Posturing on Knitting

How you sit, when you knit, matters

All puns and rhymes aside, when you do something for any length of time, it’s a good idea to think about your posture and the impact that this activity can have on your body.  We might not stop to think about whether our spine is straight, or our shoulders are rounded, but posturing on knitting, or more specifically thinking about our posture is important.  If we don’t, the amount of time that we knit can have a negative impact on our body.  And this hobby is way too good to ever have to put it down.  If I added up the amount of time that I spend knitting, a few people might think of staging an intervention.  So it’s really important for me to think about the way that I am sitting.

For almost half of my life, I’ve been either an athlete or a coach.  This means that good form and posture, has literally been drilled into me. Even still, I’ll find myself slipping into a slump or hunching my shoulders when working on a project, especially if that project requires me to follow a pattern or instructions.

Gasp! I know this doesn’t sound terrible.  And it’s not, but recently I’ve started to feel the impact and it’s something that I can’t ignore.  Now, after knitting for a bit, mostly when I’ve been sitting incorrectly, I’ll start to feel a nagging pain in my shoulder, at the bottom of my scapula/shoulder blade.  It’s not sharp, but it’s there.  It almost feels like someone is trying to turn a corkscrew up under my shoulder.  When this happens, it’s time to put down the knitting for a bit.  Not indefinitely and not to wait patiently for the pain to go away.  (I’m also not convinced that it’s solely from knitting).

Proactively Taking Care Of Your Knitting…hands, arms, shoulders and spine.

We love knitting for different reasons – and there are many reasons to love this craft.  One of them is the added health benefits, specifically the stress reduction it affords us.  But if, we do not take small moments to stretch our bodies, our hands and fingers,  we risk harming ourselves and our ability to keep knitting.  My brother who recently became a doctor watched me knit and told me that one day I’ll develop arthritis.  Maybe I will.  But I plan on making that day as far off in the distance as possible.

Stretching to Reverse the Effects of Bad Posture

Fingers:

Place your fingertips against the palm of the opposite hand and apply downward pressure.

 

Knuckles:

While not physically part of your posture, your fingers and knuckles are an important bit of your knitting and should be cared for – that’s why I’ve included this in the Posturing on Knitting post.  Bend at the knuckles and using the opposite palm or fingers from the opposite hand, apply downward pressure.  You can add to this by adding resistance, or pushing against your opposite hand.

 

Shoulders: 

My favorite posturing on knitting fix! I borrow this one from my yoga practice, its the arms from Eagle or Garudasana.

Hold your arms straight up over your head, palms facing.  Then start to let them fall down and to the sides, one arm swopping underneath the other.  Then bring that bottom hand back around and to the palm of the top arm.  Draw the elbows down as you reach the fingertips toward the sky.

 

Chest: 

Make your arms look like football goal posts and then allow them to fall back (so your shoulders are moving towards each other).  This one is so good.

Neck:

This one is kind of a given, but allow your head to gently fall towards one shoulder, and then alternate.  You can try moving your head in different directions and finding more of a stretch by tucking your chin to your chest, or allowing your head to fall backwards, etc.

*Note: When stretching please be gentle with your body and listen to it.  If something hurts or does not feel like a healthy stretch, stop doing it and seek medical care. These are also not all of the stretches that are beneficial to knitters, simply some of my favorites.

Soaking in the Tub

A good soak, or a nice hot shower does wonders for your back and body.  The damp heat melts stress and tension, which can be caused by sitting with poor posture while knitting for extended periods of time.  Be sure to take this extra time to work our fingers and stretch them in hot wet heat to reduce inflammation and work out any lactic acid build up.

Spice up your time in the tub by adding some epsom salt or your favorite scented bath salts, lighting a candle or two.  Sometimes I bring a good book along to occupy my brain while i’m soaking.  I’ve also been known to dabble in bringing a glass of wine and notebook to help with my posturing on knitting and dreaming up new patterns and posts.  This is such a nice way to spoil yourself while getting back to optimal wellness that I’m actually thinking about commissioning a friend to make me a wooden bath tray/organizer.

Getting your Partner Involved

Sometimes, when I’m tired or know that I’ve been lacking in proper form, I’ll ask someone to help catch me when I’m doing it and gently remind me to sit up or lean back instead of leaning forwards.  Often this is my husband, but when he’s working and they’re in town I’ll tax my parents to help out.  This also makes them feel better about me knitting for copious amounts of time.

That’s enough posturing on knitting for me, for now, but I have a feeling that this won’t be the only time I’ll end up talking about this.