The Rise of Weed Workouts

A lot of unorthodox workout trends have risen to popularity in the recent past. For example, goat yoga — yoga in which participants mingle with cute goats who use them like climbing playgrounds as they flow through various poses. Or paddleboat yoga, in which people practice yoga atop paddle boards in the water. On the more controversial side are activities such as ganja yoga and going to weed gyms.

Ganja Yoga
Ganja yoga is the practice of using cannabis before a yoga session to heighten one's experience. Marijuana and yoga go hand-in-hand for a lot of reasons. Yoga places heavy emphasis on mindfulness, mental connections, conscious breath, music, and being in the present moment. Smoking weed before yoga could help enhance all of these individual aspects. The relaxed state and clear-headedness that weed induces helps the user focus on mind-body connections and perform a mental inventory of their subtlest sensations and breathing rhythm. Furthermore, when time starts to slow down after taking cannabis, users can really immerse themselves in the music and savor each present moment. People who have participated in ganja yoga often reported feeling ultra-connected to their surroundings, as well as appreciative of everything their heightened senses picked up — including silence.

Weed Gym
When Power Plant Fitness opened, it was the first of its kind — a gym that blended cannabis with working out. Its motivation? To "integrate cannabis into one's daily routine of wellness," both before and after a workout, and dispel any negative stereotypes about the "evils" of marijuana. It even helps its members create weed-assisted fitness plans and offers a line of athletic edibles "for pre-workout focus and post-workout recovery." Given that a large percentage of cannabis users like to get high before working out for the sense of relaxation and focus that is induced, Power Plant Fitness targeted exactly that clientele with the intent of promoting more motivated, weed-friendly workouts.

However, you don't have to do ganja yoga or go to a weed gym to have a great weed workout. If you're looking for a different vibe while you exercise — a mood booster, less mental tension, or greater mind-body connection — try adding some cannabis to your routine! As always, stay mindful of dosage and the effects that weed has on your body if trying this for the first time.