Guys, I’m super nervous about sharing this video! Am I the only one a little weirded out by seeing themselves talk? Watching the footage made me feel like I have no idea how my face moves, and then I felt like my positioning was odd and questioning how it was all coming across. Then doing take after take (after take, after take….) in the living room, with the camera on a tripod in front of me and the baby napping in his crib upstairs…. all I can say is thank goodness my cat Yarn came in to keep me company. She has a good sense of timing. Because for all those times you watched an instructional video and thought, “man, I wish I was watching a cat video!” now you can have both at the same time!

 For most of us crafters it’s really easy to be hunched over our work, knitting away for hours and not pausing to stretch or move around that much. In this video, I cover a few exercises that I find really help with areas that I get tension when knitting for a long time- shoulders, hands and wrists. But, as I am not a doctor or health care professional or have any professional fitness background, why should you take my word for it on how to properly perform an exercise that is intended to reduce injury and strain?

So I partnered up with the Ontario Chiropractic Association who have thoroughly vetted this video and the exercises I’m doing (chiropractors, not just for your back!). They are awesome good sports to be associating with me and my cat.

Knitted Bliss: Exercises and Stretches for Knitting Strain on Vimeo.

I think a lot of us sort of casually assume that as we get older, aches and pains are ‘normal’ because of our activities, but they really aren’t. And if you have health benefits, visits to a chiropractor are usually covered (at least they are in Canada) so there is no need to just tolerate it- it’s worth getting checked out.

Let me know if you try these exercises and find them helpful- I really do practice them! The shoulder one in particular does double duty for me, I find it’s also great for the tension that builds up in my shoulders and upper back from carrying the baby around all the time.

*This post and video are sponsored by the Ontario Chiropractic Association. All thoughts expressed in this blog post and on the video are my own words and opinions. The video was reviewed by the OCA to approve the accuracy of the information and demonstration of exercises.