So I went to knitting class today. It was a lot of fun. The knitting cafe was buried deep in the Village, further south than I tend to go, but I found it after a little bit of exploring. The cafe itself was just adorable. Their motto is the title of this post. There was a counter where they sold brownies, tea and other goodies (my attention was caught and held by the nice, thick, chocolatey brownies). Two other women showed up for the class. One of them just got a part in a student-written play (she was maybe in her 40s) and had to knit in a scene while arguing with her husband. She wanted to be able to knit convincingly. The instructor commended her for this, noting that often in the movies when people are supposed to be knitting, they're not doing it right and it takes her out of the story ;) Knitting is surprisingly easy if someone teaches you live. As the teacher put it, "Everyone walks out a knitter." I had my doubts at first, because the Internet instructions weren...
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I'm still doing yoga and loving it!
Liz, I'd recommend a book called Complete Yoga by Stella Weller. I like to use it for my home routines. It's also good because it has pictures for every pose.
Here are a few from the book:
The Butterfly - sit on the floor with the soles of your feet together. Bring your feet close to your body. Lower and raise your knees, like a butterfly flapping its wings. (This reduces stiffness in the ankle, knee and hip joints, and tones the inner thighs.)
The Lying Twist - lie on your back with your arms stretched out at shoulder level. Bring your knees toward your chest. Tilt your knees to one side, then the other, while your back is still flat on the mat. This is good for the abs, lower back and waistline.
Single Leg Raise - Lie on your back and raise one leg at a time. This is good for abs.
Mountain Posture (some teachers call a different pose "mountain posture"): sit with your legs crossed, raise your arms above your head and put the palms together. Hold as long as it's comfortable. It's also good to hold a yoga block between your palms, if you have one, but not necessary. This strengthens the arms.
Cow Head Posture: Sit cross-legged and stretch your right arm in the air. Then bend it down so your elbow is next to your head. With your left hand, reach behind your back from below, and interlock your fingers with those of your right hand. This is good for stiffness in the arms and shoulders. If you can't interlock right away, don't worry - you can just rest your hands on your back.
Angle Balance - really good for abs. Sit on the floor, then tilt backwards so you balance on your bottom. Stretch out your legs straight if possible; you can keep the knees bent if you want. Reach your arms out straight. Hold as long as it's comfortable.
I also recommend shoulder stands. You start out lying down, then you put your legs over your head, so that your feet touch the floor. Then you roll your shoulders under, put your hands against your back with the fingers pointing up, and raise your legs into the air. This one is harder to describe without a picture. There's a website called www.santosha.com that shows the poses step by step.
If you haven't done a shoulder stand before, I wouldn't recommend trying it at home, but all the other poses I mentioned are absolutely safe.
(IF I can get my dog to stop sitting on my face every time I lay on the floor)
I'd love to be in your first group of students when the time comes!
I'll probably be teaching a community class in January :)