Many cannabis enthusiasts enjoy their drug of choice because it allows them to relax. Indeed, various cannabinoids and terpenes within weed tend to erase muscle tension and pain and quiet worrisome thoughts, allowing users a feeling of peace. For many, lighting up in the evening has become something of a spiritual practice, enabling them to be present in the moment and connect with their deeper selves.
Meanwhile, meditation is a practice used to promote focus and clarity by clearing the mind of unwanted or unnecessary thoughts. Many meditation practitioners do so unmedicated — but meditating while using marijuana can heighten both experiences.
Here’s a guide to help you introduce meditation techniques into some of your cannabis highs, so you can reach new levels of relaxation and mindfulness.
First: The Benefits of Meditation
Many people write off meditation as Eastern mumbo-jumbo, a waste of time that might be better spent acquiring a Xanax prescription or smoking weed. However, meditation is relatively well researched, and various studies provide strong evidence that meditating on a regular basis will improve your life in a number of ways:
Meditation assists in managing anxiety and depression. Many people experience an over-active fear response to various stresses in regular life, which can result in various anxiety disorders or depression. Meditation gives practitioners more control over their fear response, quelling anxiety and providing confidence and comfort.
Meditation can reduce pain. Studies show that meditation is incredibly effective at reducing or eliminating tension headaches, which can be crippling in intensity. There is some evidence to suggest that meditation also minimizes sensitivity to pain, which might assist with managing chronic pain or overcoming acute pain.
Meditation improves memory and concentration. Meditation is essentially practice for controlling your thoughts, which means it tends to boost both short- and long-term memory and facilitate focus. This is especially important for marijuana users, who can suffer from reduced cognition in various ways.
Types of Marijuana Best for Meditation
Before you toke up and take a seat for your first meditative practice, you should prepare with the right kind of weed. By now, you should know that not all marijuana is made equal; different quantities and combinations of various compounds within cannabis can affect the effects of the drug. For example, it is important to understand CBD vs. THC — two cannabinoids with much different psychological and physical effects — and to choose strains or products with specific terpene profiles.
While there is a wealth of cannabis products developed for relaxation, from edibles to oils to concentrates and more, for simplicity’s sake here are the best bud strains to enhance your meditation:
- White Widow. This strain is energizing but doesn’t overwhelm you with THC. Its peppery, pine aromas stimulate your mind for a creative meditation session.
- Lamb’s Bread. This strain has a reputation for generating a positive and peaceful outlook, which is usually what meditative practitioners aim for in their sessions.
- Blue Mystic. This strain is a particularly potent indica that tends to aid issues like fatigue and pain. This is useful if you are meditating to overcome a specific concern, like insomnia or injury.
- Northern Lights. This strain is a pure indica, providing an impressive sedative effect that will relax both mind and body.
Types of Meditation Best for Marijuana
Likewise, you should be aware that not all forms of meditation are ideal after you get high. Some forms of meditation are more than likely to put you to sleep when your body is already flooded with sedatives; other forms are simply going to be too active and require too much energy from your marijuana-addled mind. Here are some appropriate meditation practices to give you the right amount of mental challenge:
- Deep breathing meditation. Mastering your breath is a key element of successful meditation. Deep breathing practices help connect your thoughts and emotions to your breath patterns. You will take long, deep breaths — and some can be full of marijuana smoke if you so choose.
- Gazing meditation. The objective of gazing is to sharpen concentration and promote clarity. During your meditation, you choose an item to settle within your sight, and you try to hone your thoughts only on that item without contextualizing, straining or losing focus.
- Body mindfulness meditation. If sitting still is difficult for you, this meditation can help. You can perform this meditation sitting or laying down; it requires you to focus your attention on individual parts of your body, creating true mind-body connections and enhancing relaxation.
Marijuana in itself can be relaxing, but you can unlock an entirely new level of relaxation by regularly practicing meditation. By meditating just a few minutes every day, you can enjoy cannabis in a new way — and enjoy life more, too.
