How CBD improved my meditation practice and anxiety
Written by Diego Salinas
My anxiety really began to rear its ugly head when I was still in college. In a desperate attempt to get a grip of the anxious thoughts that controlled my every day, I signed up for a semester-long Meditation and Yoga intensive. That class managed to be one of the few times during the day when I could catch my breath. Unfortunately now going on two years out of college and the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, I find myself returning to my mindful meditation practice and you know what I discovered? I’d completely lost my ability to sit through an entire meditation. I found myself anxious, disconnected, and restless. The last thing I wanted to do was sit still with my thoughts for any length of time! That is until I started introducing CBD into my meditation practice.
You’ve probably heard a lot about CBD and its many uses and benefits. Products nowadays range from topical creams that can help alleviate pain and inflation, to delicious gummies that help people tackle stress and anxiety in their daily lives. What I find works best for me is a 1,000mg tincture bottle from Half Day CBD. Not only does it have a smoother taste compared to other CBD products I’ve tried, but it also has a measured out dropper that lets me know exactly how much I’m taking so that I’m always in control of my dosage. Half Day CBD also has their product rigorously tested by independent third-party labs to verify the quality and potency.
Before social distancing was in my vocabulary, I would keep my CBD with me when I went about my day, helping restore balance to myself and alleviate the regular day-to-day anxiety I feel. Since the commute to work has been replaced by working from home, I still find it essential to keeping me on top of my anxiety so I can tackle my work. The idea of adding a new activity to my routine seemed overwhelming at first. I constantly worried that I wouldn’t meditate correctly or that I would lose productivity if I blocked out time in my day to meditate. All the worries that I wouldn’t do things “right” kept me from doing things at all. As soon as I jumped back into my practice, I realized that I had made the boogeyman of meditation a lot scarier than it was. After jumping over that hurdle, I realized that a little CBD before I jumped into a meditation practice was exactly what I needed to get out of my head and into my body. I don’t know why it took me so long to finally pair CBD with my meditation practices!
I like to begin by taking .5 milliliters of CBD tincture orally about 5 minutes before I begin my meditation practice. It’s best to let the oil rest under your tongue for about five seconds or so. This helps the CBD diffuse through the blood faster since the area under our tongues is filled with lots of convenient capillaries. Thanks to the fast acting effects of the CBD, I’m already feeling more calm and mellow going into my meditation practice which is key to helping me stay focused on mindfulness and breathing. Once the anxiety around the idea of meditating subsided, I found a deeper value in my meditation practice. Just last week I began adding a little stretching routine at the end of my mindful meditation in order to stay spry and limber. This has evolved into a full fledged yoga practice that I alternate with my meditation for days where I want to feel more active and work up a sweat. I’m not usually a self-conscious person, but after I noticed my stress around meditating melt away with the help of CBD I realized I was self conscious. I was silently judging myself and putting unnecessary obstacles in the way of my path to a healthier me. CBD helped me reduce my self-imposed feelings of inadequacy about meditation and create a consistent schedule towards a healthier life.
The beauty of this process is that it’s now become almost a ritual habit that’s allowed me to not only engage deeper with myself, but also increase the amount of time I comfortably meditate per day. What started out as a quick 5 minute practice last month has grown into a steady 20 minute daily practice. I never thought that I would be able to quickly find a way to not only continue my daily practice but actually improve the quality of meditation that I’m doing every day. What’s also amazing is that the benefits of CBD extend beyond my daily meditation and in fact allow me to keep my mindfulness stronger for longer.
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