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Knit Magic was founded in 2006 by Karen Zila Hayes, a life coach, creative empowerment specialist and multi-media artist. Karen started knitting almost by accident, never dreaming that she’d someday be one of Canada’s experts on knitting therapy. She also never dreamed that she’d be reshaping the way people think about knitting and helping them redefine the way they use their minds and bodies to execute a healthier, more effective practice.

Karen possesses a very unique skill in the world of knitting. Unlike conventional teaching methods that focus on expanding one’s roster of knitting skills and/or becoming a more accomplished designer, Karen refers to herself as a ‘Knitting Pro’ because her work is akin to that of a ‘Golf Pro’. Just as a golf pro assesses  a client’s swing and helps make that swing both more efficient and safe to the body, Karen has the rare ability to detect, analyze and correct the postural and mechanical flaws in a person’s knitting technique (or ‘knit swing’) that are invisible to most.

Unlike many knitters who learn in childhood, Karen came to knitting as an adult and completely by accident (CLICK HERE for more). Fascinated by the addictive bliss this activity was producing in her, she began researching knitting’s therapeutic power and the ever-mounting body of evidence supporting knitting’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits. She immersed herself in the study of this unusual topic and went on to become one of Canada’s leading experts on Therapeutic Knitting.

As Karen began to give talks of the subject of Therapeutic Knitting she was discovered  three facts that would solidify the course of her work in the field of knitting 1) a disturbing number of people who were avid knitters had a knitting practice was causing them pain  2) a great many knitters that were not in pain were also holding unnecessary tension in their bodies  3) she discovered she could detect and easily correct the technical flaws that were responsible for these issues.

Karen then realized that her mission was not only to educate people about the amazing benefits of knitting but to create customized assessments to help people redefine their technique, expand their understanding of the mind/body connection and take their knitting practice to the next level.  CLICK HERE for more on Karen’s Knitting Assessments.