Meditation is an excellent way to start, break up, or end your day. It has been done for thousands of years, and has been a part of countless generations’ lives. Meditation can be enhanced by many different things such as exercise beforehand, music or sounds, or even some substances.
Is there a chance that CBD could be a catalyst during your meditation sessions? Could you use CBD to enhance your meditation, help you focus, and have an overall more fruitful meditation session? Stay tuned to know all about CBD and meditation.
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What is CBD?
CBD (cannabidiol) is a cannabinoid naturally produced by cannabis and hemp plants. It is actually one of the 100+ known cannabinoids found in hemp and cannabis plants. Other ore well-known cannabinoids found alongside CBD are THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), CBG (cannabigerol), CBC (cannabichromene), and CBDa (cannabidiolic acid).
CBD can be found in small quantities in hemp and cannabis plants, but is usually extracted from CBD-rich strains of industrial hemp plants. This is because CBD is much more concentrated in these strains, and so it is much quicker and easier to extract it (in comparison to other cannabis and hemp strains).
CBD can be found in all sorts of products including CBD oil, CBD edibles, CBD topicals, CBD cosmetics, CBD skincare, and so many more. It is incredibly versatile, it is quite easy to take (depending on the type of CBD product you choose to use), and it can be presented in many different CBD strengths.
Does CBD Make You High?
Cannabis is well known for its unmistakable psychoactive effects, and though CBD does come from cannabis plants at times, this doesn’t mean that it will make you high. The substance that gives cannabis its characteristic ‘high’ effects is called THC (tetrahydrocannabinol).
CBD vs THC: What’s the Difference?
Both CBD and THC are processed in the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) in our bodies, which we’re all born with. However, CBD and THC are processed by very different parts of the ECS, and therefore cause very distinct effects.
The ECS has different kinds of receptors (CB1 and CB2 receptors) which CBD and THC interact with. However, CBD interacts with CB2 receptors which are located throughout our bodies in parts like our skin, our liver, and other organs.
THC, on the other hand, reacts with CB1 receptors in our bodies. These are located in our brains, and when THC interacts with these receptors, the infamous ‘high’ feeling kicks in due to THC’s psychoactive effects on our brain.
There are many minor differences between CBD and THC, but the most notable are 1) THC and CBD are completely different substances, as are salt and sugar, and 2) CBD doesn’t make you high and THC does make you high in large enough quantities.
CBD for Meditation
Meditation is centered around the act of completely relaxing your body, and clearing your mind of any thoughts. Though many people do it on a daily basis, and it is part of many beliefs and cultures, it’s really hard for others.
If you’ve ever tried to meditate and thought ‘this just isn’t for me’, you’re most definitely not the only one. What causes this? Many of us struggle to completely clear our minds and become completely neutral. We’ve never actually been able to meditate.
Is there something we can do to fully enter this space of nothingness and meditation? Absolutely! Many people find that going to guided meditations helps them concentrate, others find refuge in complete silence.
However, there have recently been a number of meditation programs going around that use CBD Oils to help us fully enter this space. Thanks to CBD’s calming and centering effects, it helps people get into the groove at the beginning of a meditation session, and that makes it much easier to enter the meditative state they seek.
Does CBD Improve Focus?
CBD can help you focus and concentrate because it increases the flow of serotonin in our brains, which results in the sedation of the receptors responsible for anxiety and ‘overthinking’.
As a result, CBD can help you concentrate and focus more on one task, whether it be the new article you have to write for work or entering a state of meditation. This is because CBD will help you calm your thoughts, calm your body, and enter that meditative state.
Benefits of Using CBD for Meditation
For one, CBD doesn’t make you feel high at all — so you don’t have to worry about getting distracted or feeling ‘out of your realm’ when you take it. Other benefit of CBD for meditation include:
- Boost in concentration and focus
- An easier time calming down and unwinding before the session
- Increased feeling of awareness without the jitters that come with caffeine or other substances
- A higher chance of entering the state of meditation easily and quickly
- A feeling of overall calmness in your body and mind, allowing you to stay in the meditative state longer
CBD can be quite beneficial when taken before meditations, as it has all these different benefits when used with meditation. However, CBD is much more beneficial in the long run when it is added to your daily self-care routine, and not just taken before sparse meditation sessions.
This is due to a few things such as 1) your body gets used to CBD and how you feel when you take it, 2) you reap more of CBD’s benefits when taken daily instead of just before weekly/monthly meditation sessions, and 3) you know how it affects you, and you know whether it will help you meditate or not (as CBD can affect different people differently!).
Effects of CBD on Memory
There have been studies suggesting that CBD could have a positive impact on memory and it could even promote neurogenesis, stimulating growth and regeneration of the brain. Meditation has also been theorized to promote better short-term memory. What happens when CBD and meditation come together?
If we take a look at both CBD’s and meditation’s effects on memory, we can easily deduce that your memory will benefit beautifully from practicing meditation while taking CBD. It’s like having an amplified tool box with which you can tackle stress, anxiety, and even improve memory!
If you’re new to the CBD meditation movement, you can now rest knowing easy that your body will benefit from it, that your mind will benefit from it, and that your overall lifestyle will benefit from it too! Give it a try, stay safe, stay calm, and CBD on!
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