Crafts and Your Mind, Body and Soul

Knitting is definitely a cross –brain activity. Following a pattern is very analytical and is a left-brained activity, but the soothing and repetitive motions are very right-brained. Weaving, knitting and many other crafts can become very repetitive and can be done almost aromatically. This can lead to a mental state that is very much like meditation. Mediation decreases the blood pressure and slows down the heart rhythm. Rhythmic motion has been shown to reduce tension.

The left side of the brain is very analytical. This is the side that deals with following a pattern or calculating the amount of yarn needed for a warp. The right side deals with emotions. The two sides communicate through the bridge called the corpus collosum. When the two sides are communicating freely, we become a more harmonious being. There is evidence that this can change not only or brain activity, but our moods as well. It is thought to block the flow of unwanted and disturbing images.

Learning a new craft can be a struggle, like any new skill. It can be frustrating trying to remember how to move your hands and make the stitches, but once learned, the hands themselves remember the motion, often referred to as “muscle memory” and the craft can be accomplished on autopilot. I've experienced this sensation while playing an instrument. I couldn't remember how a tune went, but my hands did it anyway.

Many knitters like to knit while watching TV or visiting with a friend. The knitting gatherings have become very popular over the past few years with everything from a weekly knitting group gathering in the local library to an official Stitch 'n Bitch group made popular in 1999 by Debbie Stoller.

Our grandmothers knew all along that there was a peace to the practice of crafts. Spinning, weaving, knitting and other crafts weren't only done for the sake of the products, although that was the reason given. They knew that everything was connected, mind, body and spirit.