How to combine varieties and meditation styles

If you’re a dedicated stoner or a part-time amateur, you’ve probably been meditating on weed without even realizing it. Maybe you were way too high, so you spent 10 minutes focusing on your breath and repeating to yourself, “I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine,” until you actually were. Or, while stoned to the bone and absorbed in a book, a certain phrase may have reverberated in your head until it lulled all your chakras, later snapping you out of a stoned literary trance that felt light as air.

Cannabis and meditation go together like sugar and salt—each effective on its own, but in the right circumstances, the two absolutely bring out the best in each other. If the alchemy is just right, you can consciously mix the two and end up with the salted caramel of short-term metaphysical journeys.

Stoned meditation practice can be ceremonial as hell — think lit candles, sage, moon phase contemplation — or super informal. It all boils down to honoring yourself right where you are.

Whether you’re lolling in your underpants or in the lotus position on your bedroom floor, these stoned meditation tips can help you get and stay centered, faded or otherwise.

Started

For those unfamiliar with the practice, meditation is the act of focusing the mind on a specific thing – the breath, for example – to achieve a clear, calm, and present emotional and mental state. Easy enough right? Really, there isn’t much to practice; The only thing standing between you and higher consciousness is, well, your own mind. This is exactly why cannabis can be so helpful.

It has been proven that both cannabis and meditation separately can be potential treatments for pain, stress, anxiety and depression – common problems many of us live with. Finding both a strain that helps calm these issues and a meditation style that brings you back into alignment is more than just a way to unwind, it’s a low-key shortcut to nirvana.

If you’ve never meditated before, consider downloading any number of meditation apps like HeadSpace, Calm, or Insight Timer to get you started.

The Best Weed Strains For Meditation (Our Picks)

Contemporary cannabis strains are bred for an amazingly wide range of therapeutic and recreational uses. If you’ve already found one that feels particularly cashmere-snuggly to you, take some time to dial in your perfect dose before building your meditation swing.

Here are a few relatively ubiquitous strains that we’ve found particularly relaxing:

For consumers with low tolerance: Harle-Tsu

This hybrid features a remarkably high concentration of CBD and delivers a relatively low high that is generally therapeutic. For users new to both meditation and cannabis, this could be a suitably gentle introduction

Find Harle-Tsu varieties

For a proven attitude adjustment: Blue Dream

Blue Dream’s particular genetics deliver effects that are consistently reported to be effective in treating stress, anxiety, and depression. It can often be found with milder cannabinoid profiles as well, allowing you to banish any anxiety without also having to deal with an astronomical high. But note that this strain provides an energetic high for some, so start slow and explore the effects.

Find Blue Dream strains

For overworked overthinkers: 9lb hammer

Those who find relaxation evasive might find their competition with a bowl of 9lb Hammer, a stoney indica hybrid with a myrcene-heavy terpene profile. This strain is typically bred with higher (>25%) THC percentages, so it should be consumed with a reasonable dose of caution depending on tolerance.

The effects of 9lb Hammer are said to straddle the line between relief and calm, and we’ve personally found it to be an effective damper on spiraling stresses at the end of the day.

Find 9lb Hammer varieties

Find the right meditation style for you

Neither cannabis nor meditation are one-size-fits-all. In fact, there are several meditation styles that you can explore as you embark on the journey to inner peace. Three of the most common meditation styles are mindfulness meditation, transcendental meditation, and guided meditation. These are all super accessible forms of meditation that you can do from your bedroom floor, your favorite chair, your mobility device, and in some cases while you’re grocery shopping or sitting in traffic.

mindfulness

Mindfulness meditation requires a person to be present with their thoughts without being reactionary. It can be done anywhere and is therefore arguably the most accessible type of meditation. To practice mindful meditation, observe your thoughts and emotions as they arise, then let them evaporate and focus on your breath as they pass.

Start your mindfulness meditation routine by doing box breathing: inhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds, then repeat.

As your thoughts begin to wander, bring your focus back to the rhythm of your breath. Beginners can start with 5-10 minute sessions and build their practice from there.

Best Strain Pairing: 24k Gold – a cross between Tangie and Kush genetics produces a high that is said to be crystalline in the head and calming in the body. A great combination for someone focused on relaxation.

Transcendental

Transcendental Meditation might be what the uninitiated most associate with the practice. Transcendental Meditation describes meditation that relies on the repetition of a mantra or other specific sound to clear the mind and achieve a specific state of calm and relaxation with minimal effort.

While mindfulness can be practiced anywhere, anytime, Transcendental Sessions technically require at least 20 minutes of comfortably seated/leaning back chanting with your eyes closed, so plan accordingly.

Best Strain Pairing: GG4 (aka Gorilla Glue or Original Glue) – is most often described as a powerful physical relaxant that can help you maintain a comfortable position during your transcendental meditation.

Guided

Guided meditation occurs when an outside entity, usually a guide or teacher, takes their subject through a series of visualizations and places the student in imaginary situations that they find most authentic and relaxing. If mindfulness feels intimidating and transcendence seems redundant, guided meditation might be a good fit for you.

The key to guided meditation is finding the guide that best suits your personal needs, be they emotional, physical, spiritual or otherwise. Think about what your meditation goals are and explore mentors accordingly.

Best Strain Pairing: LA Confidential – a potent indica that delivers a lively head high alongside a calming body high that can help you engage with your guide while staying connected to your body.

bottom line

With or without cannabis, meditation has a place in everyone’s life. Self-reflection, reconnection, and introspection are important aspects of self-care, and if plant medicine is helping you better achieve the calm state achieved through meditation, then by all means smoke.