women of a certain age are like sunflowers; they know how to turn their faces to the sun.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Vinyasa

“Some think it's holding on that makes one strong; sometimes it's letting go"
- Sylvia Robinson


When I was a little girl, I loved to climb trees. I would raise my arms, search for purchase on the rough bark of the trunk, flip my legs up and haul myself onto the lowest branch.

Then I would begin again with the next layer of branches.

On the day of my mother's second wedding, right in the middle of her reception, I climbed a tree in my grandmother's front yard, clad in pink silk and my very first pair of grown up sheer pantyhose.

Mom was not amused.

I loved the idea of climbing towards the sky. It felt like freedom. I still smile as I write this.

Going down?

That was a lot harder.

The first time, I resolutely refused to come down, hugging the trunk with my eyes squeezed shut tightly and screaming for my brother David to, "GO GET DAD!"

Eventually I learned how to dangle my legs from the upper branches and search for the next lower tier with my toes, sliding down the tree in manageable increments.

I learned to let go.

I don't know about you, but I often want to hold onto things longer than I should.

I cling to my familiar habits, opinions, and beliefs, because they seem to form a safe haven in an often confusing and sometimes dangerous world.

But life is like the monkey bars; you can't move forward unless you let go of the first rung.

The trick is to grab onto the next one, before you fall, establishing a rhythm of hold and release that carries you across the breadth: of space, of time, of life itself.

The reward of sure footing await us only at the end of our perilous journey. Solid ground must be gained through ongoing effort.

Vinyasa is a form of yoga that uses sequential movement to interlink postures, forming a continuous flow.

This moving meditation reveals all forms as being impermanent and for this reason not to be held onto.

Is it any wonder, I chose that name for the first creation in a new collection of organic cotton wraps and scarves?

VINYASA
the zen collection

$6

SIZE:
18 inches wide by 72 inches long



MATERIALS:
6 balls (1080 yds.) Rowan Purelife Organic Cotton 4-Ply
Color: Natural
Size 3 (US) needles



GAUGE:

5 stitches = 1 inch (blocked)


Written Directions
Knit in One Piece - End to End
Suitable for Beginning Lace Knitter

3 comments:

teabird said...

I love this - the pattern, the philosophy, the call to courage. Bravo!

risiko said...

this was the message i needed to hear today (strange how you do that. a lot,)
anything i´ve ever had to give up has claw marks all over it. especially the yarn stash and patterns. can´t wait to get my claws- er needles-- into this gorgeous creation. thank you again for sharing you talent and you insight.

La Cabeza Grande said...

Finding your rhythm and letting go. So important a lesson to each of us in our own way.

BTW, sinuous is perfectly appropriate for this interestingly textured piece.