Since writing a Cannabis Culture blog about my personal experience of getting a ganja groove on to perform physiotherapy and pilates, plenty of potheads have confessed to the same. Smoking a joint or ripping a bong then performing yoga, going on hikes, riding their long boards or taking lengthy bike rides.
Weed doesn’t have to couch lock a stoner!
A common marijuana misconception is all toke turns potheads into couch potatoes.  Maybe enthusiasts are allowing themselves to buy into the marijuana myth too. Yes, there’s plenty of pot that turns a stoner into a sloth, but many people are telling me they’re inhaling indica before becoming active.
Going with the relaxing sedate buzz while remaining motivated to get their tasks done. It takes some effort to overcome a downward high, but a hippie speedball (joint and a coffee) can be the difference maker.
Before starting my routine I need to overcome my pain problems.
This past week to do a pilates session I had to inhale copious amounts of LA Confidential. My pain levels were reaching my upper tolerable limits, but I recognized if I lie in bed it’s only going to make the chronic pain worst. Having instructors, both my physiotherapist and pilates instructor know I’m arriving medicated, does help immensely.
“Wow, Matt, you are moving more slow than usual,” Ugly Duckling Pilates instructor Angela quipped during the start of last weeks pilates class. My pain levels were off the hook and I felt tender everywhere.
LA Confidential brought pain down, but slowed me even more.
We started with me breathing out my back.
I give the pilates ball a hug, roll myself out on it, then begin taking deep breaths. While exhaling Anglea instructs me to “breath out my back.” That is have my muscles move in the opposite direction because I’m locked in a hunchback position.
When she touched my tender back muscles I flinched. That’s not normal for me, but goes to show how high my pain levels were.
By beginning our session by breathing we’re pushing oxygen enriched THC into areas of my body starving for it. With blood and breath flowing we roll out my legs on a noodle.
Our session is all mat work.
Or is that Matt work?
All my pilate movements are stretches with breathing used to strengthen. It’s hard to believe stomach muscles can be developed through breath, but they can.
Our seven months working on my core is beyond amazing!
My stomach muscles have responded to the goal of holding up my back. The pain comes from a fifteen degree curve in my upper spine. When we started we opted to work in a relatively pain free area, my stomach muscles.
With these muscles now holding me much more upright, we are going to start stretching and strengthening my chest.
All this leads to bigger bong rips because of increased lung power.
Unfortunately until marijuana legalization not everyone who wants to be an active pothead will be able to discover weed that works. Knowing what you’re inhaling is a huge factor for this work-out routine to be successful.
Once you’ve discovered what weed works, keeping the specific marijuana strain around remains a challenge unless you’re growing, have a reliable dealer with a menu in their living room or buy from a dispensary.
However, don’t discount personal motivation. Tell yourself you’re going to do something active with your high. Then do it up.