How to match strains and styles of meditation

If you’re a stoner or part-time lover, chances are you’ve been meditating with weed without even realizing it. Maybe you got too high, so you spent 10 minutes focusing on your breathing and telling yourself, “I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine,” until you actually are. . Or, while you were stoned to the bone and lost in a book, a particular phrase may have echoed in your mind until it cradled all your chakras, which then rocked you from a literary trance. stoned feeling light as air.

Cannabis and meditation go together like sugar and salt – each effective on their own, but under the right circumstances both absolutely bring out the best in each other. When the chemistry is perfect, you can consciously blend the two and end up with the salted caramel of short-term metaphysical journeys.

The practice of stoned meditation can be ceremonial — think lit candles, sage, moon phase — or super informal. It all comes down to honoring yourself where you are.

So whether you’re lounging hard in your underpants or in the lotus position on your bedroom floor, these stoned meditation tips could help you stay centered, faded or otherwise.

To start

For those unfamiliar with the practice, meditation is the act of focusing your mind on one particular thing – the breath, for example – to achieve a clear, calm, and present emotional and mental state. Simple enough, right? Really, there’s not much to practice; the only thing that stands between you and higher consciousness is, well, your own mind. This is precisely why cannabis can be so helpful.

There is evidence that cannabis and meditation can, separately, be potential treatments for pain, stress, anxiety and depression – common issues that many of us live with. Finding both a strain that helps soothe these issues and a style of meditation that puts you back in alignment is more than a way to relax, it’s a quiet shortcut to Nirvana.

If you’ve never meditated before, consider downloading a number of meditation apps, like HeadSpace, Calm, or Insight Timer, to help you get started.

Best Weed Strains For Meditation (Our Picks)

Contemporary cannabis cultivars are bred for a surprisingly wide range of therapeutic and recreational applications. If you’ve already found one that feels particularly comfortable in cashmere, take the time to dial in your perfect dose before building your meditation momentum.

Here are a few relatively ubiquitous strains that we’ve found particularly relaxing:

For consumers with low tolerance: Harle-Tsu

This hybrid features a particularly high CBD concentration and offers a relatively low stakes high that generally leans towards the therapeutic. For users new to both meditation and cannabis, this could be a gentle and appropriate introduction.

Finding Harle-Tsu Stumps

For a proven attitude fit: Blue Dream

Blue Dream’s particular genetics produce effects that are consistently reported to be effective in treating stress, anxiety, and depression. It is often found with milder cannabinoid profiles, so you can turn off any anxiety without having to deal with an astronomical high as well. But be warned, for some this cultivar produces an energetic high, so start slow and explore the effects.

Finding Blue Dream Strains

For overworked thinkers: 9lb hammer

Those who find relaxation elusive might meet their match with a 9lb Bowl Hammer, a heady indica hybrid with a myrcene-heavy terpene profile. This cultivar is typically high with higher THC percentages (>25%), so it should be consumed with a healthy dose of caution, depending on your tolerance.

The effects of 9lb Hammer would apparently distinguish between relief and rest, and personally we have found it to be an effective muffler against end-of-day stress spirals.

Find 9lb hammer stumps

Find the style of meditation that’s right for you

Neither cannabis nor meditation is suitable for everyone. In fact, there are several styles of meditation to explore on your journey to inner peace. Three of the most common styles of meditation are mindfulness meditation, transcendental meditation, and guided meditation. These are all super accessible forms of meditation that you can do from your bedroom floor, your favorite chair, your mobility device, and in some cases, while you’re running errands or sitting in traffic.

mindfulness

Mindfulness meditation requires a person to be present to their thoughts without being reactionary. It can be done anywhere and as such is arguably the most accessible style of meditation. To practice mindful meditation, observe your thoughts and emotions as they arise, then let them evaporate, focusing on your breath as they pass.

Start your mindfulness meditation routine with box breathing: inhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds, then repeat.

When your mind begins to wander, redirect your attention to the rhythm of the breath. Beginners can start with 5-10 minute sessions and build their practice from there.

Best Variety Match: 24k Gold – a cross of Tangie and Kush genetics produces a high that would be crystal clear in the head and uplifting in the body. A great combo for someone who is focused on relaxation.

Transcendental

Transcendental meditation might be what the uninitiated are most likely to associate with the practice. Transcendental meditation describes meditation that relies on the repetition of a specific mantra or other sound to help clear the mind and achieve a specific state of rest and relaxation with minimal effort.

While mindfulness can be practiced anywhere, anytime, transcendental sessions technically require at least 20 minutes of chanting comfortably seated/reclined with eyes closed, so plan accordingly.

Best Variety Match: GG4 (aka Gorilla Glue or Original Glue) – most commonly reported as a powerful physical relaxant that can help you maintain a comfortable posture during your Transcendental Meditation.

Guided

Guided meditation occurs when an external entity, usually a guide or teacher, guides their subject through a series of visualizations, placing the student in imaginary situations that they find most genuinely relaxing. If mindfulness seems daunting and transcendence seems superfluous, guided meditation might be right for you.

The key to guided meditation is finding the guide that best suits your personal needs, whether emotional, physical, mental, or otherwise. Consider what your meditation goals are and explore mentors accordingly.

Best Variety Match: LA Confidential — a potent indica that provides a buzzing head high as well as a soothing body high, which can help you engage with your guide while staying connected to your body.

At the end of the line

With or without cannabis, meditation has its place in everyone’s life. Self-reflection, reconnection, and introspection are all important aspects of self-care, and if plant medicine helps you better access the state of calm achieved through meditation, then by all means smoke.

About Shirley A. Tamayo

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