Yogis across the country (and world) look to their yoga practice to allow them to reach enlightenment. With almost 50,000 yoga studios in the US, it’s a safe bet that you’ve tried yoga for a similar reason– whether as a form of body movement, meditation or mental health practice. But have you tried yoga under the influence of cannabis?
The yoga community is split on whether cannabis is good for a yoga practice, but agreed that it’s ultimately a personal choice. I practice yoga often, especially restorative yoga, so I was interested in trying THC-infused yoga to see if it enhanced my experience the way some yogis claim it does. So, I attended a weed yoga event at The Artist Tree in West Hollywood, CA.
Arriving at The Artist Tree in West Hollywood, CA for Weed Yoga
The weed yoga event I attended took place at The Artist Tree in West Hollywood, CA. The dispensary has a dispensary on the bottom floor, a lounge on the second, and an event space on the third. We got there a half hour early to indulge in some cannabis treats before heading up to the third floor for yoga.
Not knowing what to expect in the lounge, I was overwhelmed with the vast array of options. Their menu separated indica, sativa and CBD. They even had different devices such as bongs, gravity bongs, and vaporizers to rent for the optimum smoking experience– not to mention THC infused cocktails!
Our server, Clay, was so knowledgeable and welcoming, and he complimented my adorable Old Navy outfit. Clay answered all of my questions and actually allowed me to mix the liquid cannabis into our cocktail myself. Liquid THC concentrate is the prime method used during weed yoga events.
The THC cocktail was actually very good, and once mixed in, you couldn’t taste the concentrate. But would this actually help me connect mind, body and spirit?
My Plus Size Experience at a Weed Yoga Event
Heading up to the third floor we were offered another vial of liquid cannabis and it was up to us how we wanted to use it– add it to the cocktail we purchased, shoot it like a shot, or sip on it throughout the class. I decided to mix it into the delicious strawberry lemonade cocktail I was already drinking.
Laid out on our mats, the instructor, Amy, began the yoga class. The small intimate class was definitely the right environment for this experimental weed yoga. As the experts say, “Yoga is a journey of the self”, and I was beginning to feel more relaxed and centered than before while sipping on my cocktail.
Moving from pose to pose, I was definitely more in my body than my mind without needing to focus too much, which I attribute to the THC. My mind is always running a mile a minute, so when I normally practice yoga, it takes a lot for me to breathe out all of the distractions. But I 1000% didn’t have to work as hard to calm my mind as I usually do.
After the first half of flow yoga, we moved into restorative yoga, which is something I’ve grown very accustomed to following my past surgeries. This is really where I felt the THC added to my yoga experience. Restorative yoga is all about holding poses for a long time and really allowing your body to breathe through the pose (unlike flow yoga, which is constantly moving).
As someone always in their head, restorative yoga really challenged me to breathe life into my body as I lay in each pose, and not allow my mind to wander. The second half of the class is where I really felt the THC aid my yoga practice, as I didn’t have to constantly tell my mind to relax. I fell into it much quicker and didn’t find myself adrift as much. I was simply in my body and not my mind.
As the class ended, we decided to hang out at the lounge for a bit longer. Artist Tree is not allowed to serve food in the lounge, so they are partnered with two places where you can order food to be delivered. We ate lunch and smoked the remainder of the joint we bought earlier while enjoying the post yoga feeling in our bodies. I don’t know if weed yoga will become a regular practice for me, but I did get an extra vial to take home and try it again!
Jillian Pfennig
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