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I did an impromptu drop spindle demonstration for my cardiologist this week. He had asked if I spent a lot of time sitting still when I said that I do “a lot of crafting.”

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Some of the handspun alpaca I was spinning for my cardiologist. He did actually ask what fiber it was. Oatmeal/gray yarn on a drop spindle resting on a brown skirt.

While he agreed that the drop spindle was good, in that it got me up out of my chair and moving, I still get to do a fun course of exercise physiology to help with my dysautonomia and general functioning.

My doctor also recommended that I not sit in one place for more than 30 minutes at a time. Instead get up, stretch, or just walk around for a couple of minutes. For me, this can help get the blood flowing in my extremities and prevent venous pooling, the build-up of blood in my hands and feet. However, this can also be helpful for the average person.

Recent research suggests that even if you exercise for 30 minutes a day, the other 15.5 hours of sedentary activity have a very negative impact on your body, and can increase the risk for all those diseases that are associated with inactivity.

My plan? Use my ironing board as the occasional standing desk when I’m crafting; accidentally-on-purpose forget all the scissors on the other floor of the house (though let’s be honest, I do this anyway); spin lots; spinning means setting the twist on yarn by whacking wet yarn against a hard object. And of course there are the methods suggested in the NPR story, like fidgeting or just getting up for a drink of water. Or maybe walking around a yarn store…

Although yesterday, as I was mixing concrete with my bare hands to make stepping stones for the garden, I had to laugh at the idea that crafting is all sitting. Yes, there can be a lot of sitting, but because you are making things with your body that are usually done by machine, it can be a lot more physical than one might suspect, as long as I remember not to sit and knit for a marathon stretch.