How to Practice Mindfulness and Relaxation with Cannabis

Understanding the two-dimensional nature of our emotions and the body’s associated physical reactions provides us with the potentially powerful opportunity for self-healing. We can give way for emotional signals which support our ability to heal and thrive while expressing good and bad emotions appropriately. By generating or harvesting specific emotions, you are also changing the chemistry of your body via the endocannabinoid system in our bodies. Before we can have a look at mindfulness and cannabis for deeper healing, we first must look at the bodies endogenous molecules and their associated emotions. 

Chemicals Associated with Expansive Emotions:

Acetylcholine: I remember (learning, memory, plasticity, arousal, attention)

Anandamide: I am at ease (bliss, relaxation, social)

Endogenous Opioids: It feels so good when the pain stops (pain-blocking)

Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid: I am melting (relaxed, calm, slowed down)

Oxytocin: I feel for you (empathy, generosity, trust, reduced-fear)

Serotonin: I am happy (relaxed, sensual, happy, safe, positive, flexible, easy-going)

Chemicals Associated with Constricting Emotions:

Epinephrine: I am afraid (fear, scared, thrill)

Dopamine: I am motivated (arousal, emotional processing, and memory)

Norepinephrine: I am attentive (attention, excitement, alertness, urgency, concentration, focus, motivation) 

Cortisol: I am stressed (fear, anxiety, restlessness, shame, guilt, low self-esteem, low self-worth)

Glutamate: I am excited (the body’s “upper”)

Vasopressin: I am aggressive (aggression, defensive, territorial behavior, social recognition of facial expressions)

Each emotion and molecule has its’ own healthy purpose but when our emotions are out of balance, we expose our bodies to a greater risk of illness and disease. Suppressed or repressed emotions can lead to sickness and a shortened lifespan unless they are expressed or/and dealt with appropriately.  Basically, unhealthy emotions that are repressed/suppressed/harvested can lead to adverse effects such as a weaker immune system and increase risk of illness, whereas appropriately expressed and dealt with emotions would lead to a stronger immune system and better response systems. 

As individuals with illness and conditions being treated with cannabis, or frankly any medication, would want to practice better mindfulness over emotions to ensure the increase of immune system strength. Choosing how you feel and react to situations can improve your recovery in more ways than one, allowing your body the opportunity for deeper healing (healing of the mind and body). 

Integrating Mindfulness with Cannabis for Deeper Healing:

Deep relaxation:

The relaxation response is when signal and hormonal molecules change in the brain and lead to reduced stress molecules, calming heart-rate and reducing blood sugar. Many people believe that relaxation includes sitting on the couch and watching TV, however, they won’t lead to the relaxation response. Inducing the relaxation response is vital for beginning and supporting the healing process. Ancient practices such as Tai Chi, meditation, repetitive prayer and yoga have proven most effective in inducing the relaxation response. As you start your cannabis medicinal course, begin and support your healing process with a healing regimen inducing the relaxation response. The relaxation response and cannabis can lead to improved immune system responses against tumors and microbes as well as a healthier cardiovascular system. 

Choose how you react:

We always have a choice, whether it feels that way or not. We have a choice of how we are going to look at and approach a situation, in turn, informing how we will feel about it. Every time that we take the opportunity to work towards emotional authorship, we take on an empowered position. Persistent or repressed negative emotions have been proven to worsen chronic degenerative diseases through an increase in the production of cell-signaling protein molecules, which increase inflammation activity associated with aging, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, cancers, and many more.  Choose to accept where you at that point in your life, and decide to react better for your health. Combing such strong emotional will with mindfulness and cannabis is a magical remedy for your ailment and will improve your health, both mind, and body. 

Become a cannabis shaman by practicing intention:

A cannabis shaman is a person who consciously enters an altered state of mind through habitual practices such as deep relaxation while under the influence of cannabis, to channel better and healing energy. Using cannabis as a regular activity, like shopping or drinking alcohol, can become an unhealthy psychological habit. However, when you combine conscious intention and the therapeutic window, it can exceed any unhealthy habit. Your therapeutic window is achieved when you consume a minimal amount of cannabis while reaching your desired effect. Many cannabis consuming patients who combine mindfulness and deep-relaxation for their treatment have reported that it was easier to identify their own triggers, being able to relax better in the presence of intolerable emotions, gaining impulse awareness as well as discovering new options and choices in place of negative behavior when reacting to situations. 

Both cannabinoids and consciousness engage the body and the mind simultaneously. Which facilitates shifts in awareness important to deep healing. Healing both the mind and body is essential for overcoming any condition and illness that may be plaguing your life. Take healing into your own hands and strive for deeper healing.