The Body Behind the Stitches
Do you have a hobby that you love?
One that fills you up — something you look forward to in your spare time and wish you had more time for when life finally slows down. Hobbies, crafts, and creative pursuits can be a genuine lifeline during stressful times. They give our minds room to breathe and allow creativity to find its way in. Using our hands can feel like magic — until it doesn’t.
From the moment we wake and begin our day, our hands are in continual motion. For those of us who knit, crochet, sew, quilt — or anyone using their hands as conduits for creativity, the fine motor movements begin to add up over time. What starts as a pleasurable activity can slowly be accompanied by discomfort—aching hands, irritated tendons, or arthritic joints that begin to complain.
Knitting has been part of my heritage and a continuous thread in my life for nearly six decades. I’ve come to realize that the ease — or dis-ease — of my hands is influenced by many factors: needle size, yarn weight, and the dark horse of how my body is organized as I sit and knit.
I have my "go-to" positions that feel comfortable, but over time even those can become part of the problem …without simple somatic movements that help interrupt the habitual patterns the body has quietly learned to hold.
Many of us can relate to knitting in postures from a straight-back chair to lounging in bed, to tucked side-saddle into our favourite chair or couch. Time evaporates when we are engaged in colourwork, an intricate pattern, or working toward a deadline for a gift, and sitting can unknowingly become a marathon.
I can say with confidence that knitters often deal with these common areas of concern: neck and shoulders, arms and hands, and back and hips, with eye fatigue showing up over time as well. If one were to Google “remedies for knitters’ bodies”— the key offerings would likely be: take breaks, do stretches, and numerous ergonomic suggestions.
From a somatic perspective, I might poke the bear and suggest that most of these are band-aids and don’t really change much over the long term — although breaks are always welcome for any activity we immerse ourselves in. What’s often missing from those suggestions is how the brain regulates muscle tension in the first place.
How does that look in real time?
It can begin with a small toolbox of movements that will help release the muscular tension that accumulates while we knit, and offer a reset of resting muscle length. Picture the shape of someone knitting: the head and shoulders creeping forward, the arms held in front as the hands curl inward, while the spine gradually moulds into our favourite knitting spot.
I recently shared a short reel about the “knitter’s schlump,” and with over 90,000 views it seemed many knitters were quietly nodding their heads — recognizing that familiar posture. With the resurgence of handcrafting across the globe, many of us are spending more time knitting than ever before. While knitting offers stress reduction, meditative rhythms, and brings us joy, the body “behind the stitches” needs nurturing so we can keep doing what we love.
The projects we create with yarn are beautiful — but the patterns that quietly develop in our bodies deserve attention too.
This is the inspiration behind a short series I’m putting together for knitters and handcrafters. Knit Without the Knots will explore gentle somatic movements that help the body soften the tension that can build while we knit. A simple way to help us keep doing what we love for as long as we can.