasses fashion, color, design, and is affordable and beautiful. I take pleasure in the fact that the product I sell makes people happy and gives joy and purpose to their lives.
My other passion is to live a healthy lifestyle. I eat wisely, including dark chocolate and broccoli. I do water aerobics, yoga and lift weights. I am just starting a walking program, thanks to Ilana’s encouragement. I watch my blood work numbers and I’m committed to reducing stress, because most medical professional believe it is a major cause of illness.
So how do my two passions connect? The fact that knitting or crocheting can help reduce stress, has been noted by doctors and crafters alike. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee wrote about it too. The simple repetitive movement of yarn on needles or hook is like meditating. Whether you meditate, or knit or crochet every day, you allow that special space in your otherwise busy day to let your thoughts untangle and your mind be free of all the chatter, planning, and worrying.
I am overjoyed to see friends live better as a result of having a regular knitting “practice.” I’d love to see it become part of a healthy lifestyle routine; to take even 15 or 20 minutes a day to knit or crochet in order to create a peaceful space in which to rejuvenate.
I’d love to hear from anyone reading this about how knit or crochet works into your healthy living program.
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Michelle martin
I love to crochet and I find that if I sit for 30 minutes crocheting I am very relaxed. I seem to let my brain veg out. It releases a nice calming affect over my whole body. It really is a great stress reliever, at least for me.
knittingmama
I have five kids, including a 3 month old. I absolutely have to knit every day to save my sanity. It’s how I start every morning with a cup of coffee and it’s how I wind down every night before bed. When my son had heart surgery last fall, knitting was there. When another son broke his collarbone, I knitted in the ER. I think that if I didn’t knit so much, I might smoke, and we all know is just gross. Knitting is peaceful and you get a useful product when you’re done!
Nadine
For me, knitting is therapy. I went trough a bad depression 2 years ago (time where it was at its worse) and I wish knitting would have been part of my life back then. The illness was stress induced according to the doctors and since I found that I can take a minute and forget about the stress of life when yarn runs trough my fingers, it has been part of my therapy.
When I knit or crochet, I get to “get away” for a minute, it stops my mind from running to places it shouldn’t go and I get multiple satisfaction by completing something beautiful that I can be proud of, getting a compliment on it and offering a gift to a friend or somebody in need. It also brings me back to my happy childhood: as a little girl I did lots of crafts and at least half of it included yarn. How could I ask for a more rewarding hobby? 🙂
Abby
Doing a complex pattern like the tree of life has helped me focus, which slows the worrisome thoughts that cause so much stress. Experts say doing crossword puzzles helps keep your mind sharp, and I find that recognizing patterns in the knitting instructions and keeping track of repeats is just a good as doing a crossword puzzle.
Joanne Keays
I love to knit and crochet. Somewhere along the line I heard that knitting or crocheting helps deal with stress. My husband has cancer. Along with that comes confusion, fear, panic, concerns, doctor visits, chemo and radiation treatments. On the same day we received this news, my mother was diagnosed and my dad started going down hill due to the stress. I had a friend who made prayer shawls for people in her church. Our daughter made one for her dad, so I decided to make one for my dad. It is so true that the action and planning, concentrating on the pattern, and praying as you give of yourself for another has such a calming effect. Once I started I couldn’t stop. My son asked for an afghan just like Grandpa’s only big enough to cover him from shoulder to around his feet. By the time I was done it was 7′ long! I just finished one for my mom and am working on one for our church’s prayer shawl group. I was having a very difficult time with depression and anxiety, and these projects pulled me out of my “self”. Rather than dwelling on MY fears, I was focused on doing something for someone else. What a blessing that turned out to be!
Yeah, that’s it… it’s for my health. « Wildflower Academy
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