Stitch meditation is a way of slowing down and bringing calm to your mind and body

The Importance of Slowing Down

I was very excited when Singapore relaxed not only its local safe distancing COVID measures, but in and outbound travel restrictions too. Imagine all the joy that this piece of news brought. Suddenly, we were bustling with activity (and even back at the workplace), and as one of my friends put it, “desperate to do as many things as possible out there!”. It seems like most people I know have this energy inside of them that is waiting to be released. But let’s take a pause here. Remember the times during lockdown (or circuit breaker as it’s called in Singapore) where we ended up being overwhelmed and exhausted because of the gazillion things that we signed up for online (and endless zoom sessions)? We didn’t know what to do and so we piled on the online activities and meetings. It’s definitely time to learn from this.

Slowing down is not about pulling the brakes on life, but rather taking the time to stop and reflect on your life, reflecting on the decisions you have made and improving on them. We learnt how exhausted we got during the height of the pandemic so shouldn’t we learn from this? It seems we have forgotten how to take breaks no matter how big or small. It could be staring out the window and watching the birds go by, or even having a cup of tea with our mobile phones off. These breaks matter because the busier we are, the shorter our tempers and attention spans have become for people who mean the most to you.

Sarah Corbett of “How to be a Craftivist” puts it beautifully:

“It's not about doing everything at a snail's pace, but rather making time to reflect and to think critically about at what pace we should take to do everything”.

Our world is going so quickly that it’s hard not to be get sucked up in a world where words such as “busy”, “efficiency” and “productivity” are the norm. Many have asked, but how else will we be able to compete, bring in that dollar, or get ahead? I am reminded by this quote from the German scientist Hermann von Helmholtz:

“Often … [ideas] arrived suddenly, without any effort on my part, like an inspiration.… They never came to a fatigued brain and never at the writing desk. It was always necessary, first of all, that I should have turned my problem over on all sides to such an extent that I had all its angles and complexities 'in my head.' … Then … there must come an hour of complete physical freshness and quiet well-being, before the good ideas arrived. Often they were there in the morning when I first awoke.… But they liked especially to make their appearance while I was taking an easy walk over wooded hills in sunny weather.”

How do We Slow Down?

I scatter moments to slow down throughout the day; they are usually before and after I start major periods of work. They are what I call literal brain dumps; we are decluttering our mind so that we can regain focus later:

Stitch meditation - this is one of my favourite activities, and can vary between 10 minutes to up to an hour depending on how I feel.
Staring at a wall for 15 minutes - It may sound and look silly, but looking at a blank wall and observing its textures and colour is better than doom scrolling on your phone.
Taking a walk to anywhere - I prefer a quiet walk. It can be just for a few minutes to stretch your legs and body, and get away from your routine.
Closing your eyes and taking slow deep breaths. I like to slowly breath for 8 seconds, hold for 4 and then slowly release for another 8 seconds. I make sure to count each second in my mind, and this prevents my mind from wondering.

Stitch Meditation

Stitch meditation is something that I practice on a regular basis. It could be for an hour, or even just for 5 minutes depending on how I feel. The practice of threading the needle and poking it through the fabric is very therapeutic. There is no pattern, no plan and no rule. All my brain is telling me is to focus on the action of slowly drawing the thread through the fabric to create a tiny stitch. Each action is repeated. And I remember to inhale and exhale with each stitch so that I don’t tense up.

This practice has helped me deal with my grief and the overwhelming nature of the pandemic.

It helped me process my thoughts.

It helped me calm down.

Would You Like to Join Me for Stitch Meditation?

1.5 hours of meditating through stitch

I would like to invite you all to a 1.5 hour stitch meditation session happening as part of Singapore Tourism Board’s inaugural Wellness Festival 2022. The 10-day festival has a line-up of wellness activities and experiences that promote holistic wellbeing, and I am excited to be part of it.

With the opportunity to share the power of stitch to a larger crowd, I decided to create a stitch meditation kit for the participants to take home. The kit includes pre-cut fabric swatches and calico squares sufficient for 2 weeks of stitch meditation, needle and thread, wax, and an instruction booklet. This will all be packed in a box, and it gave me the opportunity to add my own custom paper sticker from sticker printing company, Singa Printing, too!

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone there, and I hope stitch meditation can become part of your wellness regime.

Date & Time: 4 June, 10am - 11.30am

Location: The Meadow, Gardens by the Bay

Ticket price: Free

Sign up for tickets here.