Both cannabis and mindfulness have been found to improve mental health when used correctly. For a while now meditation and mindfulness experts have been looking into how cannabis could potentially improve your relaxation experience. Not only can it improve the relaxation but can actually help those who struggle to find peace in their mindfulness practice. If you are like me, and quite a few others out there, you might struggle with meditation. Your brain maybe doesn’t like being quiet and if you aren’t experiencing stimulation or distraction it plays 50 different songs, quotes every show you’ve ever seen, and plays back embarrassing school moments all at once. If you’re one of these people then unfortunately you may need mindfulness more than anyone. Also if you suffer from anxiety, depression, PTSD, disassociation, and a variety of other mental health issues. So let’s have a look at how cannabis can help your mindfulness and how you can apply weed to your regular practice.
Why Cannabis?
So there has been a lot of research into how cannabis affects the brain, both recreationally and medicinally. For quite some time now medical professionals have been prescribing cannabis for people who suffer from extreme anxiety as well as a few other mental disorders. Cannabis increases a neurotransmitter called anandamide otherwise known as the happiness molecule. This means that it can improve mood as well as increasing relaxation, helping the brain quiet down, and softening your muscles. This means it can make it far easier for you to relax. Cannabis can also help with the long term aspects of mindfulness. It can improve brain health and function while balancing your hormones and helping you worry less.
Why Meditation and Mindfulness?
Meditation has been around for an incredibly long time and has shown to help with a variety of issues. Primarily it is recommended to help those who are suffering from mental illness. I definitely am a big supporter of meditation as a way to help with symptoms while getting professional treatment, medication, whatever you need really. I don’t believe that meditation can do all of the work. Making it a regular part of your routine can help you train your brain to deal with excessive anxiety or dissociation. As I suffer from PTSD I definitely have trouble with my memory, paying attention, losing sections of time, and a variety of other issues. Mindfulness has helped me learn how to organise my thoughts and to be more present. There are a number of fantastic techniques you can learn to help with all sorts of mental health issues. Studies have also shown that it can help with insomnia, problem solving issues, and the physical aspects of stress. Stress can manifest in a lot of ways, especially if you are experiencing high amounts of it with other mental health issues.
Combining Cannabis and Meditation
So why does cannabis go so well with meditation? As I stated earlier, meditation can be extremely difficult for a variety of people. If you are not neurotypical or suffer from physical issues such as chronic pain or arthritis, then sitting still for long periods of time can be essentially impossible. Sure there are options to meditate for shorter amounts of time. I have a few three minute meditations etc that can be easier for me to work with. However, if you want to do some long form and deep meditation but find it hard to sit still, this is where weed comes in. The way in which cannabis can calm the brain, create focus, allow for physical relaxation and comfort, or can improve mood may make a massive difference. Even if you consider yourself to be mentally and physically healthy our brains just don’t stand up well to boredom or sitting still. We are so constantly bombarded by stimulation that sitting in silence and having thoughts cram themselves into our skulls can be extremely overwhelming. After a few minutes of sitting still we can get the urge to check our phone, or go to the bathroom, or just do something other than sit still. Smoking weed can make the thoughts easier, can allow the brain to be silent, and make it less important that we find a way to drown out stressful issues or wondering what you’re going to have for dinner, remembering that you need to sort out your phone bill. The more you successfully meditate the easier it will become. Meditation teaches techniques such as blue sky theory, where you allow thoughts to skitter across the sky of the mind. You can see them, you know they are there, but you just let them go on moving without having to focus on them. Using cannabis to meditate is also not a new idea. Meditation is one of the many relaxation techniques that comes from India. In India in 1500 BC cannabis was noted as one of the sacred plants, often used in meditative rituals. It also appears in a yearly holy ceremony and festival in Nepal. We definitely know it works, so if you struggle to meditate it’s well worth trying.
How To Include Cannabis
This really depends on what you need it for to be honest. Some people who primarily have issues with stress and physical discomfort may prefer to use pure CBD rather than smoking cannabis. For those meditators who prefer to smoke before mindfulness practice you want to make sure that you do plenty of research on strains beforehand. The last thing you want is a hard core Sativa getting your mind all buzzy before you sit down. There are loads of strains that are perfect for meditation. Make sure you don’t smoke too much as well, just a little should be fine for what you need, too much might have you falling asleep or losing track of time and your focus. If you like you can use edibles, some like the slow build which can increase as you meditate. However you find your mind, cannabis can definitely help you learn silence, stillness, and clarity.
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