What happens when cannabis meets yoga?
People have been using cannabis for their wellbeing for thousands of years. Whether to cure your ailments or to communicate with a Higher Power – cannabis has played a central role in the evolution of mankind.
While the plant was forcibly banned by a handful of people in the 1930s and then again in the 1970s, things come full circle and are on the verge of legalization again. However, over the past few decades the government has invested billions (if not trillions) in negative propaganda related to usage.
This has tarnished the good name of cannabis and as a result, its use is still heavily stigmatized. While this is changing, it could be due to the likes of Tara Mina, who runs a yoguana studio where people can get together, smoke cannabis, and do yoga. Cannabis strains for yoga meditation became a big search term.
She claims, “Instead of consuming your cannabis and going home and sitting on the couch and eating Doritos, you can practice yoga, address these issues, relax your back, relax your anxiety, build your confidence, and go inside and out.” Find your strength. “Said Mina. (SOURCE ABC-7)
This is just one example of how people are slowly starting to change the public’s perception of cannabis.
Mina has one point, however – cannabis combined with yoga makes perfect sense. I’ve done a couple of yoga sessions while totally baked and it’s definitely a trip.
Here are a few reasons why yoga and cannabis make great bedfellows.
Cannabis makes you loose
Yoga is filled with holds and stretches that allow you to truly become grounded in your body. Cannabis helps you relax, which is key to holding these poses and doing these stretches. Cannabis will help you let go of resistance and learn to relax in these uncomfortable positions.
Of course, some might argue that it is best to be sober when engaging in yoga, as the lesson itself sits within the discomfort – but trust me when I say you are still able to indulge in the Boat pose feeling uncomfortable when you’re high for 20 seconds.
Cannabis gets you in the zone
When it comes to cannabis and physical activity – this can get you in the zone quickly. In yoga, you simply follow your breath as you go through an asana, very present in the now.
Smoke a bit of weed and you are not only “present” – you will get stuck in this moment of reality, perform the movements – feel it deep inside you. I had some deep revelations during the Savasana portion of the asana after eating an edible.
In the corpse pose, you can really put yourself in the mind of a corpse.
Cannabis makes you more sensitive
Smoking weed and doing yoga will allow you to connect more deeply with the session. Of course, you can do that without cannabis – but weed is like a cheat code in that sense. It simply allows you to be a little “free” from your typical inhibitions.
Smoke a joint or eat something edible, and you are completely safe – you begin to notice small sensations in your body, things that you normally don’t focus on. You become more sensitive to the subtle communications of the body.
Cons of weed and yoga
I don’t always get yoga high.
I actually prefer to be sober most of the time. The reason is that I sometimes smoked a little too much weed before a session.
Cottonmouth distracted me from what I was trying to achieve. At one point I felt that the exertion of yoga increased significantly after a smoking session. In both cases, indica-dominant strains were to blame.
Whenever I smoked sativas, I felt more energetic and focused. However, once I smoked a sativa that didn’t allow me to concentrate at all.
Even so, I had no problem most of the time smoking weed and doing yoga. For the most part, I’ve seen the benefits – but because of this unpredictable high, I’ve decided that personally I prefer to smoke weed after the session rather than during the session.
This is just a personal preference, but I found it important to point out the potential downsides of yoga and cannabis at the same time.
Why you should definitely try yoga and weed at least once in your life!
I think one of the greatest benefits of a canna yoga session was the extremely stress relieving effect it had on me.
I remember once getting a headache because of the stress I had on my shoulders. Smoking weed alone couldn’t relax me – I felt the tension build up.
And then I ate half a brownie once and did a full hour of yoga. Needless to say, I left all the tension on the mat that day!
The meditation at the end turned out to be enlightening! I knew what was causing me stress in my life and had a clear idea of how to reduce it in my life.
I don’t know if I would have had this revelation without the combination of weed and yoga, and if you’ve never experienced Yoguana, I recommend doing it a few times to see if you like it.
The sticky end result
We’ll see combinations like yoga and marijuana become more common in the years to come. As cannabis grows in popularity, it will only become more anchored in society until one day all stigma about use is gone.
Why don’t you help this process and see if Yoguana is around you, and if not – just smoke a bowl, go on Youtube and find a nice asana and go to town.
If you’re dealing with stress and want to actively let go – this is an excellent option!
YOGA AND WEED, READ MORE ..
CANNABIS AND YOGA – NAMASTE OR NAMASNOPE? CLICK HERE!
OR..
CANNABIS AND YOGA, ARE YOU PERFECT FOR MEDITATING?
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