Knitting is the New Yoga

I am learning...

If I don't pay attention to what I'm doing...

That while the results may be potentially entertaining (depending on the vantage point)...

They will not be what I intended.

Let me give you a couple of illustrations that are personal favorites of mine.  

• When I was doing yoga (more to the point, when I COULD do yoga, but that's another post on exercise and diet, and well, I'm supposed to be concentrating on this post, right?) I could flow through movements as long as I paid attention to my body and what I wanted it to do.  But if I was in, let's say, downward dog too long, my mind would start a dialogue that sounded something like this: "man this was a crappy day. I didn't get what I wanted done. Wonder what's for dinner? Do I need to stop for gas? I hope I remembered..."  You get the picture.  The picture the rest of the yoga class got was me falling over.  Yup — mind went down the rabbit hole, body followed.
• In 2008, I bought a Harley. I had to have it delivered. I didn't know how to ride it. I took lessons.  First thing you learn in class: the bike goes where your eyes go.  Repeat after me: Where you look is where you'll go. Simple, right? I learned to ride, and on one memorable occasion, early on, I had taken my bike to the dealer for maintenance.  My son drove me to pick it up and then was to follow me home.  As we left the parking lot, with me in the lead, I looked across the street and said (to myself, no one's going to hear you over that engine!) "don't go up that curb over there, don't go up that curb over there." I'm sure by now you know exactly where I went — up the curb, lost my balance and as slowly and gently as possible, laid the bike down. (see previously referenced lesson) 
• We won't even go into how I set fire to a pan while boiling pasta.

So knitting has become my new yoga.

When the running dialogue in my head sounds like "knit two together, yarn over, knit two together, yarn over, slip slip knit..."  (or K2tog YO K2tog YO SSK in the lingo) - things look great because I've paid attention ... to the pattern, the yarn, my tension.

What's not not pretty is when the mental conversation is more along the lines of  "knit two together, what the hell was I thinking, yarn over, that was a stupid move, I should have thought that through better...  why doesn't this look like the picture on the pattern? (or in the lingo, K2tog, damn, YO, crap, grrrr... ugh!)

Now, don't get me wrong, there are times when I knit, that I'm not paying attention because of the laughter and bantering with my knitting partners in crime friends.  I will never complain about that scenario, it's a fellowship I enjoy. By now most of us have learned not to try complicated or intricate patterns while in that group's presence. Just like yoga has levels of effort, so does knitting; sometimes you need Shavasana, sometimes you need a garter stitch.

I'm still trying to tame my inner dialogue and pay attention, and the results are showing.

Now all I have to do is learn to tune out the dialogue in the yarn store, which tends to result in yarn purchases, pattern overload, and ... oh wait, are those new project bags with cute sheep on them?