Mindfulness & CBD

Written by:

Lala Sol

Yoga & Meditation Teacher

I take CBD every day and find that it does for my body what meditation does for my mind: it allows the uneasiness and tension to pass. In my daily routine I take CBD oil each morning upon waking up. This promotes a steady and calm feeling throughout my day, soothes tension in my body, and helps with inflammation.

If I need extra support in moments of high stress and tension, I occasionally smoke my CBD vape and plunk myself down to sit in stillness. I may put on a guided meditation, binaural beats, or lay down for a restful Yoga Nidra practice. Another beautiful act of self-love is enjoying CBD in a warm bath with some essential oils. I can count on these tools to guide me back to feeling good.

When people ask me about CBD vs THC, I tell them that for me, hemp is a miracle plant. It is optimal for my daily routine because it has tremendous relaxing and medicinal components without it interfering with my clarity of consciousness. Practicing yoga and meditation after consuming CBD can feel incredibly healing because it can allow me to feel safe and liberated to connect with my body. As I move, I circulate stagnant energy, and I feel an increasing sense of spaciousness within. CBD, yoga, and meditation all work together as I build this connected relationship between body and mind. I feel embodied and expansive, and most importantly I feel safer ‘to feel’ in the body, in this present moment.

Mindfulness and CBD can be helpful tools for personal development. Practicing relaxation, self-care, and self-awareness are vital aspects of well-being in this day and age. Due to the fast-paced way of modern life, the importance of slowing down and creating daily moments of self-care is often overlooked. Chronic stress from ‘the hustle’ has become normalized in the United States. Many are unaware of the long-term impacts of living with our limbic systems in constant fight/flight/freeze mode. To remedy this, it is important to allow our bodies to routinely enter into deep states of rest & relaxation. As we seek to create feelings of peace and wellbeing in our lives, tools like CBD and Mindfulness Meditation are growing increasingly popular.

CBD and Mindfulness Meditation have similar effects, and they are synergistic in nature. CBD creates a feeling of deep relaxation and reduces chronic pain, stress, anxiety, and inflammation. It helps the immune system and calms the nervous system. These positive benefits of CBD are reflected in the state of our minds, as we notice ourselves at ease throughout the day. CBD and Mindfulness are both tools that allow us to live and operate from a place of tranquility, rather than a place of reactivity. As our actions are imbued with the energy that we carry into them, CBD and Mindfulness allow us to act with gentleness and focus.

Q: Why practice mindfulness meditation?
A: As my teacher says, “you brush your teeth twice a day. Isn’t it important to polish your mind just as frequently?”

Mindfulness helps to cultivate self-awareness, which is the foundation of self-transformation. When we are stressed, we simply aren’t ourselves. We become a bit rushed, clumsy, or reactive. When the fear response is switched on, it actually prevents compassion from being fully activated in the more evolved parts of our brains. When humans are stressed, the ability to give and receive love is severely limited. Both CBD and Mindfulness Meditation are powerfully impactful tools for getting out of a state of stressed reactivity, and into a state of calm.

CBD and Mindfulness are both tools that help us outgrow patterns of reactivity. We tend to perceive the world as we feel inside. All of our experience is filtered through the lens of our emotions. When we are living out our moments without awareness, we will likely get caught in patterns of reactivity. When we are unaware that we are holding on to fear, anger, sadness, and frustration, we are likely to bring those unacknowledged feelings into our life experience. In the absence of meditation, we bounce from one emotion to the next, dragging out negative experiences due to our inability to let it go and move on.

Ideal CBD consumption method and quantity may vary greatly for each individual. There is no one size fits all, it is about experimenting with your body and finding what works for you. This is where mindfulness comes in. Practicing mindfulness when consuming CBD allows us to grow aware of how it affects our thoughts, mood, and energy. Some people prefer smoking hemp for it’s immediate effects, while others prefer hemp oil under the tongue. If you like baking, you can try out some CBD edible recipes with hemp flower- it really all depends on you.

With mindfulness meditation, the practice is not to suppress thoughts or feelings, it is to become aware of them. You are the infinite sky of awareness, and thoughts and emotions are temporary clouds passing by. The more that we practice closing our eyes, breathing deeply, and allowing what ‘is’, the more easily we can detach from the clouds. The blue sky of inner tranquility reveals itself more frequently. With awareness, you now have power over your own inner state.

'The quieter you become, the more you can hear.’ - Ram Dass