Combining the consumption of cannabis with the practice of yoga helps patients relax both mind and body simultaneously, achieving a deeper level of relaxation, mental calmness, and inner peace. This increased relaxation is healing and rejuvenating, contributing to an active lifestyle by accelerating the body’s ability to bounce back from extreme physical activity, and helping consumers achieve greater mental clarity.
This all-new form of yoga is all about merging two elements, yoga and recreational marijuana, and it's now becoming quite the rage in certain states in the US.
In case you're wondering, Cannabis Yoga classes usually have the participants smoking weed before and during the class. The effects of cannabis apparently help everything from loosening the muscles to lowering inhibitions.
Cannabis Yoga was first introduced by Dee Dussault, a yoga instructor based in San Francisco, California. Dussault started her classes in 2009, but recreational marijuana was not legal in the state back then. With recreational marijuana now legalized in California, Dussault's classes have gained immense popularity.
"There are anti-inflammatory benefits to cannabis and specifically CBD products can have amazing pain relieving benefits and anti-anxiety, anti-depression benefits," Dussault told CBS. She believes that this combination of "mindfulness and marijuana" is improving hers students' health.
Dussault's classes begin with students trying out cannabis products. "People have the luxury of arriving whenever they want in the first half an hour in what we call the Stoner's Social," she said. After this "Stoner's Social", the class continues with regular yoga practice, with some breaks for puffs of marijuana.
One of Dussault's students, Tiffany Marquez, even told CBS that Cannabis Yoga helps relieve migraines and actually improves their ability to practice yoga. "It helps to loosen your muscles and it helps lower you inhibitions so you're more likely to try a different move that maybe before you might have been apprehensive of," she said.
After the classes, Dussault makes sure that her students have half an hour to sober up. She is currently hoping to expand her classes to more cities. But Dussault isn't the only one who believes in, and is promoting, Cannabis Yoga.
Similar classes have begun in Massachusetts, Washington, DC, and Colorado. What's more, many spa's in Denver, Colorado, applied for permission to provide cannabis infused massages, cannabis yoga, and other cannabis-friendly activities to patrons 21 and older.
You’ve probably heard of Bikram, Vinyasa, and hot yoga, but have you heard of Cannabis Yoga? Cannabis-friendly yoga classes are gaining popularity in states such as California, Oregon, and Colorado. While this may be the latest health trend, the idea is not a new one. Combining cannabis and yoga is actually an ancient concept. Ayurveda, the 5,000-year-old Indian medical science, practices healing of both the body and the mind, focusing on the relationship between the two. Ayurveda has always viewed cannabis as a medicine. In traditional yoga philosophy, the physical aspect of yoga—known as asana—is just one distinguishing factor. The health of the mind is another very important aspect.
