Yoga is an excellent way to achieve a balanced, active lifestyle. Although yoga has been in existence for almost 5,000 years, it has grown into a popular form of exercise that promotes improved control of the mind and body as it helps to enhance well-being.
Ancient yoga was much less about fitness and more about mental focus and expanding spiritual energy. Modern yoga focuses on stretches and poses designed to stimulate inner peace and physical energy. The beauty of the practice is that there are so many options to choose from as there are several different types of yoga with varying disciplines that come with their own poses, flows, postures, and goals. While each type has its own focus and characteristics, intentional breathing, energy, and focus are typically consistent principles in every application.
In addition to general fitness, yoga has so many other benefits including:
- Increased mindfulness: The breathing techniques you use in yoga are a great way to ease your mind and bring increased awareness to your thoughts.
- Improved flexibility: By consistently practicing stretches, the body’s range of motion begins to increase; this helps improve flexibility, which may help decrease inflammation and discomfort in the body.
- Promoted relaxation: Recent studies have shown that yoga can help reduce levels of tension in the body. When you’re stressed, it’s easy for your muscles to become tight and tense, which leads to discomfort. Practicing yoga helps lower levels of inflammation in the body, which ultimately helps ease your muscles and promote relaxation.
Benefits of CBD
So many of the benefits that come from yoga are similar to the advantages you can gain with CBD. If you are newer to CBD, it’s helpful to know that while Cannabidiol (CBD) comes from the cannabis plant, it’s derived from the hemp and does not have the psychoactive attributes that you may get with marijuana. Additionally, if you’ve ever been curious why CBD works the way it does, it helps to know that we all have an endocannabinoid system designed to take in CBD and other cannabinoids. The endocannabinoid system is connected to all of our bodily systems such as immune, circulatory, respiratory, nervous, and more! When the endocannabinoid system is maintained through the use of CBD, removing any negative enzymes that are present, it allows all of our other bodily systems to function at their highest potential.
Incorporating CBD into your Yoga Practice:
Whether you are considering trying yoga for the first time, or you’re a yogi master, incorporating CBD into your practice can help take your experience to the next level. With both yoga and CBD sharing many similar outcomes, it’s no wonder that the two go hand-in-hand for so many people.
If you’ve never considered adding CBD into your yoga practice, just take a look at the overlapping benefits – it’s like they were intended to go together, talk about powering up!
- Relaxation and relief from stress and anxiety
- Decreased inflammation leading to quicker muscle recovery
- Increased awareness
- Enhanced connection between brain and body
- Improved mental clarity
Very much like incorporating CBD into your daily life and routine, there are a few different ways you can make it work to help your yoga practice. Not only are there different times that you could take CBD to help you practice, but there are also different products you can consider to help support your mind and body from the inside out and the outside in.
Heal your body and mind from the inside out:
- Tinctures: At Blooming Botanicals, there are three different formulations and much like the types of yoga, each has its own characteristics and benefits.
- Original: Straightforward, simple, and delicious. The original blend full spectrum CBD elixir is combined with organic MCT coconut oil, giving it a smooth and subtle coconut flavor.
- Lavender: The relaxation blend combines full-spectrum CBD with an aromatherapy powerhouse of lavender to promote relaxation and stress relief.
- Turmeric: The Turmeric blend combines the power of full-spectrum CBD with CO2 extracted turmeric and black pepper to create a robust anti-inflammatory blend.
Heal your body and mind from the outside in:
- Salve: The CBD Healing Salve is packed full of amazing botanical herbs, essential oils, and organic products, and is an excellent option for sore muscles and joints.
Before or After?
Need a way to help calm your body and mind before you hit the mat? No matter what time of day you begin your practice, if you have a hard time quieting your rushing thoughts, CBD before yoga could be a great option for you so that you can focus your attention on your breathing and your movement. Additionally, if you’re looking to prolong that post-yoga bliss, taking a dropper of CBD after yoga could be the perfect option for you. Another added advantage of incorporating CBD after yoga is that it helps your muscles to recover quicker. Regardless of your experience level, inflammation can occur with any type of exercise or increased movement and CBD can aid your recovery and reduce the time that you need to rest afterward.
Whichever time of day and type of yoga + CBD you choose, your body and mind will definitely thank you for the extra self-care!