My Knitting Start

When I started knitting I was really excited and I couldn’t wait to start the scarf I had been dreaming about making. I seemed to have set myself up for failure. I was only about 9 or 10 at the time and that is quite a daunting task to have to complete, needless to say as I was just learning I got discouraged very quickly. I saw that while yes, I was making progress it was still so far that I had to go so I got extremely frustrated. It really turned me off of knitting for a long time. In fact about 8 years.

When I started college I met this amazing girl, her name is Lauryn. I thought she was stalking me the first week because we had 3 classes together. We became fast friends and she reintroduced me to knitting. At first I was just extremely jealous of all the fun it looked like she was having. I love being crafty and making things and not being able to take part was not fun. However, a couple days later she re-taught me how to knit. At first I had no project in mind and was just practicing the motions. When I had the stitch down it was time for me to start a project. The first thing that came to my mind was a scarf. So I said I wanted to make a scarf. She gave me the oddest look and said “are you sure?? That’s like hard. “And thank goodness she did because I totally forgot that is what got me into the mess in the first place.

I then was at a lost for what to make so I then Lauryn started listing off suggestions. I decided on a head wrap. I was so eager to start and I worked on it avidly. I finished it in about 2 days. Having completed my first project by myself it boosted my confidence immensely. After making the one head wrap I ended up making 4 more to give as Christmas presents.

Making head wraps are an excellent first project to try and I would really recommend it. You should start with an easy project that will build your confidence, i.e. not a scarf. I have recently moved on to harder patterns and am currently working on a hat. But if I get over whelmed I just pause and think how I can do other things and can do this. It was a learning process that I am still going through. I have yet to attempt a scarf but I do see it as a project in the near future.           

If you get discouraged because you picked a hard project, added or dropped a stitch don’t freak out it is not the end of the world! One mistake or even a couple wont ruin a project. Have fun and knit on!

XOXO Tessa

Welcome to the start

          When I first started yoga it was because my English teacher of the previous year asked me to attend the class she was instructing for an extra-curricular class outside of school. On that particular day I couldn’t make it, but the next time the class came around I had managed to talk a friend into going with me.

          The attendance on my first day was small, about five, and as I quickly saw never more than seven attended. I had thought that odd, but reflecting more upon it I liked that way. The more intimate setting really contributed to my love of yoga.

    I had attended several classes that semester, not being able to make them all though I do wish now that I could have tried harder. For I have been to about ten official classes in my yoga life thus far. I do however, plan to make that number skyrocket to the point where counting is something I'm doing.

           I don't remember much about this first class but I do remember that I had yet to get a yoga mat and was contemplating the linoleum floor a lot. I had been hoping not to fall, and I didn't. Well, I did but not badly. Everyone falls at least once. I learned this pretty quick although even now I take it for granted and raise some of my yoga idols higher than I should. Even myself at times, I will find myself frustrated when I fall out of a pose I've done several times.

          I want to say now that I'm much better then I was then, but the truth is sometimes I’m not as good as I want myself to think I am. I find that this is something that I’m learning everyday. Whether it's pertaining to yoga, school, or life in general. It's in no way easy and most times I don't like to admit it. I know that I ought to and try to not hold my expectations of myself higher than I would anyone else.

The truth is that while I may be only as good as I think I am, I also need to actually realize how good (or not good) I am. One cannot think themselves good at, say, playing the flute and then literally pick up the instrument and be amazing at it. Harold Hill’s “think system” doesn’t really work, despite what you saw in The Music Man, in no way should that ever be expected especially not in yoga or life. It’s okay to fall out of a pose, or to try something again and again until you either get it, or are okay with stopping at that point.

It’s not a bad thing to stop when you just aren’t getting something, there is nothing wrong with it and you shouldn’t let anyone tell you that there is. The difference and the “wrongness” stems from a little something I like to call “rage quitting”.

 This is when you get so frustrated or angry at something that you just quit. Such as when you are playing a video game and just aren’t getting the level, or defeating the boss so you just turn off the game. While you may feel better at the time, when you turn the game on again you’ll have either lost your progress or you wont want to play again.

When I find myself ready to rage quit a yoga pose, my math homework, or even making cereal I like to remember something that I’ve learned from Josh Sundquist, a motivational speaker and vlogger. This is his motto “1MT1MT” which stands for “ One more thing, One more time”. I’ve taken it to mean that I need to not give up when I’m frustrated. So, I now find myself taking a deep breath and getting back into crow, even though I may want to erase that pose from the whole of existence at that time.

Beginners at yoga are not the only ones who fail at a pose, who fall or can’t keep control of their breathing. These things happen to everyone, while they may happen more to someone just starting out as you delve into your practice you will find something that works for you. Whether it’s counting your breaths or trusting your lungs to do that for you, you will find your way in yoga, listen to your body and find the path that is right for you.

XOXO Lauryn