CBD for Meditation

Let’s face it, life moves fast and often our minds must move even faster just to keep up. If you can’t manage to slow it down occasionally, you’re liable to burn yourself out. Finding a few moments of mindfulness can be crucial in maintaining balance and peace so that you can tackle each new challenge your day brings. One of the best ways to achieve this is through the ancient art of meditation. Still, keeping your mind focused on only the moment at hand is not always the easiest feat to pull off. Can CBD help make your meditation easier and more rewarding? There is a lot of overlap between the benefits of CBD and meditation. In this article, we’ll look at both to see if adding CBD to your routine can help you “ohm” your way to peace.

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What is Meditation?

You’ve no doubt heard of meditation, but what exactly is it and how do you do it? According to the Cleveland Clinic, meditation is a practice that involves focusing or clearing your mind using a combination of mental and physical techniques. Meditation has been around for thousands of years and is associated with a variety of religions, including Buddhism, Taoism, and Christianity. However, meditation is not inherently a religious experience. Ultimately, the goal of meditation is to achieve clarity of thought so that you can find relaxation, solve problems, or better handle the rigors of everyday life. There are a wide variety of ways to meditate, some of which are focused on the body and others focus on the mind. A few of the most popular forms of meditation include:

• Mantra meditation – This form of meditation aims to clear the mind through the repetition of a sound, phrase, or affirmation. This can be done either aloud or internally.
• Movement meditation – Clarity can be achieved by focusing on specific motions and breathing patterns. Popular forms of movement meditation include yoga and tai chi, but can also include activities like walking, running, or even gardening.
• Mindfulness meditation – Staying in the moment is a big part of meditation. Mindfulness meditation is about disregarding the past and the future and existing exclusively in the now. 
• Guided meditation – Having your thoughts led by another is the foundation of guided meditation. This form is common in therapy and support groups and involves a skilled practitioner walking you through a meditative experience.
• Visual meditation – Clarity can be achieved by focusing on image, either real or imaginary. This form of meditation is like mantra meditation, swapping out a phrase for an image. This type of meditation is particularly popular in athletics, with participants focusing on the mental image of the goal they hope to achieve.
• Emotion-centered meditation – By focusing on a specific emotion, meditation can help you process feelings that are difficult to digest and manifest emotions you want to experience more frequently.

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These are just a few types of meditation that are available, but you can read about more ways to focus your thoughts here. It’s fair to ask why you should consider taking time out of your busy day just to think or breath or stretch. What exactly are you going to get out of it? The truth is, meditation can offer a variety of benefits, and that’s what we are going to discuss next.

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Benefits of Meditation

Meditation may sound to some like hippy-dippy nonsense but there is a lot of scientific evidence that shows that it can provide a wide range of positive effects mentally, emotionally, and physically. You can read a thorough breakdown of the benefits of meditation here, but some of the most prominent positive effects include:

• Stress Reduction – In 2014, researchers compiled a review of studies done on meditation and found that regular meditation reduced the amount of cortisol released in the body. Cortisol is the hormone released by the body when stressed to stimulate ‘fight or flight’ reactions. Additional studies also found that meditating can reduce stress-induced inflammation, as well as relieving the symptoms of other conditions related to stress, like irritable bowel syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Improved Mental Health – Perhaps the most notable benefit of meditation is its effects on mental health. Numerous studies have shown that daily meditation helps reduce both anxiety and depression. It can also contribute to a reduction in negative thoughts as well as a more positive self-perception.
• Reduction of Age-Related Memory Loss – Meditation helps to focus the mind and improve clarity, so much so that researchers have found that it can reduce the loss of memory that accompanies aging. Studies done in 2014 and 2015 found that meditation improves attention, clarity, and memory in older patients, including those with dementia.
• Combats Addiction – An increased self-awareness can make it easier to resist the impulses that trigger addictive behavior. This 2018 study found that the mental discipline that is fostered through meditation can increase self-control in relation to addiction.
• Improve Sleep – Oftentimes, our runaway thoughts can make it difficult to sleep at night. Practicing meditation can make it easier to control or refocus those thoughts so that you can get a good night’s rest. In fact, this study published in 2014 found that meditation helped people fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer than a control group who did not meditate.

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The benefits of meditation are numerous, which may explain why people have been meditating for centuries. But it also isn’t as simple as sitting cross-legged and breathing deeply. Because it requires discipline and focus, even tiny distractions or irritations can derail your pursuit of clarity. Luckily, CBD can help you get the most out of your pursuit of zen. 

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What is CBD?

By now you’ve probably heard of CBD, but you may still have some questions about what it is and how it works. Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the naturally occurring compounds known as cannabinoids and can be mostly commonly found in the hemp plant. Your body produces cannabinoids to either activate or deactivate receptors throughout your body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS) to help a variety of internal systems maintain their equilibrium. 

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Because of its unique molecular structure, CBD can supplement the cannabinoids created by the ECS, making it easier for your body to keep itself in balance, without creating any psychoactive effects. This means CBD can help you feel better but won’t get you high. Each new day brings more research into the wide range of therapeutic effects that CBD can have, and these effects can help make meditation more rewarding.

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How Can CBD Help with Meditation?

Adding CBD to your meditative routine can make achieving the desired state of mind easier and even amplify the benefits. Because clarity and focus are paramount when it comes to meditation, even small imbalances in the body can throw you off, but there are ways CBD can help. 

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Aches and pains can make meditation difficult by drawing your attention and distracting you from reaching your desired mental state. The anti-inflammatory properties of CBD can ease those pains, allowing you to focus on the moment.

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High blood pressure can make calm, centered breathing more difficult because your lungs must work harder to oxidize your blood. CBD can help you maintain a healthy blood pressure, you can read our in depth article about how here.

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CBD can also accentuate the benefits of meditation. CBD has been shown to have positive effects when it comes to managing both anxiety and depression. This can help achieve a meditative state easier and improve on meditations' own ability to support mental health. CBD can also help to reduce certain aspects of aging, aid in getting a good night’s sleep, and even help to curb addictive behaviors. Because of their shared benefits, pairing CBD and meditation is a match made in nirvana. 

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Other Tips for Meditation and Mindfulness

Like all skills, meditation takes time and practice to get great at, but that doesn’t mean you should hesitate to give it a try. There are a few strategies that can help make your meditation even better, regardless of your skill level. 

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• Choose a time – Meditating at the same time each day not only helps to reinforce the habit, it can also allow your mind to more easily transition into a state of focus.
• Choose a place – Similar to meditating at the same time, meditating in the same place can also make it easier to clarify your headspace. Choosing an environment that is free from distractions will also help to keep your mind from wandering on to other things.
• Set the mood – The sensory experiences that surround you can either help or hinder your meditation. Decide whether you prefer silence, ambient sounds, or calming music. Consider whether a pleasant smell from a candle or incense would be soothing or distracting. Even finding the right lighting and temperature can make a big difference.
• Get comfortable – If sitting cross legged is comfortable for you, feel free, but this is by no means a requirement for meditation. What’s important is that you are comfortable so that your mind will not be focused on any unwanted pains or sensations.
• Choose your style – As discussed earlier, there are many kinds of meditation. Knowing which kind works best for you and what you hope to achieve from it will ensure that you are getting the most out of meditation.

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Breathe In, Breathe Out

A restless mind and racing thoughts can make focusing on the simplest tasks more cumbersome than they need to be, and the constant technological distractions of modern-day life can make calming them even more difficult. Taking a little time each day to focus your thoughts isn’t just calming, it can provide a load of benefits. Pair that practice with the added therapeutic effects of CBD and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a master of meditation. Not sure which CBD product is best for you? Let us help! Reach out to an associate through our contact page, or leave us a note in the comment section below this article and we’ll be happy to point you in the right direction. With the right product and the right plan, peace of mind is right around the corner.

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