Using Yoga to Combat Cannabis Addiction

Although many users would claim that marijuana is not physically addictive, ask anyone who has tried to stop smoking marijuana after decades of use and the story they tell will break your heart and curl your hair. Physical withdrawal symptoms are common, ranging from headaches and insomnia to loss of appetite, sometimes lasting as long as several weeks. Irritability, agitation, depression, and malaise last even longer. Whatever the specific mechanism for addiction and withdrawal may be, the fact that it causes suffering is apparent.

Traditional approaches often include medication and psychotherapy, as well as self-help groups such as NA to combat the symptoms of withdrawal. What these approaches may neglect to address is the additional problem many marijuana addicts face, which is that they miss the specific nature of the cannabis high. Grief and a sense of loss compounds the withdrawal and can increase the chances of relapse.

How Can Yoga Help?

To some treatment professionals, it may seem superficial and woefully inadequate to turn to an exercise program like yoga to help with marijuana addiction and the concomitant grief/loss issues. An important difference in marijuana or other hallucinogen use-compared to addiction to alcohol, amphetamines, or barbiturates, for example-is that the specific quality of the high that mind expanding, psychedelic nature of this particular substance – is attainable through other means, such as yoga, meditation, or other spiritual practice. In fact, many marijuana and other hallucinogen users claim that their use is part of a spiritual ritual or a mind-expanding practice. The sense of loss experienced may be in part of the ritual of smoking – the ritualized actions of de-seeding, rolling, and smoking may become behavioral cues for the high and thus addictive in and of themselves but the specific nature of the high itself is very compelling for most users. To enter that dreamy, psychedelic, and synesthetic state is the goal. Interestingly enough, yoga postures and breathing exercises can also help a practitioner achieve that state.

Getting Started

While stories abound in yoga circles regarding various “cures” of all types of ailments and conditions by committing to a yoga practice alone, most yoga teachers and addiction treatment professionals would agree: use a combined approach, adding a yoga practice to a sober and healthy regime of self-help meetings and psychotherapeutic treatment. A few additional tips for getting started include:

• Sample classes and find a teacher you can respect and whose classes you enjoy. There are so many teaching styles out there, even in rural areas, that you should have a choice among several yoga teachers. If you feel you just can’t relate to the first one or two you try, don’t give up.
• Don’t rely on a book or a video until you’ve done at least a few in-person classes. Yoga includes many practices in addition to stretching, holding postures, and doing breathing exercises. The physical practice is one important part of the overall practice, and some direction, supervision, instruction, and correction of alignment will go a long way in helping you become proficient in your own independent practice at home.
• Approach yoga as a practice. In fact, allow it to become a ritual. Try not to view it as a box to be checked off or a workout, equivalent to going to the gym. Try to approach this practice with an open mind and a spirit of exploration and discovery. Unlike lifting weights or working out on the elliptical, yoga is as much about self-discovery and inner growth as it is about six-pack abs or sculpted deltoids. This inner journey is what sets yoga apart from other exercise programs and what also makes it particularly appealing to people in recovery.

Postures and Breaths:

Asanas and pranayama, to use the yoga lingo, are the two practices that will lead to deepening self-awareness and a sense of mind-expanding peacefulness. Most yoga classes are organized to heighten this experience by sequencing the poses and breaths to take the practitioner deeper and deeper into themselves over the hour-long class period.

Postures generally start more simply and increase in difficulty and complexity as class continues and your body warms up. Do what you can and ask for help from the instructor if the poses require greater strength, balance, or flexibility than you currently possess. All poses can be modified so that you gain some benefit without risk of falling or getting injured.

The breathing exercises are often taught separately while seated in a meditation post like “lotus,” but after learning certain breaths, these specific breaths (ujjayi or ocean breath, for example) are practiced while you hold postures or do series of postures (almost like dance steps). Practicing in this way, combining ujjayi breath with a series of postures such as the sun salutation, can bring about a profound sense of focus, awareness, and peace.

At the end of class, the last posture that is typically practiced is called savasana, or corpse pose. In this pose, you lie flat upon the floor and practice a deep belly breath. If the class has been well sequenced and the workout has been physically challenging, practitioners often feel a deep relaxation and sense of calm that is close to euphoria. This deep relaxation increases certain types of brain activity; according to one study, gamma waves (the type of brain waves associated with intense meditation and a sense of profound awareness) are increased by this pose. Some practitioners claim they can engage in astral traveling during savasana, and still others say it promotes entering the “alpha state” – that state of relaxed but focused awareness that is reputed to promote learning. It is a perfect ending for yoga class, as it is thought to “seal” any learning that occurred during the class.

It is also a perfect “dessert” for your yoga meal: a delicious treat that makes you want to come back to class again and again.