the yoga of knitting

I love to knit! I love to cozy up on the couch and start making something cool and wearable by simply taking an endless strand of string and mixing it up on some sticks. I love the string too!! Yarn is an amazing thing. Start with some funky, straw covered sheep's coat, a comb, some vegetable dye, and ohh lala, magically it becomes the essence of coiled fabulousness. I love the colors of yarn, the smells, the texture--I love the very yarniness of yarn. It's beautiful AND functional which is truly my favorite combo in the world. I especially like multi-colored sock yarn because it's like unwrapping a surprise gift as the yarn knits up.

I was in Chicago over the weekend visiting my Kripalu Y.T.T. roommate Jodi. Jodi and I lived together during our training for a month in a dorm room the size of a large broom closet. Needless to say, we started out physically close, and we developed a lovely friendship that brought us to an emotional closeness as the month progressed. Jodi and I visited Loopy Yarns on Polk St. in the old Dearborn train station building. Loopy yarns is one of the sweetest, friendliest, way cool yarn shops around.

http://www.loopyyarns.com/

I like to think about the relationship between knitting and yoga. When I am in my knitting groove, I feel much as I feel in yoga practice: I am deeply in the moment, my mind not ruminating on the past, nor yanking me into the future, but instead here in the NOW. Simply breathing, deeply focused, hands and fingers moving, moving, moving in their own little mudra dance.