Life is stressful, these days more than ever. In your search for ways to cope, you’ve probably heard the usual suggestions: exercise more, eat better, get enough sleep, take up a hobby, get outdoors. There seem to be as many ways to deal with stress as there are stressed-out people.
Chances are, one of the things you’ll also hear is to try CBD and meditation. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not just for yogis, zen masters, or hemp homebodies. Yes, anyone can try CBD and meditation. Athletes, busy parents, weekend warriors, overworked professionals – everyone can benefit from taking the time to just be still.
The key is to first calm the mind and relax the body enough to focus inward – which is the part most people find difficult to do. If you struggle to sit and clear the mind, then you might want to consider the calming combo of CBD oil and meditation.
What Is Meditation?
Mention “meditation” and most people picture sitting on a cushion, legs crossed, chanting or staring at a candle flame. In its simplest form, meditation is a mental practice to induce and enhance focus, relaxation, and awareness. In more metaphysical terms, it is a tool to transform the mind and invite enlightenment.
Meditation exists in cultures all over the world, going back millennia. Most religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, and even Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, have some form of meditative practice. And while meditation has its roots in spirituality, most people today practice meditation for stress relief and to calm the mind.
While there are many types of meditation, the three most common are mindfulness, transcendental, and guided meditation.
Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation encourages being fully present in the moment with your thoughts. The goal is awareness of what you are doing as you sit and breathe, to let thoughts and feelings come as they will, without attaching or reacting to them. If you get caught up in the “chatter” in your head or distracted by external noise, the practice is to bring your attention back to the moment, concentrating on deep, rhythmic, even breathing.
While mindful meditation can be practiced anywhere by simply remaining in the moment, it is usually easiest to do while sitting or relaxing in a quiet space with eyes closed, where you can concentrate on your breath.
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental meditation uses a mantra – a word, sound, or short phrase – that is repeated, out loud or silently, to focus the mind and keep outside thoughts and distractions away. It is most often practiced twice a day, seated in a comfortable position, with the eyes closed. The mantra makes it easier to go inward and settle the mind while quieting the stress, leading to a deep state of rest and relaxation.
Guided Meditation
Guided meditation uses visualization of mental images, stories, or situations to relax and center you. For example, imagining you are sitting on a beach of soft white sand as the waves gently roll in and a soft breeze blows, carrying the sounds of sea birds as they fly overhead. This type of meditation is often led by a teacher (live or from a recorded session) and encourages you to use all of your senses as you visualize the scene, including sound, smell, and touch.
You will find an endless selection of online meditation resources such as Insight Timer, About Meditation, and Chopra Centered Lifestyle offering meditations for all experience levels, as well as convenient apps like Calm, Omvana, and Headspace. And, if you’ve ever taken a gentle hatha or restorative yoga class, you’ve most likely had an instructor that led you through at least one of these forms of meditation.
Meditation and Stress
Before you dismiss meditation as too “New Age” or too difficult, consider this: Even modern medicine agrees that just 10 minutes of meditation a day can help increase the ability to relax while also reducing anxiety, easing stress, and even improving cardiovascular health.
How Meditation and Stress Are Related
Meditation is literally the opposite of stress: It can start and deepen our relaxation response, restoring us to a state of calm. This not only eases our minds and helps us relax, it actually restores our bodies to a balanced state, which allows our systems to return to their prime purpose of repairing themselves and fighting off the physical damage done by stress.
How Meditation Can Help with Stress
We've all heard of "fight or flight" and how our bodies instinctively go on alert at the first sign of danger. While that danger may no longer be a predator lurking outside the cave, our daily lives are filled with a never-ending stream of triggers that keep us constantly on edge, even if we're not aware of it. Our minds race and our bodies are full of stress, tension, aches, and pains.
In fact, with extended practice, meditation not only helps us disengage from this perpetual state of stress and find a way to relax, it helps us become less reactive and more calm in our daily lives. Meditation can also make us more positive, adaptable, and resilient.
CBD and Meditation
Now you may be wondering, how can CBD and meditation work together? If you are using one, why not try the other? With so many benefits in common, it's only natural to wonder: Can CBD oil tinctures help you meditate? Yes. Here’s how CBD oil and meditation work in partnership.
How CBD and Meditation Work Together
Whether you are just beginning a meditation practice or have been doing it for years, it can still be difficult to sit still for even five minutes, let alone longer, if you can’t calm the mind or ease the mental fatigue that’s part of our busy everyday lives.
CBD is a natural compound found in cannabis plants, a group that includes both hemp and marijuana. While marijuana contains the psychoactive compound THC, CBD is derived from hemp and manufactured to contain little or no THC. Ongoing research has suggested that CBD can interact with the bodily system known as the endocannabinoid system, or ECS. The ECS is what helps our bodies maintain balance.
It’s no wonder, then, that CBD and meditation seem like a natural combination. A daily regimen of CBD can become part of your daily stress-fighting routine, allowing for improved concentration and clarity – which is why many take up meditation in the first place. While CBD has not been approved to treat any physical or mental issues, countless anecdotal testimonials suggest that CBD may help ease stress by promoting calm.
An added benefit is that since CBD does not contain the cannabinoid THC, CBD can be used without the “high” of marijuana. Hemp-derived CBD is federally legal in the United States and can be found in a wide variety of products, from edibles such as CBD gummies to ointments like CBD topicals.
So while CBD oil should not be used with the sole intention of enhancing the meditation experience, it can be an integral part of helping you feel comfortable with the practice and as a part of your daily self-care routine. By helping ease tension and stress, CBD oil and meditation can greatly benefit your everyday wellness by allowing your body to relax enough for the mind to follow.
CBD Options to Use with Meditation
Ready to integrate CBD meditation into your everyday mantra? Here are five great options to choose from for everyday support:
- CBD oil is CBD diffused into a natural carrier oil for easy application. Taken in liquid form using a dropper, it’s the most effective way to take CBD and a great way to start your day.
- CBD capsules offer CBD oil in a more traditional, portable form. Capsules are convenient to add to your morning vitamin regimen.
- CBD gummies are the portable, flavorful way to take your daily CBD. Anytime, anywhere you want a little CBD boost, pop a gummy and add a smile to your day.
- CBD Topicals deliver soothing CBD where and how you need it most. From light moisture to nourishing cream to freezing gel, CBD topicals can help ease the daily aches away.
- CBD bath bombs may be the most indulgent way to relax the world away. A warm bath and soothing scents make the perfect ending to a busy day.
What to Expect from CBD and Meditation
Now that you see how CBD and meditation can make for a calming combination, here are a few things to know about adding CBD to your daily routine.
Every person reacts differently to CBD
Everyone is different, and depending on age, body weight, overall health, and unique system, how you respond to CBD will vary. For some, it may be the perfect complement to their wellness routine and help them feel more calm and centered. Because there are so many options for taking CBD oil, you can find the optimal amount for you.
CBD Can Build Up in the Body
Just taking a serving of CBD and hitting your Zen cushion probably won't produce the results you want. Begin with a daily serving and give it a few weeks to observe how you feel; most suggest at least 30 days of continued use.
CBD May Help You Maintain Your Good Mood and Focus
As you use CBD in a daily wind-down routine, you may notice an improved sense of calm, awareness, and focus. This is beneficial for not only “taking the edge off” your daily stress, but for helping you settle into your meditation practice so you can make the most of it and the wellness benefits it offers. CBD and meditation, working together, can be the combination that brings you to the right headspace for your meditative practices.
CBD Timing Is Everything
Once you have integrated CBD into your daily rituals and begun experiencing the results you want, timing is still important. Don't take a serving of CBD five minutes before you sit to meditate and expect sudden waves of calm. How quickly you feel any effects will largely depend on how to take CBD, how often you take it and when, and how consistent you are in taking your CBD oil. Meditation practices are better enriched with consideration of your CBD intake schedule. You may find that you enjoy meditation for a period of time after you’ve taken your morning CBD, for example.
CBD Won't Magically Make You Better at Meditation
As anyone who meditates regularly will tell you, it can take a lot of time and dedication, especially if you are new to the practice. Just because CBD can provide some calm and focus, it won't miraculously flip the meditation switch to ‘ON’ and make it effortless or instant. You must still put in the effort and practice to meditate. CBD meditation is merely an addition to your wellness routine that may make it just a little easier to be in the right frame of mind to explore your own practice.
CBD Oil and Meditation: The Calming Combo We All Could Use
Modern life causes all kinds of physical discomfort — from living an active lifestyle to sitting at a desk all day hunched over a keyboard — as well as the mental stress and fatigue that goes along with it. Long hours, crazy schedules, hectic homelives, the chaos of the world around us; it’s no wonder so many people are turning to CBD oil and meditation as a way to reduce stress and promote calm in their busy lives.
We practice wellness care in a variety of ways, such as exercise, good eating habits, drinking enough water, and getting good sleep. Meditation can be an incredible addition to your personal well-being routine, as can CBD. Meditation and CBD both work to ease stress and discomfort, making CBD and meditation an ohm-azing combination.
Curious about CBD and mediation? Find the right combination of premium CBD bundles for sale to complement your self-care routine. And we invite you to follow us on Instagram and Facebook and join in our CBD community!