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Have you ever smoked before a yoga or meditation session? Or found yourself entering a heightened state of awareness after enjoying an edible or pre-roll?
Either way, you may be dabbling in cannabis and meditation. Recent studies – and personal accounts – tell us there are many potential benefits of combining cannabis with meditation in an intentional way. If you choose to do so, our guide will help you enjoy yourself, stay safe, and expand your mind.
Pairing Garden Remedies products with mindfulness practice can be the perfect recipe for relaxing and insightful experiences that leave a lasting, positive impact on your life. Find your new cannabis essentials online – or come chat with one of our team members at our stores in Melrose, Newton, and Marlborough, MA for personalized suggestions.
What Are the Benefits of Combining Cannabis With Meditation?
Cannabis and meditation each offer profound benefits. When experienced together, they can reinforce each other, strengthening their common features and effects – while opening a doorway to new and heightened states. Whether you’re seeking peace, focus, or even spiritual growth, using cannabis and meditation can help you realize what you’re looking for and more.
Feel Calmer and More Inspired
Why did you start using cannabis? Maybe you were hoping to relax or unwind at the end of your day. Maybe you wanted to feel more invigorated and inspired throughout the day. Maybe you, like more and more people these days, heard that cannabis can help you sleep.
Many people begin meditating for the same reasons. Research shows that when you consume cannabis and then meditate, you may experience strong relief from unpleasant feeling states such as anxiety, depression, mood swings, sleeplessness, and disconnection. You may also uncover calmness, lightheartedness, stability, restfulness, and connection when regularly engaging with cannabis and meditation.[1]
Release Physical Tension and Pain
Consistent meditation and cannabis use can help you alleviate pain, tension, and imbalance – both mentally and physically.[2] Using cannabis can allow a deeper release into meditation postures (like the traditional lotus position or other seated poses), which can be uncomfortable sometimes, especially during your first few times meditating.
When experiencing cannabis and meditation at the same time, you may be able to settle into your physical body with new patience and levity. Mindfulness, a crucial component of many modern meditation practices, invites us to bring awareness to our breath and body to nonjudgmentally explore what is there. Thanks to its soothing influence on the endocannabinoid system – which regulates pain, mood, and other important processes – cannabis can aid you in this exploration, as you uncover and release old somatic patterns to feel lighter.
Expand Your Consciousness
It’s hard to categorize the multitudes of experiences reported by cannabis consumers who meditate, but many say that they unlock new realms of meaningful understanding. Motivational speaker and mental health advocate Russell Lehmann explains one benefit of his habitual use of cannabis and meditation, writing:
“When I am high I immediately gain a broader perspective on what it means to be human and am able to look back at my usual sober state with more objective hindsight, which I can then generate into foresight.”[3]
– Russell Lehmann
Lehmann’s account illustrates how combining cannabis with meditation can offer deeply reflective, even transcendent, experiences. Many others also report gaining fresh perspectives – reaching profound realizations about their identities, what’s happening in their lives, or even the whole world or universe. Why?
We know that both meditation and cannabis can create a pause in our everyday state of awareness, altering the flow of ideas and sensations. When you use cannabis and meditation together, this effect expands, allowing you to take a healthy and temporary break from your daily experience. Without the distractions of your day-to-day life, insights and new feelings may arise. This phenomenon shows us that meditating with cannabis may increase the self-reflective qualities of each practice.
The Spiritual Connections Between Cannabis and Meditation
Both cannabis and meditation have rich roots in spiritual traditions. What we know as meditation originated thousands of years ago, with ties to ancient China and Egypt as well as Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism; the Vedas, from ancient India, contain the first written mention of the practice, centuries later named meditation.
Likewise, cannabis appears in the Vedas, described as one of the five most sacred plants in the world (and colorfully favored by the god Shiva).[4] It also has a substantial historical connection to Islam, Hinduism, Rastafarianism, and various Indigenous traditions in Africa and Asia – as well as many more places and traditions. It is thought that many ancient cultures developed an intentional relationship with cannabis, using it for rituals, relaxation, divination, and spiritual healing.[5]
A 2022 study published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs suggests that similar usages of cannabis exist today: 66.1% of surveyed cannabis users reported some spiritual benefit from cannabis.[6]
Is it more than a coincidence that a plant with cannabis’s storied history would take root and grow in popularity now, still used for spiritual purposes to this day? Can we draw parallels between the spiritual roots of cannabis, the spiritual roots of meditation, and their profound effects when used together?
Many cannabis enthusiasts – and an increasing number of researchers – are saying yes, as more robust studies and inquiries emerge surrounding cannabis, particularly when used in combination with meditation.
Choose the Ideal Form of Cannabis for Your Meditation
Though modern research about cannabis and meditation is still emerging, many consumers have already been savoring this unique combination of activities. Whether you’re curious to try it for the first time, or looking for recommendations to take you to the next level, our guide can help you select your cannabis products with mindfulness.
At Garden Remedies, our Cannabis Advisors are passionate about helping you choose the ideal products for your individual needs, preferences, and expectations. Stop by our stores in Melrose, Newton, and Marlborough, MA to learn more.
For Walking Meditations: Try Our Pre-Rolls
When you’re new to meditation – or just starting to combine cannabis with your meditation sessions – sitting still for long periods of time can be difficult. You may even feel intimidated by the idea.
But good news: there’s no one “right way” to meditate. Any effort to intentionally bring awareness to your breath and body – observing your thoughts and sensations at a distance – is meditation. Walking can often be a great way to begin meditating: just slow down and notice the motion you’re already doing throughout the day, step by step by step.
You might like to enjoy a pre-roll right before your walking meditation. Smoking flower can help you relax and settle into your body – and the effects of pre-rolls kick in after just a few minutes, making them the perfect way to open your leisurely walk outside. Just be sure to avoid places where smoking cannabis isn’t legal (like public places in Massachusetts).
After a few moments of walking meditation – and especially if this meditation becomes your regular practice, enhanced by cannabis – you may find yourself walking “as if you are kissing the earth with your feet,” as the famous Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh once wrote.[7]
For Movement Meditations (Yoga, Tai Chi): Try Our Vapes
You’ll want to feel grounded in your body and clear-headed when practicing yoga, tai chi, or other mindful forms of movement. Since these practices require physical balance as well as mental focus, you definitely don’t want to find yourself too dazed or weighed down (or melting into the couch).
Vapes can help create the right inner setting for your meditative movement. Though vapes vary by flavor and strength, many vapes provide a helpful combination of mental clarity and physical agility. Consumers typically describe their effects as “cerebral” – so you’re getting a nice rush of energy without feeling too anxious or physically heavy. Just moments after vaping, you might be able to enjoy fluid movements with newfound presence and ease.
Like pre-rolls, the effects of vapes are usually felt in minutes. Therefore, you can use your product of choice and then immediately begin your movement activity in a controlled way. Unlike some strong pre-rolls, vapes offer relatively gentle inhales, allowing you to calmly concentrate on your breath while you move.
For Seated Mindfulness Meditations: Try Our Edibles
If you’re experienced and looking to reach new heights, adding edibles to your meditation practice may give you what you’re seeking.
You can try taking a conservative dose of edibles and then settling into a meditative mindset. Maybe you’d like to take a hot shower or bath, a walk around the block, or watch a relaxing show while you wait for them to kick in. Remember, with all forms of cannabis and especially edibles, it’s best to start low and go slow, increasing your dosage over time (or sticking with your initial amount).
You’ll start feeling the edibles about half about an hour or at most 2.5 hours after taking them. You can try to time their onset with your meditation.
Start by settling into a seated position (like lotus or half lotus). Place your hands comfortably along your thighs, and drop your shoulders down away from your ears. You can begin noticing the sounds around you to ground yourself. Then, when you feel calm and centered, bring your awareness to your breath.
You may have a variety of reactions to the edibles while sitting in a meditative state. Perhaps you will have far more insights than usual. Or maybe you’ll be able to scan your body and tune into your emotions without the tension you normally carry.
No matter what arises during your meditation, keep returning your awareness to your breath – and then back to your breath – and, again, back to your breath. Practicing this pattern will give you the best chance at having a safe and transcendental experience.
For Visualization Meditations: Try Our Cannabis Concentrates
If you already have experience with both cannabis and meditation, adding one of our cannabis concentrates to your meditation practice might blow your mind. There are many types of cannabis concentrates to try, especially from our AERO brand. Make sure you choose one that makes you feel calm for the purposes of your visualization meditation.
It may be best to listen to or watch a guided meditation (like this one!) during the first times you try this potent combination. You’ll likely feel the concentrate kick in within minutes, so make sure you have a comfortable and private space prepared before you inhale or ingest it. Then lie down.
Prepare for your mind to travel to heights previously unknown as your body settles into a newly expanded awareness. Since the effects of concentrates typically last a few hours, you may blast off into a powerful visualization. You can then listen to soothing music for awhile afterwards to let your experience sink in.
Our Top Tips for Trying Cannabis and Meditation
Keeping a few key principles in mind can help you have an enjoyable time – no matter which forms of cannabis and meditation you want to try. For maximum benefits, remember to take your time: allow your cannabis-infused meditation practice to unfold organically through time, as you learn, grow, and make changes along the way.
Dosing: Start Low and Go Slow
There’s no need to rush anything! Consume cannabis mindfully. Especially with edibles, we recommend you start with a low dosage and then slowly increase it (or not) from there. Be sure you give the cannabis enough time to kick in (even up to two hours for edibles) before deciding if you want more. This method will set you up for a safe and smooth experience.
(Mindfulness) Practice Makes Perfect
Would you sign up for a marathon before completing your first 5K? Probably not. Similarly, it’s not a great idea to go for an intense visualization meditation with a high dose of cannabis concentrate if you don’t have substantial experience with them.
We recommend slowly building up both your meditation practice and your experience with cannabis before combining them.[8] You can try a variety of meditation styles, strengthening your ability to stay mindful, grounded, and calm despite your surroundings. You might also like to sample various forms of cannabis to see what’s working best for you at this time.
You’ll know it’s time to start experimenting with cannabis and meditation when you feel comfortable and settled in both practices.
Focus On Set and Setting
Dr. Timothy Leary’s famous advice about psychedelics applies here. Your journey with cannabis and meditation begins before you ingest or inhale the cannabis product of your choice – since your mindset and physical surroundings strongly influence it.
Do I feel grounded in my day-to-day existence? Am I open to learning more about myself? Are there people in my life who can support me and talk to me about the experience if needed?
These are questions you can ask yourself to decide whether it’s the right time to combine cannabis and meditation. Prepare your mindset by being intentional about why, when, and how you’ll enjoy your experience – and go into it with an open, calm, and focused mental state.
Prepare your physical environment by making sure it’s comfortable, safe, and private. Decide whether you’d like to be by yourself or with a friend (and if you’d like that friend to also be trying cannabis and meditation with you). Different intentions – like relaxation, expanded consciousness, and physical relief – may call for different settings, which you’ll continue to discover naturally over time.
Integration, Integration, Integration
Let’s be clear: you may have a purely restful time with cannabis and meditation. Maybe you’ll drift into a sleepy state, or a not-unfamiliar meditative state, and you won’t be left with much to process afterwards (besides your gratitude for cannabis).
If not, you may stumble into new territory of your mind, noticing a substantial change in your usual state of consciousness. The insights and sensations you experience there can seem separate from the way you normally feel.
In the days, weeks, and months after your experience, you will benefit from integrating it into your understanding of yourself and the world. There are many ways to do this, such as connecting to the experience through meditation (without cannabis this time), talking to someone you trust about it, and journaling.
Though it’s not always as fun as the experience itself, you’ll gain lots of value from intentionally integrating it. All of the benefits you receive from cannabis and meditation can become an integrated and impactful part of your life – way more than just a high.
Wherever you are in your journey with cannabis and meditation, consider Garden Remedies a valuable resource. Try our wide range of products – and come talk to our team in Melrose, Newton, and Marlborough, MA for personal recommendations, insights, connections, and more.
[1] https://www.cannamd.com/marijuana-and-meditation/
[2] https://cannovia.com/cannabis-and-meditation-benefits/
[4] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-teenage-mind/201106/history-cannabis-in-india
[5] https://www.medwellhealth.net/the-sacred-uses-of-cannabis-by-ancient-cultures/
[6] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34225558/
[7] https://www.uppervalleyyoga.com/blog/kissing-the-earth-with-your-feet
[8] https://koan.life/post/the-impact-of-thc-and-cannabis-on-meditation/
