THE WEEKLY PAGE 📝 No. 243
Knitting as active meditation + what to read, watch, listen to and enjoy...
Do you come from a long line of women who enjoyed knitting?! My great grandma made so many blankets that our family is still handing them out and passing them around.
And after reading this Instagram post from Wool and Cottage — I think I realized that the women who came before us were definitely on to something.
YOUR BRAIN ON KNITTING (source) 🧠
Activates the parasympathetic nervous system: Knitting triggers a relaxation response, reducing cortisol (the stress hormone) and promoting a state of calm that can help with anxiety and high blood pressure.
Helps you enter the “flow state”: Repetitive, rhythmic motions can lead to a flow state where your mind becomes fully absorbed in the task — leading to increased happiness and decreased stress.
Engages both hemispheres of the brain: Knitting requires coordination, pattern recognition, and problem-solving, engaging both left (logical) and right (creative) hemispheres of the brain. This keeps your mind sharp and can even help improve cognitive function over time.
Increases dopamine production: The sense of accomplishment from seeing progress (even a few rows!) releases dopamine (the feel-good chemical in your brain). This helps improve mood and can be especially beneficial for those struggling with anxiety or depression.
Strengthens neural pathways: Learning and practicing knitting strengthens neural connections, which may help improve memory and protect against cognitive decline. Some studies suggest that regular knitting can even help reduce the risk of dementia.
Reduces rumination and overthinking: When used as a tool, knitting requires just enough focus — it can help distract from negative thoughts and prevents the brain from spiraling into stress. This is why knitting is often recommended for stress relief, mental clarity, and even recovery from trauma.
Knitting can be considered a form of “active meditation” — an activity that fully engages our senses, allowing us to enter a meditative state even though our body and mind are actively involved.
If knitting isn’t for you, you might also find that activities like jigsaw puzzles, walking, building miniatures, or paint-by-number provide similar benefits. Anyway, I think I’m going to start knitting?
📚 READ: When I declared my desire to learn how to knit, a friend sent me this article — and it’s so interesting! “The Wartime Spies Who Used Knitting as an Espionage Tool” tells the story of women during WWI and WWII who used knitting to encode messages into scarves, sweaters, and rugs. Whether used for espionage or not, I love the idea of hiding secret messages in your knitting projects. Read it here.
If you enjoy knitting you’ve gotta check out this adorable pattern for triangle scarves — these are all the rage in Copenhagen (plus I reckon one scarf can hold at least one top-secret, encoded message).
📺 WATCH: Valentine’s Day has become synonymous with the release of a new season of Love Is Blind — and yeah, I don’t love that I anticipate it for months and immediately watch every episode, but it’s a coping mechanism at this point. Season 8 was filmed in my home state of Minnesota so you better believe I’ll be on the couch when the first three episodes drop tonight! Watch the trailer:
🎧 LISTEN: As we continue to watch the richest man in the world directly involve himself in US and global politics, Ezra Klein sits down with tech journalist Kara Swisher, who has covered Musk for decades, to discuss how the tech mogul went from Obama-era liberal to the far right extremism, and theorize about what he might be after. Give it a listen.
🧡 ENJOY: With increasing ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids at various places across the US, its more important than ever to know your rights as an immigrant, and your role as an ally. The fine folks at Barrio Drive have created some helpful resources that you can download and print for free. These are free to use, but if you’d like to thank them you can Venmo them @BarrioDrive or make a purchase from their online shop. See below for the PDF files or visit their website for options in more languages:
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📊 Visit my Resources Page for free downloads, spreadsheets, and eBooks.
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This week I started a new paint-by-number since my kids will destroy any puzzle before I can ever finish it. But maybe knitting is where it’s at? I could definitely be a knitter.
As a knitter I loooooove this post. I have been ramping up my knitting this year as it helps me stop doomscrolling. I have made a bunch of Sophie scarves too! Currently making a pair of mismatched socks using yarn leftover from previous projects. If any "Pagers" need a scarf made, I'm here to make it! (No seriously, I have tons of yarn in my stash to utilize and I would mail them).