Humans have been experimenting with psychoactive plants for all of history. This is not new information! Only in recent dates have we turned our substance usage into a party tool. Before recent pop culture, using psychoactive plants was more respected and viewed in a sacred light. Many of us are familiar with the history of ancient Ayahuasca and magic mushroom ceremonies taking place for spiritual enhancements. But what about Cannabis?
In this article, we will be looking at some slivers of history revolving around Cannabis and ancient yoga practices.
What is yoga?
Essentially, yoga is a group of mental, physical and spiritual practices. We aren’t quite sure how yoga formed, but we do know it originated in ancient India. The main aim of yoga was to create stillness in the mind, cultivating a detached witness-consciousness untouched by the effects that mundane suffering has on the mind.
Yoga is made up of 84 postures called asanas. There are different branches of yoga with their own sequences of positions and different motives. Some are more physically based while others are more focused on the nature of the mind. This practice focuses on the mind, body, soul and the balance between the three. Learning how to tune into your mind and body is an essential part of yoga.
Since this is a spiritual practice that originated in ancient India, you may have been able to guess that there seem to be endless links between yoga and Hinduism.
What is Hinduism?
In short, Hinduism is variously defined as an Indian religion. As with all organized religions, Hinduism includes a set of religious beliefs, practices, traditions and a way of life (they call it dharma). Hinduism is a religious and universal order by which followers abide. In Hinduism, they have a variety of Gods that are drip in intense symbolism. Often, each God will represent a specific part of existence. Many Hindu Gods projected symbolism revolving around yoga, meditation and plants/herbs/medicine.
Cannabis & Yoga
The use of the Cannabis plant is ancient as well, specifically in Asia. The very first findings of humans using Cannabis date back to 2800 BC. It was listed in Emperor Shen Nung’s (known as the father of Traditional Chinese Medicine) pharmacopoeia. Additionally, therapeutic indications of Cannabis have been mentioned in texts of the Indian Hindus, Greeks, Romans and Assyrians. The texts included claims of Cannabis functioning as an effective treatment for a vast array of different health complications. Some include but are not limited to; depression, inflammation, pain, arthritis, lack of appetite and asthma. That being said, we’ve been utilizing this healing plant for centuries.
Let’s have a look at one Hindu God in particular. Lord Shiva, also known as Adiyogi Shiva. He is regarded as the patron God of yoga, meditation and the arts. Hindu legend holds that Shiva was given the title ‘The Lord of Bhang’, due to his love for Cannabis. In fact, he loved Cannabis so much that he declared it his favourite food. Might not be the tastiest food but hey-I’m not judging! If I could get away with eating weed for breakfast, lunch and dinner I would, too! Since Shiva was literally the yoga God (which all yogis looked up to) and he loved Cannabis so much, doesn’t it make sense that ancient yogis would also experiment with the plant? Hmmm.. you do the math!
A large part of ancient yoga practices happened off the mat. In order to perform well, you must be in good health, which is why ancient yogis put a lot of focus on maintaining good physical health. Cannabis (as mentioned above) was widely used in ancient India for health purposes, so lots of yogis must have been utilizing the plant’s powerful healing proprieties. However, some evidence does also point us toward yogis using Cannabis as a tool on their mat as well.
When you consume Cannabis, you are provided with an (often) delightful high due to a famous and beloved compound called THC, also known as Tetrahydrocannabinol. If Cannabis reacts well with you, then you can expect to experience a sense of calmness, increased well-being, and heightened senses. Plus, you will probably find yourself in extensive laughing fits as you clear out your snack cupboard in record time… But that is beside the point!
When your senses are heightened, your awareness is elevated. When practising yoga, awareness is your superpower. If you can heighten your awareness and take your practice to the next level with a plant, then why wouldn’t you?! Really, it only makes sense that yogis in ancient India would have used Cannabis alongside their yoga practices if the plant was well-known, accepted and encouraged.
In summary
Cannabis has been used as a sacred medicine/spiritual tool for much of history and is still used to this day for mental and physical well-being. In recent dates, Cannabis yoga classes have been popping up all over the place. Looking at the effects that Cannabis has on the mind and body, there is no doubt in my mind that this plant has been a yoga enhancement for the entire history of yoga.
Although it is not fact, I think it is a fair assumption to make that yogis did indeed use Cannabis.
