Does today’s answer to well-being begin with yoga and water-soluble CBD?
Our new world can be stressful. Humans evolved spending most of their history in the great outdoors, hunting, foraging, migrating, and exploring. We were active and strong, connected to the natural world, and connected to the small communities we found ourselves in – working together for our very survival. But in modern times, many of us spend our days hunched over computers, rushing from place to place in busy traffic, or absorbed in the endless universe of our mobile phones.
While this busy, chaotic world is in many ways more comfortable than our previous natural lifestyle, it has its downsides. Lack of exercise for the body, overstimulation of the mind, and a general disconnection from the natural world can mean lots of added stress, feelings of disconnection, or imbalance.
The Covid-19 pandemic has only added to this picture, bringing with it added stressors, feelings of instability, and social isolation. In these chaotic and ungrounded times, it is more important than ever to find ways to bring balance and well-being back into our lives. But how?
There are so many ways to reduce everyday stress and restore our own sense of balance and connection with the world and ourselves – but one fantastic combination is Yoga and CBD. Both are used by many people to help restore a sense of calm and balance. And the combination may boost these benefits for general well-being even further.
Curious about using yoga and water-soluble CBD yourself? Read on to learn more.
How Can Yoga Improve Well-Being?
Yoga may seem to some like a relatively recent exercise trend, but yoga is actually an ancient practice that goes back thousands of years. Some trace it back to northern India 5,000 years ago, while other researchers say it goes back as far as 10,000 years in the past. Far beyond a simple exercise routine, yoga is also a meditation practice and a method of bringing our minds and bodies back into alignment with each other.
Getting exercise is one reason why yoga can have such a big impact on our sense of wellness. Our bodies need to move on a regular basis, or our sedentary lifestyle can lead to added stress on both our bodies and our mind. Exercise helps to reduce everyday stress and keep our bodies healthy – and yoga is one way to get in a daily dose of exercise. Practicing yoga can help build both strength and flexibility – and all it really requires is your own body (although a nice yoga mat can certainly make it more comfortable!).
Yoga is also considered a flow activity, which makes it particularly helpful for boosting a sense of wellbeing. As Steven Kotler, a board member at Ojai Energetics, explains “Flow is defined as an optimal state of consciousness, a state where you feel your best and perform your best.” Kotler is working on researching the connection between Flow and CBD, and he says that “the term refers to those moments of rapt attention and total absorption when you get so focused on the task at hand that everything else disappears. Action and awareness merge.”
Flow activities can be any activity that keeps your mind completely engaged with a physical task. These activities, such as yoga, dancing, tai chi, or even many sports and athletic endeavors are usually just challenging enough that they require total focus, and thus keep your mind from its usual thought patterns like worrying, planning, or overthinking. Some even use ‘flow toys’ like poi, hula hoops, or fans to achieve a flow state.
If you have ever got caught up in the moment dancing or found yourself focusing completely while trying to score a point in an athletic game, you may have been inflow. When flow happens, we stop getting caught up in our thoughts, worries, or plans and can finally be in the moment. Being in flow feels good, and it instantly boosts our sense of wellbeing, relieves stress, and engages our mind and body as one. While not everyone experiences flow states during yoga all the time, those who practice it regularly often find themselves inflow.
Yoga also provides an opportunity for meditation. When we move from task to task in our day, we don’t always take the time to process and integrate everything that we are going through. But meditation offers space to slow down, be with our own thoughts and emotions, and process what we’ve been going through.
How Can Water-soluble CBD Improve Well-being?
Many people also utilize water-soluble CBD to enhance their general well-being. This cannabinoid, a natural chemical found in the cannabis plant, impacts humans because of its ability to interact with our endocannabinoid system – a natural system found in the human body. This system is made up of three main parts; natural chemicals in the human called endocannabinoids, cannabinoid receptors which can be activated by endocannabinoids, and enzymes that clear endocannabinoids from the system.
This endocannabinoid system is tasked with an important role. It keeps our bodies’ internal balance or homeostasis by stimulating and regulating many of our important bodily functions, including some that are very important to our daily sense of well-being. When the endocannabinoid system is activated, it can shift things like our response to stress, our emotional state, our ability to get a good night’s sleep, and our level of inflammation.
And while this happens naturally, when our body’s natural endocannabinoids activate our cannabinoid receptors, the cannabinoids in cannabis (such as CBD) are also able to impact these functions. This is how cannabis and CBD provide so many different effects.
Some find that adding water-soluble CBD into their wellness regimen enhances their feelings of balance and well-being, and makes it easier to deal with everyday stressors. This makes it a perfect companion to practices like yoga, which do the same thing from another angle.
While water-soluble CBD offers chemical support, activating our natural endocannabinoid system to engage its many different functions, yoga provides a practice that physically engages the body, calms the mind, and brings the two into cohesion with each other. In fact, yoga and cannabis go way back. Ancient yoga practitioners considered cannabis to be a sacred plant – and many in history (and in our current times) have combined these two for enhanced relaxation, connection, and inspiration.
These ancient practitioners were using cannabis that likely also had some THC, the component of cannabis primarily responsible for cannabis’ notorious ‘high’. While water-soluble CBD won’t get you high, it may offer many of the same benefits for yoga without the more intense mind-altering effects. For those looking to deepen into their yoga practice, and find a greater sense of well-being, without worrying about feeling those big mental shifts – CBD can be an ideal option.
The Benefits of Water Soluble CBD and Yoga
The combination of water-soluble CBD and yoga has some big benefits to health and well-being. Together they are able to offer an increased sense of calm and emotional balance. This combination can also help contribute to overall well-being through movement and endocannabinoid system support.
How To Combine CBD and Yoga
Combining yoga and CBD is actually fairly simple. Find a way to start a yoga practice and use CBD during or before your sessions. There are so many ways to start a yoga practice, from going to a yoga class, to watching yoga videos online. There are even yoga classes designed specifically for those using cannabis or CBD during the process – both in-person and online. Yoga increases our body’s natural cannabinoid Anandamide. It is actually named after the Sanskrit word Ananda which means bliss. Taking water soluble CBD increases the effectiveness of Anandamide in our body.
At these ‘ganja yoga’ classes, people will be able to actively use their CBD and other cannabis products during the class. This can be a wonderful experience for those worried about the stigma around cannabis, those who enjoy using inhaled CBD during yoga practice, and those looking for guidance from yoga instructors that respect and understand the benefits of using CBD during yoga.
But keep in mind, if you are only interested in how to use CBD, that some ganja yoga classes allow for inhaled cannabis to be used throughout the class. In this case, there is a possibility to catch a second hand high from the high THC products others might be smoking or vaping in the area. Some ganja yoga classes only allow for CBD products, or non-inhaled cannabis products though. So, whatever your personal preferences are, do your research before you go to make sure you are going to be in an environment that is comfortable for you and your needs.
If you are going to a standard or a virtual yoga class, you can just enjoy your CBD before you start the class. One tip is to make sure to time your CBD use to make sure it is active during your yoga session. If you are using a traditional edible, for example, you may not begin to feel the effects for 1-2 hours, so be sure to use it well before your session starts. Inhaled CBD or traditional sublingual oils, on the other hand, should be used 15-20 minutes before the class.
One easy way to avoid errors in your timing is to use a fast-acting water-soluble CBD option like Ojai Energetics’ water-soluble CBD Oil. This completely organic fast-acting solution begins to offer effects in 30 seconds. So you can simply use it when you are ready and not have to worry about taking it at just the right moment. You’ll never have that moment where you realize you forgot to take your edible in time and now it won’t kick in until after the class is finished.
You can take a few drops right before your class begins, or you can take advantage of its ability to mix with liquids and add a little bit to your water bottle before class. By adding it to your water, you can enjoy CBD throughout your yoga experience – whether you are at a ganja yoga class or the yoga class at your gym or private home.
Now that you know how to combine CBD and Yoga, check out other creative ways to add CBD oil to your daily routine.
At Ojai Energetics, we offer a variety of CBD products that you can use to support a healthier lifestyle. In addition to our Full Spectrum Hemp Elixir, we also offer a CBD Coconut Oil that’s great for cooking and a CBD Sports Gel for those with active lifestyles.
