we do. It wasn’t really meant to be a work-out in the way we think of workouts. It certainly doesn’t have to be something you dread, or think you should do to make up for eating too many carbs. It doesn’t have to make you break a sweat. And it’s about so, so much more than the poses.
So, your weed-yoga class will probably (if the teacher knows what’s up as most weed-yoga teachers, do) be a lot easier than most yoga-studio yoga. And that’s a good thing.
I hear the real athletic types out there yawning in boredom at the thought of doing such low-dub grandma-friendly yoga. If you like yoga tough and mean, and find the softer version of the ancient practice boring, see if you can enjoy the inner challenge of tapping into a more relaxed engagement with your body, especially while high. Be still. Relax. Instead of brutalizing your body in yoga, see if you can you just be with it - where it is now - in simpler, more basic poses. Evoke yogic sensitivity, which cannabis engenders by doing less on your mat, not more. No grunting, no punishment, no contraction, just bliss and yummy relaxation.
When people think Ganja Yoga is a bad idea, usually it’s because they think something about it may be dangerous. Often that’s because they don’t smoke pot all that much, saw a Cheech and Chong movie once, and assume me and my students will be hot boxing the room and then stumbling around like intoxicated goofs on our sticky mats.
A few things: First, you don’t have to get super baked to do ganja yoga. It’s always an option, but sometimes it feels right to do a smaller dose before a practice (or even a microdose, where the effect is only barely felt).
Second, weed doesn’t make you all that clumsy. Balancing postures might become slightly harder but my students tend to report greater embodiment and awareness, especially if they don’t consume too much.
And, lastly, a good cannabis enhanced yoga teacher is not going to instruct you to do something that may be dangerous to fall out of. A good yoga teacher - enhanced with cannabis or not - doesn’t make the mistake of taking a mixed-level class into poses that aren’t safe.
So, you won’t be doing any potentially dangerous inversions with me, stoned or not, unless we’ve had a few private sessions and I’ve known you for a good long time.
Your teacher (and your common sense) should make sure what you get up to in your yoga practice is safe, relaxing, and fun. In that order.
I often get asked what strain is best for Ganja Yoga, and this is a tricky question. In the age of a quick
Myth 2
Cannabis-Enhanced Yoga is Dangerous
Myth 3
Certain Strains or Consumption Methods
Are Better For Yoga