A New Study Shows Yoga Can Enhance Your High
A recent study published by the University of British Columbia has found that practicing yoga after consuming marijuana can lead to improved mindfulness and mystical experiences. This suggests that the setting and behavior surrounding cannabis use may play a significant role in shaping a person’s experience with the drug.
The study, which was part of a psychology dissertation by author Sarah Elizabeth Ann Daniels, aimed to explore the impact of contextual factors on well-being outcomes during cannabis use. While these considerations are often taken into account in psychedelic therapy, they are not typically considered when it comes to cannabis.
Daniels notes, “When using other psychoactive drugs for mental health treatment, researchers pay close attention to factors beyond the direct effects of the drug, such as mindset, setting, and behavior. There is significant evidence that these factors can greatly impact therapeutic outcomes. However, these factors are rarely considered during therapeutic cannabis use.”
The study’s results suggest that what a person does while experiencing the effects of cannabis can greatly influence their experience. Similar to psychedelics, the study supports the idea that the set and setting during cannabis use can significantly impact the therapeutic benefits of the drug.
To test the impact of context on a person’s cannabis experience, Daniels had 47 participants self-administer cannabis twice, one week apart. During one session, they practiced yoga, and during the other, they engaged in their usual activities while high. The most common activities reported were eating, watching TV or movies, doing housework, socializing, and participating in hobbies.
The participants were evaluated on measures such as state mindfulness, mysticality of experience, and state affect. State mindfulness measured both traditional Buddhist and contemporary psychology models of mindfulness, including awareness of mental states and bodily sensations. Mystical experience referred to feelings of eternity or the infinite, a sense of peace and tranquility, or a loss of one’s usual perception of time.
The study found that practicing yoga with cannabis led to significant improvements in reported mindfulness and mystical experiences. While mystical experiences are typically associated with psychedelic substances, Daniels notes that recent evidence suggests that cannabis shares many similarities with these altered states.
There was no significant difference in state affect between yoga and non-yoga sessions, indicating that yoga did not have a significant impact on participants’ emotions and moods.
Daniels emphasizes the importance of studying the impact of set, setting, and other variables, which she refers to as “extra-pharmacological factors,” in understanding the therapeutic potential of cannabis. By accounting for these factors, researchers can gain a better understanding of how to optimize the therapeutic benefits of the drug.
