Polls taken in the last few years state that 8 out of 10 Americans are afflicted by stress. During this period of coronavirus and quarantine it must be even higher.
Short amounts of stress may result in minor headaches, overeating, or sleeplessness. More prolonged and higher levels of stress have been linked to health conditions including high blood pressure, anxiety, and depression.
CBD May Help You Meditate Better
Exercise, a healthy diet and a good night’s sleep help reduce stress. You can also practice meditation to lower your stress level.
Meditation is a mental practice to help you focus, relax, and be more aware of your thoughts. One of the ways CBD is good for your health is it can help support your mediation practice by calming both the mind and the body. Most religions have some form of meditative practice. The three most common forms of meditation are:
- mindfulness
- transcendental meditation
- guided meditation
Mindfulness Meditation
In mindfulness meditation, you sit in a quiet area with your eyes closed and let your thoughts and feelings fade away while you concentrate on the present using deep breathing.
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental meditation, usually practiced twice daily, uses a mantra which is a word, sound, or short phrase. Top-selling author Tim Ferris uses “nature” as his word. You repeat the mantra either out loud or silently so you can focus and quiet outside thoughts and distractions. Transcendental meditation can promote deep relaxation.
Guided Meditation
Guided meditation, usually led by a teacher, uses visualization of images, stories, or situations to relax. You can use all of your senses, including sound, smell, and touch.
Even doctors agree that 10 minutes of meditation can help you relax, reduce stress, ease anxiety, and improve your cardiovascular system. Meditation may help you become less reactive and calmer, more positive, adaptable, and resilient.
CBD may help with meditation since it is known to also relax the body and mind so you can focus inward. (Scotch Valley Ranch recently released DE-COMPRESS to get meditators into a more relaxed state.) CBD can also reduce inflammation and improve concentration. CBD usually takes time to be effective if you are taking tinctures or capsules and the correct dosage varies from person to person. The faster delivery of CBD is through the lungs via smoking a pre roll or vaping. You should consult with your doctor/wellness professional if you are taking other medications or herbs.
CBD supports the endocannabinoid system and as it becomes healthier, it can support healthy neurotransmitter levels in the brain. You won’t be so stressed or worried and you will be able to sit down and still your thoughts and get into a meditative state more quickly.
Meditation During COVID-19
Tips from Andre Izrailov, Journey Guide, Medicinal Mindfulness
As it became evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of the immune system plays a big part in the severity of the virus expression. Our bodies maintain immune balance via a process called homeostasis – an equilibrium between mind and body. The Allostatic Load or Stress, which is another word for conscious and subconscious fears, is a major disruptor of that balance further causing inflammations throughout the body and undermining the immune system.
As hemp and its properties are interacting directly with the endocannabinoid system, part of our nervous system responsible for homeostasis, they are quite literally the bridge between mind and body. Our bodies produce their own version of CBD and THC called endocannabinoids. When under stress these properties are in short supply causing further damage to the immune system.
Four Meditation Techniques
Consumption of hemp products alone might bring immediate positive results, but they might not be long-lasting if the underlying cause still resides in our system. This is where mindfulness techniques are of great help.
1. Make it intentional – Setting a personal intention is crucial when choosing to heal with plants as it invites the mind to let go and trust what comes up without a need for diversion. For example
- Surrender the mind to the body.
- Open the heart.
- Be aware
2. Be Receptive – Staying vulnerable and being aware while in the experience is another key element. The following helps with the process: Ask yourself: what is the worst thing that can happen to me right now? Whatever your response may be, go deeper. If that happens, then what is the worst about that? The idea is to distill your fear of something that is highly personal and without judgment or a need to correct it.
- Example: “I’ll be left alone”, “I’m not good enough”, or “I’ll leave”
Once the fear is identified the mind can then let go of trying to protect the emotional and physical bodies leading you to the next step.
3. Visceral Sensations – As your fear awareness rises, stay connected to the body by noticing any visceral sensations associated with the fear at this particular time. This is your body’s trauma language. It speaks through sensations.
- Example: Tightness in the chest or belly, throat, neck or back discomfort.
4. Intentional Breathing – This is the key ally in the entire process. When under stress, we often forget to breathe or it becomes shallow causing further distress to the system. Allow a natural flow of breath deep into the belly and keeping it cyclical without pausing at the top or the bottom. Bring your breath and awareness to any of the visceral sensations and continue breathing until it eases. It may also help to place your hand on that part of the body.
The homeostatic range is balanced by surrendering the mind to the body and by allowing ourselves to feel without judgment or expectation. Acknowledging, breathing, and feeling. Allowing the surrender to take place.
The above steps can be practiced daily as often as you need, with or without the consumption of plant medicine.
Andre can be reached at andre@heartdecoded.com
Meditation Closing Thoughts
Meditation is a process that takes time. While CBD can help you access a more relaxed and stable state of mind, it doesn’t mean that you will be instantly great at meditation. You can also use guided meditation apps and videos to practice mediation.
Most people practice meditation in their house in a quiet space away from the distractions of other family members, pets, and the sounds from a television/computer. You can also practice outside if you can block out the birds! Meditation can be very beneficial in this time of quarantine and coronavirus.
Scotch Valley Ranch is a CBD hemp flower farm based in Upstate New York. We sell DE-COMPRESS, a CBD tincture that will help you relax, CBD hemp flower online available in CBD hemp prerolls, and jars, with great strains to use for meditation including Cherry Wine, Umpqua, T2 (Trump), and more.
