Meditation is a very simple act of self-care. It’s one of the easiest ways to improve the way you feel, both physically and emotionally, with only a small amount of commitment. A 20-minute meditation session can completely turn your day around.
People use CBD for similar reasons. CBD can help to ease emotional tension, improving your mood and making it easy for you to approach your workload without stress heavily impacting your creative process.
In theory, CBD and meditation together should create a state of superior calm and focus to make you an office hero or a weekend warrior. Here’s what you need to know about integrating CBD and meditation into your daily wellness ritual.
When most people think of meditation, they have a very specific image in their mind’s eye. They see someone sitting crossed leg on a mat with their eyes closed, with their hands forward and their palms facing the sky. They’re breathing slow, controlled breaths in complete silence near a window facing the outdoors.
This is one way to meditate, but it’s far from the only way to meditate.
Meditation is the act of training your awareness and reaching a state of mental and emotional calmness and clarity. There are thousands of ways that someone might meditate.
Many people use meditation as a key part of their wellness ritual. They feel as though they’re able to accomplish more, or that their day-to-day tasks are simpler when they approach them with a clear mind. Some people use meditation to complement other wellness routines they have for their mental or physical health.
Some people naturally meditate before they go to sleep. They clear their mind, let happy thoughts wash over them, and drift away. Some people listen to music, write in a journal, go for long walks, practice martial arts, or tend their garden as an act of meditation.
As long as the activity achieves the purpose of fine-tuning your awareness and promoting a calm, clear, and focused mindset, the activity taking place can be considered meditative.
The goal of meditation is always to center you in the present moment. Stress, feelings of emotional tension, sadness, overwhelming thoughts, or the chaos of everyday life can disrupt the way we function.
It’s hard to make a concerted effort to devote yourself to an activity or approach problems that need to be solved if your mind is heavily occupied with dozens of other thoughts.
Meditation is like turning down the volume in your brain. When your headspace gets a little quieter and you allow disruptive feelings to wash over you, you can return to your scheduled tasks with a renewed sense of optimism and an enhanced ability to focus.
Meditation can also positively impact the health of your brain and your body, especially when used in conjunction with other positive lifestyle changes to improve your overall health and wellness.
It’s important to remember that meditation in and of itself isn’t the magic solution to all of your stresses. Your commitment to positive change is what will ultimately determine your success on your journey to wellness.
Every time you partake in an activity, your brain builds connections associated with that activity. For example, when you’re playing a sport, your brain will work to fortify the connections necessary for hand-eye coordination and reaction time.
With extensive experience, participating in these activities becomes second nature. You might notice that you barely think about what you’re doing on your morning commute to work because you’ve done it countless times. It doesn’t require active concentration, but simple recall.
Meditation works to train your brain in a similar way. When you meditate, you’re building and strengthening neural connections that may improve your cognition, your self-awareness, your memory, and your ability to learn.
Meditation puts the brain in a state where it’s made to become more mindful. When you’re acutely aware of your thoughts and feelings, it’s easier to direct your energy appropriately.
Meditation also plays a role in the way your sympathetic nervous system works. Your fight or flight response kicks in when you’re startled by something. Your body will either make a decision to run away or to respond to the stimuli. This may put kinks in the chain of your response.
Through mindfulness meditation, you can gain better mastery over your sympathetic nervous system’s response. Rather than succumbing to the flood of hormones your body releases in an adrenaline-addled situation, you may be able to calmly respond in a rational and proportional way.
Since meditation is a stress buster, it can also make your body feel comfortable. Stress can cause elevated heart rate and increased muscular tension, both of which can have a negative impact on your health.
By calmly managing your body’s stress response, your body will respond and behave optimally as a result of reduced stress.
CBD, or cannabidiol, is a cannabinoid produced by cannabis plants. Hemp is a cannabis plant bred to produce less of the psychoactive cannabinoid THC and more of numerous other cannabinoids that may be beneficial without inspiring any mind-altering effects.
Cannabinoids work with a series of receptors throughout your brain and body, broadly referred to as the endocannabinoid system. The endocannabinoid system is similar to the immune system in the sense that it’s broad and fully integrated. Your endocannabinoid system assists your body and brain in a whole host of vital processes, acting as a regulator for homeostasis.
The human body needs cannabinoids to function properly. It manufactures at least two types of cannabinoids on its own (called endocannabinoids, endo referring to how they’re produced inside the human body), using them to power or stimulate the system on an as-needed basis.
Researchers still don’t have a *perfect* understanding of the way this process works, such as what inspires the production of cannabinoids and how much of each cannabinoid is necessary for optimal function of the body.
Cannabidiol is very similar to the cannabinoids the body produces on its own. The idea behind CBD is that it works as an additional form of support to this important system, helping it perform its functions and assisting the body in maintaining itself.
CBD plays a broad role in overall emotional and physical wellness. Many people use CBD to calm themselves down without impairing their functions. Some people enjoy a glass of wine, or perhaps conventional cannabis with THC to achieve similar relaxation effects.
The biggest difference is that CBD won’t get you high or drunk. It doesn’t cloud your thinking or impact the sober state of your mind and body. It’s not bad for your body like alcohol is.
You can work, play, and live your life without impairment when you use CBD, and you can reap the holistic wellness benefits of it, too.
In the United States, CBD is primarily used as a general wellness aid. CBD can support and promote regular immune health, regular brain health, and regular gastrointestinal health. In addition to its mood-boosting benefits, CBD is also used for its ability to support sleep and workout recovery.
CBD’s effects are not necessarily direct effects. As CBD comes into contact with the body’s cannabinoid receptors, it interacts with and stimulates them. The endocannabinoid system responds in different ways, depending on the location of the receptors and the role they’re designed to play in maintaining your body’s homeostasis.
CBD affects your body by encouraging it to do what it’s supposed to do. CBD won’t radically change the way you think or feel. It will simply help your body and brain to feel the way they’re intended to feel. You might feel at ease and experience greater mental clarity as CBD begins to take effect.
Although CBD won’t give you superpowers, many people who meditate, regularly workout, or engage in creative pursuits feel that CBD is a gentle source of supportive inspiration that assists them when they need a little boost. It’s akin to the perfect cup of morning coffee, or chamomile lavender tea at bedtime, but with more sustainable effects that last for about eight hours.
CBD is used to promote a calm and focused mental state, and so is meditation. Theoretically, the two should work synergically to create an ideal internal environment. CBD may be even more useful for people who have a difficult time meditating.
People new to meditation often find the meditative aspects of clearing their mind or letting their thoughts pass through without lingering to be challenging. CBD’s effects may simplify the process of reaching the optimal headspace for meditation by easing you into that calmer state.
It’s important to maintain realistic expectations about the effects of CBD and its ability to enhance meditation. A few drops of CBD won’t suddenly inspire you to become a master meditator, and it won’t send your meditation sessions to remarkable new heights.
You’ll still have to master the technique, but the mastery may become easier when you add CBD to your wellness toolbox.
CBD is most useful in reducing barriers to entry that obscure your meditative space. Sometimes, especially during periods of increased stress, our minds and bodies need a little help to enter a relaxed and mindful space. CBD is more like a cheat code or a hack that makes it easier to reach your destination.
CBD should be used in conjunction with effective meditation techniques for noticeable results. Some people use guided meditation or follow specific practices. The internet is full of free resources for beginners interested in meditation, and these serve as a great starting point for finding a type of meditation that works for you.
Once you understand what a meditative headspace is supposed to feel like, you can take the headspace with you. Meditate while you’re doing the dishes or working on your watercolor painting technique, and use your CBD to help you reunite with your inner calm.
There are no official guidelines regarding how much CBD people should take because CBD is a supplement, rather than a vitamin or mineral with recommended daily amounts. There are two commonly suggested ways to approach establishing the proper dose of CBD. One is straightforward, and the other is a bit more involved.
The first way is simple. Some wellness experts suggest taking 10 mg to 20 mg of CBD daily and observing how it makes you feel over time. Other wellness experts use more specific formulas, suggesting that 0.25 mg of CBD per pound of body weight is the ideal way to calculate your daily dose.
There is technically no correct answer to any “how much CBD should I use?” question. Everyone will have a unique experience with CBD. The way CBD impacts someone is largely determined by that person’s endocannabinoid system. Some people seem to benefit more than others from modest amounts, while other people need a more substantial dose to feel the effects.
It’s best to take a slow and steady approach when determining the ideal dose of CBD for you. It’s nearly impossible to consume a “toxic” amount of CBD, which is assumed to be about 20,000 milligrams.
Start with a small amount of CBD daily and observe the way you feel over the course of a week or two. Gradually increase your dosage until you find the amount that feels perfect for you. Your CBD’s packaging will often have dosing guidelines you can follow.
Consistent CBD use is vital for sustained and noticeable benefits. While you may experience a gentle wave of benefits shortly after using CBD, these benefits don’t represent the full wealth of what CBD can do to promote your wellness.
You’ll need to use CBD every day for at least 30 days in order to realize meaningful and sustained effects.
If you’re taking CBD daily for a prolonged period, the sustained effects will always be present when you’re meditating. If you’re looking for the initial effects from the onset of CBD, when to take it largely depends on the form you’re using.
If you’re using CBD gummies or CBD softgels, they’ll take a lot longer to work. Your body needs to digest the capsule or gummy, and metabolize the CBD before the rest of your body can use it. Depending on the contents of your stomach and the rate at which your body naturally metabolizes things, this can take anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours.
Any form of CBD that you eat or swallow whole is a great choice for general wellness, but they may not be the best choice when you’re looking for the effects to be noticeable in a timely manner.
CBD oil can be dropped directly under the tongue and held in place for a minute or so. When you hold the CBD under your tongue, it begins to absorb through the soft tissue under your tongue. It bypasses your digestive system and enters your bloodstream much sooner.
CBD oil will usually produce effects in less than 45 minutes, with most people feeling a noticeable difference after about 15 minutes.
Use CBD oil as the first step in your meditation routine. Before you set up your aromatherapy diffuser and get your space comfortable, take your CBD. It should begin to work by the time you sit down to meditate.
If you prefer to meditate before you go to sleep, use CBD as the first step of your bedtime routine. By the time your head hits the pillow, you’ll feel the wave of calm gently washing over you.
Our CBD oil is the perfect addition to your meditation routine. Use a few drops and find your zen.
Start with regular strength CBD if you’re new to CBD. If you have some experience with CBD, you might find that extra strength CBD helps to promote the serene state of mind you need to reach your happy place.
Sources:
What Happens to My Brain When I Meditate? | University of Washington Medicine
Cannabidiol in Anxiety and Sleep: A Large Case Series | National Institutes of Health
The Endocannabinoid System, Our Universal Regulator | Journal of Young Investigators
