Cannabis can be a beneficial part of your self-care rituals combined with other tools to support your wellbeing.
The effects of Cannabis use are cumulative, as regular use yields the most benefits in fostering mind-body balance. Read on for five ways you can make Cannabis part of your daily life and create intention and ritual with this plant!
The Atharvaveda, an ancient Hindu text written around 2000 B.C., states that Cannabis is one of the five most essential plants on the planet for health and wellbeing. This and other ancient Ayurvedic texts state that during meditation, the plant can help you become more attuned to and grounded in your body and can help you stay present in the moment— a major teaching in the Yoga practice. Since ancient times, Cannabis has been used as part of wellness rituals including Yoga and meditation and continues to be part of wellness conversations today. With Cannabis, I feel a deeper connection with how I move and breathe in my practice and I enjoy the simple act of sitting in stillness and being completely anchored.
As many people choose to opt for more natural solutions to address physical discomfort, Cannabis is a fantastic choice for relieving muscular tension. I LOVE topical solutions for immediate, targeted relief from sore muscles after a grueling workout. From infused lotions, to oils, and more, there are many amazing choices to help relieve achy muscles and joints on a surface level. I’m obsessed with the Chronic CBD roll-on oil from Tonic CBD for this purpose. The combination of CBD oil with other pure essential oils known for their tension relief abilities gives me the relief I need right away and I love that I can apply this as frequently as I need to!
In a world where we seem to be in constant fight-or-flight mode, CBD—one of many cannabinoids found in the Cannabis plant— can be of great help for minimizing anxiety and supporting the body’s stress response systems. This cannabinoid works on certain receptors in the brain to promote balance across the body’s regulatory systems and provide stress relief. A key thing to note is that CBD helps regulate cortisol levels (a.k.a the stress hormone) which is important because prolonged increased levels of cortisol can be detrimental to overall health. Less cortisol = less stress = greater ease in your body AND mind. Two of my favorite CBD products for managing stress and keeping my anxiety at bay are Tonic CBD’s doses and TribeTokes CBD vapes.
We know Cannabis can also be used as a post-workout recovery aid. It’s so useful for overall pain relief too! Dr. Junella Chin, an integrative Cannabis physician, spoke about Cannabis as an effective pain relief tool for a variety of ailments on Artemis Radio, an excellent informative podcast that covers different topics regarding Cannabis. One of the ailments that she spoke about was chronic headaches and migraines and how Cannabis can help relieve that pain. Thankfully, I do not suffer from intense, recurring head discomfort. However, I do occasionally suffer from tension headaches like many folks do when super stressed. I found that instead of popping an Advil or aspirin, smoking a joint or vaping gives me that immediate pain relief from the inside out. In addition to ingesting Cannabis when I have headaches, I also like to rub a topical CBD oil into my temples and the back of my neck to help soothe those muscles which tense up during these specific headaches.
