Yoga and CBD – how a new event hopes to combine benefits of both

Practising yoga is perfect for connecting the body, while CBD may help you to deal with stress and anxiety.

After the stress of the past two years, we could all do with making relaxation and unwinding one of our new year’s resolutions. Taking up yoga or introducing CBD could be a great start to 2022.

A new event, Yoga & CBD:  a sensory workshop, aims to combine the two, offering an evening of yoga, conscious movement and plant education. It will be held on the 20 January at Core Clapton

The yoga will be led by Victoria Logan, who has been working in the cannabis space for three years, alongside teaching yoga. Roísín Delaney of cannabis consultancy firm, Neon Green, will provide information on the endocannabinoid system while Herbotany Health will be providing CBD products for attendees.

Victoria has been teaching yoga for around four years after completing her teacher training in India, and is passionate about mental health, CBD and reconnecting with the body.

Victoria said: “I came to the cannabis space through the medical route instead of wellness. I’ve been working for the Centre for Medical Cannabis for about three years now trying to change policy around prescriptions. I’ve also been using cannabis myself for a long time as well so I was able to cross over into the CBD market.”

She added: “I understood that people were quite curious about using CBD as a supplement. I met a lot of interesting patients who were using it as part of their daily rituals, especially if they have members of their family who are quite sick. They use CBD as a supplement to help them manage that situation as well. It seemed like a really natural progression to start talking about CBD and introducing it into my practice.”

Yoga and mental health

Yoga and CBD share a lot in common when it comes to the health benefits they could offer. This is especially true when it comes to helping with mental health conditions.

“It slows everything [down] and allows you to connect the mind and body,” explained Victoria.

“CBD is a natural product that shares a lot of the sort of healing and calming aspects that yoga does. It allows you to come into a correct headspace while giving you the space to manage things. It melts away a lot of mental health issues especially with meditation and pranayama which is a breathing technique we use in yoga.”

Victoria stressed that the session will involve a gentle vinyasa practice, with attendees at the event led through breathing techniques and given CBD to sample. The variation on each pose will allow beginners and experts alike to tailor the event to their experience level.

Although yoga is often associated with flexibility, it isn’t a requirement to get started. There are many different physical and mental health conditions that can benefit from taking part or introducing a regular yoga routine.

“You hear people saying, oh no, I can’t do that as I’m too stiff. You are too stiff because the body is holding on to that trauma or illness, grief or anger, whatever situation has happened to you,” said Victoria.

“With yoga practise, it really works on those areas. Especially a practice called Yin yoga which holds postures for three to five breaths. It’s very floor-based and restorative while also being calming and passive. You may find it a bit uncomfortable to begin with, but the longer you sit in the posture, you learn that it’s actually really beneficial as you are melting away the stress.

“You are opening the body, allowing it that little bit of space and recovery. Then with the CBD, it’s a lovely extra thing to have in the practise. It can help with stiffness in the body and help with holding the poses for longer.”

Endocannabinoid system education

The event will begin with an introduction to the endocannabinoid system (ECS).

Victoria said: “I think it’s really fundamental that people understand that we have it in our bodies. A lot of people don’t actually know it’s there and that comes down to education. We will introduce the ECS, receptors and how the plant interacts with that.

“We will also have a bit of pranayama which is a breathing technique and w will all take some of the Herbotany CBD. There will also be little pots of ointment for self-massage too. We invite people to smell the product and consciously use it, to take time to appreciate it and nourish the body.”

Yoga events

The event is hoped to be the first of many, with plans to develop a series that can be held across the UK, in person and online.

“Yoga workshops are a really nice thing to attend. It’s a nice environment where you meet lots of lovely people who are on similar journeys or paths. If people are dealing with things, especially at the moment, or something traumatic has happened then it can create a safe space to go and release some of that stress or tension,” added Victoria.

“I love organising events and wellness workshops which bring people together while creating community vibes. I think people would really respond to it at the moment because of the last couple of years. It feels like the next natural thing for us to do is to step outside of this little Covid bubble to create some wellness events and help people move back to whatever normal life is.”

For more information on the event, click here