Mindfulness, Meditation and Marijuana
Written by Chris Weatherall on Feb 5, 2018Marijuana Can Help with Meditation and Mindfulness Exercises
Many people enjoy meditation, and some marijuana users report that cannabis helps them go deeper and experience a higher state of mindfulness during their meditation sessions. The effects of marijuana can make it easier for some people to tune out the outside world and decompress, but the effects are not the same for everyone.
Other marijuana users claim that cannabis makes it more difficult to concentrate and reach a state of mindfulness. Ultimately, it comes down to personal choice, and anyone thinking about trying meditation and marijuana should understand the basics.
How Can Marijuana Help Meditation?
Marijuana has played a role in many spiritual and religious traditions for thousands of years. Assyrians used cannabis as early as the 9th century B.C.E during religious practices. Cannabis also had a place in religious traditions of ancient China, Tibet and India.
More recently, references to cannabis exist in the Old Testament of the Bible, and the Rastafarian religion of Jamaica heavily involves cannabis in its belief structure. The common thread in these cases is that users reported marijuana amplified spiritual and religious experiences. While not every person who meditates does so for religious reasons, marijuana can still improve the meditation experience.
Marijuana can calm one’s state of mind, making it a natural aid in meditation and mindfulness exercises. Marijuana users all over the world report different spiritual and meditative sensations from smoking weed. Users who report better meditation experiences typically prefer strains that produce creative, uplifting and euphoric effects, but this isn’t a firm rule.
Experiences will vary by the individual, but the reported positive effects of cannabis for meditation typically include:
- Relaxing the body
- Calming the nerves
- Easier focus on breathing
During meditation, you sit or recline your body in such a way that you aren’t exerting much force to keep yourself in position. Many people who meditate prefer to sit upright with their legs crossed in front. As you begin, you breathe deeply and exhale slowly, focusing on the motions of your breath and how each breath affects the rest of your body. As you focus inward and mentally detach from your surroundings, you may feel a sense of enlightenment or a higher state of mindfulness. Marijuana can potentially improve any aspect of this experience.
Balance Between Body and Mind
Meditation is an exercise meant to heighten spiritual enlightenment and self-awareness. The calming, euphoric effects of some strains make it easier for some people to reach a deeper meditative state. The physical sensations of marijuana use can make it easier to relax the body and slow breathing. Since meditation is about calming and quieting the body to focus on the mind, cannabis strains that create a sense of balance for users offer the best meditation experiences.
Other users may find that marijuana strains that produce euphoric, energetic highs make it difficult to focus on subtle actions like breathing. Another strain with a different cannabinoid count could produce better results in these cases. High meditation techniques vary from person to person.
If you’re already taking medical marijuana for a medical condition, a strain that also improves meditation can be beneficial to your overall wellness. Everyone meditates for different reasons in varying ways, and marijuana will create unique effects for each individual.
Meditation and Marijuana: Finding the Right Strain
Medical marijuana patients will eventually find a strain that addresses their medical needs best, and this is a good reference point for finding the best strains of marijuana for meditation. Some medical marijuana users take cannabis to address physical issues like chronic pain, cancer or fibromyalgia. The strains these patients consume likely produce a relaxing, body-centric experience, but may not produce the same euphoric and perceptual effects as other strains used for psychological conditions.
Medical marijuana strains for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety often produce a more creative, naturally meditative high without as much physical sensation.
Check Out Our Interactive Strains Guide
How Do You Want Marijuana to Help?
If you are considering marijuana as a meditation aid because you have trouble focusing, a strain that produces a more cognitive high may be the right choice. Most marijuana growers label their strains according to their reported effects, so look for strains with high ratings in categories such as:
- “Euphoric”
- “Happy”
- “Creative”
- “Uplifted”
Strains with tags like “Hungry” or “Energetic” may make it more difficult to focus during meditation.
If you find it more difficult to relax your muscles and control your breathing, a strain that creates a more body-centric high or an edible product may work best. Some medical marijuana patients who do not smoke their cannabis can still enjoy the benefits of enhanced meditation with edibles, topical creams or other cannabis products. Marijuana-infused teas and foods can produce effects that can enhance meditation experiences as well.
Additionally, marijuana users generally report different effects between eating and smoking marijuana, so some experimentation may yield the optimum results for meditation. Again, it all comes down to personal preference.
Learn More at Kind Meds
If you are curious whether different marijuana strains could improve your meditation sessions, ask one of the Kind Meds budtenders for recommendations. Speaking with a dispensary professional at Kind Meds is always a great resource for information on new strains and the most proven effective strains for different customer issues.
We can help you find a strain that works for both your existing medical concerns and your meditation sessions, or help you explore different strains and other products you might enjoy. Visit Kind Meds in Mesa, Arizona today to learn more about the medical and meditative benefits of cannabis.
