about weed-fuelled fitness coming out. Ganja Jogging, Weed Weightlifting, and Marijuana Muay Thai are the talk of the town, (okay, I made that last one up…). With former NFL athlete Ricky Williams and other professional sports stars talking about how going green is making their work-out even better, it’s all about the athletic advantage that the cannabinoids, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD) offer.
I have nothing wrong with this of course, except when the articles mention yoga alongside all the other workouts, and show images of fit people doing very hard yoga poses, perpetuating the idea of a “yoga body.”
a “yoga body.”
In our culture, we unconsciously run an internal, unconscious program of contraction as we go about our busy lives. Many of us are more rushed, tired, stressed, distracted and unsatisfied than we know we should be. Everyone knows that stress is the leading cause of premature death, yet anxiety disorders, depression, frustration, and feelings of disconnection (the symptoms of stress and disconnection), are all too common.
Yoga can be, should be, a balm to soothe all that: It’s a place for letting go of our mass cultural contraction … a time for surrendering and softening the muscles, an occasion to drop the mind and all the grasping and depleting over-thinking we do. It wasn’t really meant to be a work-out in the way we think of workouts. It certainly doesn’t have to be something you dread, or think you should do to make up for eating too many carbs. It doesn’t have to make you break a sweat. And it’s about so, so much more than the poses.
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All photos courtesy Ganga Yoga