Have you ever used a textile analogy without even realizing it? Of course you have!
Weaving the family tapestry.
The threads that bind us.
Tying the knot.
Life’s fabric is hand-woven.
Unraveling and reweaving.
We instinctively reach for these words because they carry a truth our hands remember, even if we’ve forgotten how. Many of us wove something as children—a potholder, a little mat, something made from yarn or reeds or wild grass—and then moved on. These days, weaving is mostly the realm of artists and high-tech fabric makers. Yet there’s something about returning to this simple, rhythmic act that invites us into contemplation.
Recent research is confirming what crafters have long known: working with our hands heals.
The Science of Stillness in Motion
The rhythm quiets the nervous system.
Repetitive, bilateral movement—passing the shuttle, drawing the weft—creates a natural rhythm that signals safety to the brain. Heart rate slows, stress hormones ease, and the body remembers calm.
Focused attention gives the mind a rest.
When we narrow our attention to color, texture, and pattern, we enter a gentle flow state. The mental noise fades, and the mind finally exhales.
Making together heals together.
In community settings, weaving strengthens bonds as well as fabric. Shared stories, laughter, and creation remind our nervous systems that connection is safe—that we are part of a woven whole.
From Perfection to Presence
Weaving can begin as a practical act—creating a scarf, a wall hanging, a table runner. Yet something deeper happens when we stop worrying about the outcome. It becomes a mirror for how we live: dreaming, choosing, releasing control, and noticing what emerges when we do.
The impulse to weave freely is as old as weaving itself. For thousands of years, people have created expressive, intuitive textiles in ritual and daily life—pattern and meaning arising moment to moment. In the mid-20th century, Misao Jo gave her approach a name: Saori weaving, or “weaving with individuality.”
When I first encountered Saori, I was paralyzed by perfectionism. The invitation to create without a destination felt impossible—and liberating. In that workshop, I met the five gentle principles that now guide both my art and my life:
- No mistakes, only expressions.
- Be true to yourself.
- Weave with joy, not judgment.
- All people are artists.
- Create in harmony with others and nature.
The Creative Orientation
As I wove, my inner dialogue began to echo what teacher Willow Davies calls the creative orientation. She teaches that the pull of our past conditioning and habits—can quietly run our lives if left unexamined. The creative orientation invites us to turn toward life as co-creators instead of products of what has been. We meet the past with awareness and imagination, reshaping old threads into new possibilities.
Weaving, then, becomes a spiritual practice: transforming the weight of our past into the raw material of growth, connection, and fresh experience.
What Will You Weave?
What is your structure—the warp—that brings stability to your life?
Which colors and textures represent your past choices, your foundations, your possibilities?
Where might you highlight a weak spot, not to hide it, but to honor it as part of your story?
And then—let it go. Weave freely. See what emerges.
Join Me in the Priddis Homeschool Studio
I’m inviting you to a three-session, three-hour weaving workshop series surrounded by nature in Priddis. You might make a scarf, a potholder, a table runner—or something entirely unexpected.
We’ll explore contemplation as a daily skill, learn everyday grounding and breath techniques, and, most importantly, experience the joy of creating from the heart.
Let’s weave, breathe, and reconnect—one thread at a time.
test your sex ed knowledge
In the second pandemic winter, I experienced profound changes that were interfering with my functioning as a health care worker, mother and spouse. The one thing that has, in retrospect, made the most impact for me was studying the Jade Egg Essentials with Lesley Joiner.
Because of the [course work] and group sessions provided by Lesley, I was able to awaken "extra energy", enough to initiate a self-care plan to feel strong and capable again, and get back on track with emotional self-regulation, intentionally making space for fun and pleasure.
Lesley's lived experience, education and absolute passion for this critical work clearly inspire her to provide a unique and immensely empowering client experience.
NOT ONCE DID I FEEL ANY JUDGMENT.
[Lesley] helped to show me how to redefine crude, narrow, and conservative terms and definitions with a different perspective that harnesses a kinder, more meaningful insight to taboo topics that carry an unjust societal shame.
In the beginning, I bounced plenty of questions around the topic of sex and relationships, both inside and outside of the bedroom. Not once did I feel any unwillingness to share, as Lesley creates such a safe and warm space for learning and healing.