In Small Doses: Ganja Or Cannabis-Assisted Yoga Pairs Marijuana With M

[grace]

  Quote

Ganja or cannabis-assisted yoga is not just something from "Cheech and Chong". It is a type of yoga that combines marijuana with meditation to create and experience that allows one total bliss and in-focus breathing. It has gained popularity in Toronto, Canada, but issues of legalization still dog the U.S.

 

What is ganga or cannabis-assisted yoga?

 

First of all, it is not something just for yogis; it can be practiced by anyone seeking to have more clarity and focus on the mind-body connection.

 

Picture a room with a several yogis or yoga-lovers. The conversation could be mere chats about world peace, healthy living, the proper way to smoke cannabis, all while blissfully taking in the effects of vaporizer tokes. Ambient music could be playing, the new age variety that takes you into another dimension.

 

Then, you dreamily begin a guided session of deliberate, rhythmic movements while a looming haze tickles the nape of your neck, bathes your senses, and relaxes your train of thought. An instructor beckons you to allow your mind to be free as your movements are guided by the music, ganja, and breath.

 

Pros and cons of ganja or cannabis-assisted yoga

 

Many proponents of ganja or cannabis-assisted yoga tout the benefits of combining marijuana with yoga to alleviate chronic pain and other conditions where conventional medicine has failed.

 

Research appears to back up this claim. A recent university-hosted study found that the use of marijuana lessens the severity of neuropathic pain, according to the Globe and Mail.

 

Ms. Marcia, a Toronto ganja yoga practitioner and studio owner said this:

 

“They need marijuana in order to fight the chronic pain and anxiety they feel. She notices that some patients with multiple sclerosis, for instance, are able to “be present†and practice yoga once they’ve gotten high."

 

Marcia says that when there is a system of rules and respect, yogis tend to adhere to the principles of the metaphysical connection that is derived from the practice of ganga yoga.

 

Others say it is just part of a growing fad of hyped-up cult practices, and reasons for people to profit and get high.

 

Purists push back on the practice of ganja yoga for other subtle reasons, subject to argument. They believe that the only true way to experience total bliss, in the combination of yoga and meditation, is through conventional yoga, without marijuana.

 

Opponents of the so-called-ganja yoga say that the practice is counterintuitive. Their logic behind that is the practice of yoga is for purifying the body and soul.

 

However, all the benefits of the act are lost when one later poisons their body with ganja or cannabis. It is tantamount to eating a salad for weight-loss but lathering on the ranch dressing.

 

Ganja yoga is practiced, sparsely in the U.S. in places like California and Colorado where the use of marijuana is protected for the most part by decriminalization laws.

 

The jury is out, but it appears that, along with recent successful legislation and/or positive moves to connect the use of marijuana with therapy for pain and chronic conditions, ganja yoga may be clearing for take-off.

 

If an ad can appear on television called the "CannaCare Commercial" in California that advocates the use of marijuana at a local dispensary, ganja yoga will likely make its mark.

 

Author: Bruce Baker for Gather.com, All rights reserved

Date: 11 September 2010

Source: Gather News

http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978510928©2010

 

I have been doing this since I was 17.

works for me

Edited September 13, 2010 by grace

[wietlover]

The missus does Bikram yoga(they heat the room to about 40 degrees c and you sweat bigtime!!)

I have gone with her on occasion and gotten smashed before and found it very easy to focus and breath!!!The sardi??(brahman??) in india who smoke all the ganja, practice yoga as well, it seems logical that they would go hand in hand!!

cheers Grace for another intresting article !! wiet

Edited September 13, 2010 by wietlover

[cybergenesis]

Well I've never like Yoga, but if they are involving cannabis with it, then well that makes it more appealing that I would have thought If I was invited to a cannabis yoga class, I guess I'd be oblidged to attend