#truly what makes me tired is people that constantly try to distract me from advocating and sharing things

[bandzboy]

i think the reason why i'm doing the fairy's hope corner is simply because i saw this tweet the other day and i realized that i was not enjoying a lot of things and it's because i'm so focused on all the things happening around the world that i sometimes forgot to look after myself and that has happened so many times. i even had some of my followers here being like "please remember to take care of yourself" and i would be like yeah yeah but not even thinking too much about it and saving that for later and the "later" never came so when i saw this i was like yeah... something has to change because i haven't been looking after myself and i haven't found a balance between caring about serious things and also finding joy in things i do find joy and it's honestly very hard sometimes to do that especially with everything we find out about all the genocides happening around the world that is hard to just go out of your way to do something you like but truly i'm hoping that in here, i can be serious when i need to be serious about things (because i do get serious and i believe i'm genuine in what i do or say) but i also want to share hope and some sort of comfort (i don't know if that's the right word) by sharing some art or words that matter to us and also help us navigate things better and i feel like it is indeed important to keep a healthy balance of those things in order for us to keep going and pushing forward

[the-mira-life-project-mtf]

Distraction Is The Key! (My MtF-H.R.T. Journey)

HOMESICK

     The first time I’ve ever dealt with homesickness was when I went to collage. I completely skipped community collage and went into university to seek my degree in science and felt the sting of being separated from my family. I remember them helping me move into my dorm and when everyone was done...they walked away...leaving me in the window watching as they disappeared out of sight. That night, I never slept, I was too wound up to place my mind into sleep induced hypnosis.

     For the first week, I felt lost, confused, unsure, unclear, perplexed, disconnected, isolated, distanced away from all that I knew. I was living with complete and total strangers as I spent hours in my room pacing back-and-forward like a caged wolf at a community zoo. It took almost a month to get over the sickness.

     It certainly did feel like a sickness too! I could not eat for a few days, then when I did eat, it was the wrong food. I felt weighted down, depressed as each step felt like a thousand pounds. Slowly, my sleep caught up to me as I accumulated a serious sleep-debt!

     I was homesick and by week two, I found myself walking the whole campus’s perimeter each day, going off trail to climb the loose earth and weeding the flowerbeds to distract my mind. It is easy to distract yourself when you can escape the house, however, it isn’t so easy when you are trapped inside.

     The worst homesickness I’ve ever felt was when I was very young and I was very sick. I was hospitalized and when the night came, my family left, even with me begging them to stay...isolated to my room, isolated to my bed...the only way to escape the homesickness was to sleep...but when you are homesick, sleep isn’t that easy and time seems to go by slowly!

LEAVING CERTAINTY 

      Most people my age have already went through the process of leaving home for a life of their own; either tired of following their parents rules or falling in love with another and forming their own family. I, however, like most of my generation are remaining at home...mooching off our parents to get along...that wasn’t my life! I was expected to remain as I was the only male member of your family and it was my duty to maintain the house and property and take care of my family. This is quite common in Asian countries, but not in America.

     However, my transgender nature has made living at home dangerous as my family are continuously waging a verbal war against the LGBT...and me...without knowing it. However, with no finical security, inability to work, and battling a terminal illness...my life will always require me to piggyback off of another to survive and I’ve learned to make myself useful.

     The moment has finally come; the moment I leave my old life behind and move onward to a new life. I sadly feel bad for my biological family: They shall never experience the unconditional love that I have...or be truly free of the social binds that hold them down.

     However, there is fear...I am leaving certainty...a life that I’ve built in the last 25 years for a life that has no certainty. Who knows, in two years, my new family might tell me to move on. It is a risky gamble, but at this moment, at the cusp of my transformation...I have to leave.

EXPECTATIONS & DISTRACTIONS

     I am already expecting that the first two months of my new life will be a wild roller-coaster of emotions. I will be constantly trying to find my niche in the family that I can bud from and blossom my new life. I know that the soils are fertile as there is always love and caring. I feel...secure there...knowing that if I can’t breathe, they won’t question me or shun me. Actually, it is the exact opposite, they would feel hurt if I did not let them into my life.

     This is why I think the homesickness will only last for two months and as the warm summer months approach, I will find ways to distract myself from feeling blue.

Writing: Ever since junior high, I have always been writing. Clearing my head of distracting thought. Composing research and writing works of fiction, science fiction and fantasy. At home, my writing is frown upon as I am expected to be outside working when I should not. At my new home, the focus is that I stay inside to safeguard my health as the end goal as a bilateral lung transplant.

Gardening: At home, I am in-charge of all the gardening and farming that my grandfather once did. However, I don’t wish to make a business out of it and would like to tend to my own flowers, vegetable and fruit-bearing plants. A garden is like a child, it need constant care or it will die.

Sound-Technology: At one time, one of my paths could have sent me to Oregon to seek a career in sound-technology. I was very good at my job in high school...learning techniques to make the worse singers sound like gold. Luckily, my new family are singers, musicians and performers...and I expect they will have the same expectations for me once I am adopted as every child is expected to perform somehow in the group. The one area that they need help is sound technology...and if I can become good once more...I will have an opportunity to re-join a band.

Cystic Fibrosis Advocate: Ever since 2015, my whole life has been set on the path to fight and advocate cystic fibrosis. Personally, I feel indebted to paying a life for a life. I should have died back in 2015, but because of Amanda Carlene’s compassion to see that I got on the correct path...she saved my life when I was infected with an aggressive strain of aspergillus. Oddly, this was the same time my desire to correct my gender flourished...contesting to what many say...I am Amanda’s legacy. This is why I dedicated my middle name to Amanda, calling myself Mira Carlene.

Beautification Of My Home: The place that will become my home certainly needs to be cleaned up. Much has been done to the place! When Mitch and Michelle first rented the property, the house was a disaster, filled with animal excrement, fleas and garbage. With the house livable once more, the property has been neglected as they are too tired to attend to the 8 acres of land. In my two years of coming over, I have greatly improved the property beyond measure and have plans to beautify the lands for our guests as Mitch has plans to build a camp...if he can only win the lottery.

Damming The Creek: Almost 60 feet down into a ravine runs a creek that I want to dam and form a pond. I have a love of water and bodies of water as a Scorpio! Back in 2018, when our pump-house fail...we were in bad need for water. I had envisioned creating a shallow pond for collecting water, creating a water fall and giving our dog, Chance, a place to wade before he died. Damming the creek is still my pet project...including building a trail system for the family to hike and to open access to the upper canyon.

Turning The Barn Into A Workshop With a Garden: Although I don’t see a garden happening this year, (as there is much work needed to be done!), but I need to organize and clean up the mess that is called the barn. When the family moved from Key Center to Victor, whatever could not fit in the house now lays in the barn. There are four stalls (once used for horses) that can be turned into four workstations: One as our tool shop, one for allowing Mitch to return to making rock art, one for storage and one for gardening. I’ve already bought LED lights to brighten the barn up as it is pretty dark in there!

Re-purpose The Chicken Coup: Into what...I don’t know...but I am thinking storage and a tool-shop.

Being A Daughter To The Children: One of the things I could never have is children...and the opportunity to step into the role of Big-Sister for the children has already happened as I am learning to get comfortable with them and teaching the youngest son all my skills...as my grandfather taught me.

Re-Focusing On Mira: All my life, I’ve been dedicated to focusing on others, letting myself go; neglecting my therapy and doing things my doctors frown upon. When the whole transgender thing out of the way, and having their blessings, I am free to re-focus on being just Mira.

Renewing My Faith: With a new start, I also want to rekindle my faith. I have been following Mitch and Michelle to their church; and while it is nice to sit with the ones who love you, I just have not settled into the faith of a baptist. I was raised Lutheran and probably die a Lutheran. I have been to all types of domination including: Baptist, Episcopalian, Jehovah Witness, Catholic, Masonic, Lutheran and New Age faiths...each one different. I’ve even read the Hebrew Torah and the Islamic Qurʾan. I found religion and faith intriguing, and being so close to death...desirable. At this moment, there are two Lutheran churches I am thinking of visiting: North Bay Lutheran in Allyn and Christ Lutheran in Belfair, however, North Bay is closes to where I live.

Going Through The Preceding’s: The process of having a full name change is somewhat...complicated! Most transgender individuals will decide to change their first name, some will drop their middle man if it does not suit their genders, and rarely change their last name. I will be going for a full legal name change...which is only half the battle! If approved, then you need to contact the SSD, DVM, Banks, Creditors and Debtors, Clinics, Insurance Companies for Medical and Car, and then the non-vital departments and stores like Costco, Bi-Mart or even the CFF! I’ve been down this road once before, when I was 18, and looks like I will be doing it again. At this moment, I am already using the name of Mira with my closes friends and will change all my social media platforms to Mira Carlene in May.

Continue The Foundation: The ability to continue the foundation has been my biggest goal since I’ve came into my new family’s life. Before I contacted them, I wasn’t aware that they were almost not going to do the CFF Walk, which they have done in memory of Amanda and Jessica who both passed away from cystic fibrosis. I was the sign they were asking for, and I did not want that type of attention, so I remained distant, but also needed to ‘know’ them. They were special to me, even though we only meet twice. Sadly, the foundation had fallen into ruins long before I came into the picture. The people who help start the foundation were the same ones who sank it...it was tragic!

In 2018, Michelle approached me about taking over the foundation as it found a new reason to exist and was willing to donate proceeds to me, but I turned it down. In 2019, the foundation had just turned seven years old...seven years since Amanda passed away...and I had been considering restarting the foundation. I was focusing on holiday craft shows and events to sell and raise awareness. 

Take for example, just last year, over 80,000 people attended the Kitsap County Fair, which means 40,000 people would see our booth, and even if they did not buy a thing, they will leave with those two words in their memory: Cystic Fibrosis. Amanda was all about advocacy when I knew her and now that was my reality. Ironically, I am fulfilling both of their memories and promises to their father.

[maritzaerwin]

5 Productivity Sins You Are Unknowingly Committing (2020 Edition)

Have you experienced this before?

You jump from one article to the next, download app after app, and watch videos after videos. All in the pursuit of this golden word.

Productivity.

Yet, it seems so elusive, always slipping out of your grasp. You tell yourself you are going to employ that productivity hack, cut off that distraction, but somehow it just doesn’t work.

Maybe… you are committing one (or more) of these productivity sins that you don’t even know.

Can I be honest with you?

Preventing these mistakes won’t immediately make you super productive. Because when it comes to productivity, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, nor is there a magic pill that can cure all your productivity problems.

However, what I can promise you is that if, and only if, you put into practice what I have advocated, and be persistent in them, you will definitely see your productivity levels increase. Even if you already think that you are very productive, one of these mistakes may be preventing you from reaching an even higher level of productivity.

So let’s begin.

1) Not Getting Sufficient Amounts of Sleep

I know it’s kind of an ego thing.

Someone once told me that he managed to not sleep for one entire week, and he was really proud of that.

He went on ranting about how he beat all his friends, who could only pull off all-nighters for one or two days, but he pulled it off for one week straight!

Sleeping little in our culture today has been glorified and praised as strong-willed and persevering.

But I hope you aren’t making that sort of mistake.

Sleep is so important for you; it is not just an “add-on”. It is a biological requirement and we will function poorly without it.

Now please don’t try to argue with me.

Just refer to the National Sleep Foundation’s article.

You may think you can survive on less than the required amounts of sleep, but unknowingly that lack of sleep is eating away your focus and concentration.

Just 1 less hour of sleep can diminish your energy significantly. Tell me, if you have more focus during the day, won’t you complete things faster, prioritize better, and save even more than 1 hour? Oh and not mentioning that you did all those with much less pain.

The litmus test for sleep deprivation is this. Sit on a chair in a room, and do nothing.

Yes, just do nothing. Don’t look at your phone, don’t talk to people, don’t do anything. Just stare into blank space.

How long do you take to fall asleep?

If you take less than 20 minutes to doze off, chances are, you are suffering from sleep deprivation.

Have you been falling asleep in long and dreary meetings? Well, the problem may not be with the meetings, but rather with your lack of sleep.

For others who may have been sleeping enough but still feel tired, here are some tips by National Sleep Foundation to be sufficiently energized after sleep.

Stick to a sleep schedule of the same bedtime and wake up time, even on the weekends.

Practice a relaxing bedtime ritual.

 If you have trouble sleeping, avoid naps, especially in the afternoon.

Check out their article for more tips and elaboration.

2) Not Writing Out Your Personal Mission Statement

I know what you are thinking.

What in the world has it to do with my productivity?

Well, your personal mission statement is like your “personal brand”, and it guides you on what is important and what is not.

We frequently forget that an essential part of productivity is not about doing tasks as fast as possible, but first saying no to tasks that don’t matter.

And how do you know which ones matter?

It goes back to your personal mission statement. It spells out what your values are, and what vision you have for your life.

The notion of the personal mission statement was introduced by Stephen Covey in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. When he was writing about Habit 2 (“Begin with the end in mind”), he uses an illustration which I believe is very crucial.

He asks you to imagine your funeral, and what those closest to you will talk about you. What will they say about you? What is the kind of legacy that you want to leave behind?

I want you to know that you may be the most efficient man on earth; you may complete tasks in the fastest time possible. But if you complete tasks that ultimately don’t matter at all, would it all have been worth it?

Ask yourself, what is the life that you want to live? If you want your children to grow up to be great men and women, should you really be coming home from work late at night?

Are those things you want to regret when you near the end of your life?

I know it is hard to accept this reality. These questions are deeply personal and difficult to answer. But I hope that by answering them you will undergo a paradigm shift, and only focus on things that truly matter.

3) Not Planning Your Week

Planning may seem old school to you, right?

It depends on how you are doing it. Planning for every person differs and hence I will not dwell too much into the specificity of how you should plan your week.

As to whether you should do it, I believe it is a powerful way to check-in on yourself. Have you been on-route to meeting your personal KPIs, in other words, your personal mission statement?

Planning your week is also a way to exert control over the many things in life that you cannot control.

Here are 3 components that you should have when you plan your week.

a) Plan Out the Amount of Time You Want to Focus on in Each Aspect of Your Life.

You may be very caught up in one aspect of your life, setting sky-high goals and going all out for them.

However, don’t lose sight of the larger picture. Remember that every decision you make has an “opportunity cost”.

When pursuing that promotion, you may be missing out on precious family time. Is that what you want?

For this point, I suggest roughly planning out the percentage of your time you want to focus on each aspect of your life (eg. Work, family). And then stick to them. Say no to things that do not fit your plan for the week.

b) Schedule Time for Potential Disruptions.

It is too idealistic to plan out every single task in your life and there will always be disruptions. When planning your week, always remember to leave extra space for unexpected things that may show up.

As for whether to work on these new things that show up, I personally recommend the Eisenhower Matrix. It takes into account 2 things before making a decision: importance and urgency.

It helps you decide if you should work on the task now, schedule it, delegate it, or don’t work on it.

c0 Connect it to Your Larger Goals in Life.

Your weekly goals and plans should be related to your larger goals in life. When all the weeks are put together, will you be able to meet your long-term goals?

Align your weekly goals with your personal mission statement where necessary.

4) Not Eating the Frog

This concept is popularised by Brian Tracy in his book Eat That Frog.

It revolves around deciding the most important thing to work on the next day. This thing is usually the biggest and requires the most focus to complete.

By working on it first thing in the day, you are able to channel most of your fresh energy to it and complete it. This makes you feel accomplished even before half the day is over, giving you momentum throughout the rest of the day.

Personally, I have found this most helpful when you stick to it strictly.

You may not have tried this yet, hence I strongly recommend to try this in your life to see how it works out.

When implementing this in your life, you may be thinking about how you should go about doing it.

I recommend diligently writing down your “frog” every day towards the end of the day. Yes, write or type it out. Do this for one week.

Afterward, when you have become more familiar with the process, you don’t have to write or type out what your “frog” is.

Simply go through the mental work to decide the first thing you want to work on the next day.

Let me provide you with a pro tip.

When starting out, you may not be used to the habit of thinking of your “frog” for the next day. Thus, I recommend setting a repeat reminder on your phone that reminds you daily that it is time to think about your “frog”.

This helps you to be consistent in prioritizing your day-to-day activities.

5) Not Being Strict Enough Regarding Your “Time-wasters”

I used to play a lot of First Player Shooter (FPS) games.

In these games, you have to have fast reactions to shoot the enemy player on sight.

However, one of the most frequent ways I died in the game was when I was shot from behind. I mean, how can you see someone when he is behind you?

From then on, I had to learn to constantly check the mini-map to know where my enemies are.

You must be thinking, why am I telling you about my FPS experience?

Well, your “time-wasters” are like players who sneak up on you from the back.

You least notice them, but their effect can be devastating (of course it won’t kill you).

I’m pretty sure you know it’s important to cut off your “time-wasters”, but do you know just how important it is?

I think you should be spending almost equal time planning against your “time-wasters” as compared to determining your priorities!

They are so important; they can just steal your time unknowingly.

I mean, when you log on to YouTube, from there you just watch video after video and amazingly, 2 hours go by.

This is how I suggest you deal with them. List down all your distractions. Every single one of them.

After you list all of them down, write down the reasons why you don’t want to spend your time on them.

When writing down those reasons, you are essentially convincing yourself why you are not going to waste time on a certain activity. These reasons can also be used when you feel tempted to spend time on the “time-wasters” again.

One thing to bear in mind is that these reasons must be genuine. Don’t list down reasons you think why you should not do it. List down reasons why you don’t want to do it!

Another way you should be stricter on yourself is in the area of distractions.

When doing your work, do you find yourself frequently checking your phone notifications?

You may be telling yourself, “Oh it is fine, it is just once, I won’t do it again.”

And over time these standards relax and you find yourself being consistently distracted by them.

Did you know that by switching tasks, you decrease your productivity by a whopping 40%?

Maybe that is the reason why you don’t have enough sleep…

Be strict on yourself! Block out all distractions, especially in the morning when you are the freshest.

You don’t have to keep checking emails every second. Batch your tasks together and answer all the emails at a certain time each day. Doing that will increase your productivity significantly.

I know it is difficult to be disciplined in keeping to these sometimes. It may be helpful to have someone keep you accountable. Ask that person to inform you whenever he/she realizes you have not been adhering to the standards that you have set for yourself.

It could be your colleague/your good friend/your partner. Whatever. Accountability helps, especially in identifying your blind spots.

Conclusion

Productivity is admittedly not easy.

Commit any of these 5 productivity sins, and you may be stuck in a negative cycle of low productivity.

But if you work on it every single day, and guard against these 5 mistakes, you will see your productivity soar like never before. Don’t give up!

Are there any other productivity sins I missed out? Share in the comments section below!

The post 5 Productivity Sins You Are Unknowingly Committing (2020 Edition) appeared first on CareerMetis.com.

5 Productivity Sins You Are Unknowingly Committing (2020 Edition) published first on https://skillsireweb.tumblr.com/

[ultralifehackerguru-blog]

New Post has been published on http://www.lifehacker.guru/im-anant-agarwal-ceo-of-edx-and-this-is-how-i-work/

I'm Anant Agarwal, CEO of edX, and This Is How I Work

One of the indisputable virtues of the internet is the availability of free online courses that enable anyone to educate themselves. edX is one such outlet, founded by Harvard and MIT, and offers free, open source courses that are allowing people around the world to get an education that would otherwise be out of their reach.

At the helm of edX is Anant Agarwal, who is also a professor of electrical engineering at MIT. He’s been a longtime advocate of MOOCs (massive open online courses) that enable thousands of people to participate in courses from universities ranging from Harvard to Berkeley and even schools abroad. He’s also co-founded several companies and continues to travel the world while helming edX. But, as we learned, his favorite work spot isn’t a glossy office; it’s a humble greasy spoon diner. Here’s how he works.

Location: Cambridge, MA Current Gig: CEO of edX, Professor at MIT One word that best describes how you work: Obsessively Current mobile device: My most mobile device is my ballpoint pen, but I supplement that with an iPhone 7 and a mini iPad. Current computer: Samsung 900X Windows notebook

What apps, software, or tools can’t you live without? Why?

I travel pretty frequently (or dare I say constantly?). With over 100 global edX partners, it’s not uncommon for me to be in Miami one week and Mumbai the next, so I rely on my iPhone hotspot to stay connected no matter where I am in the world. I also use my my Gmail app, Google Drive, and remote desktop a lot, too. It’s not all work when I travel, though—I can’t live without my flashlight and magnifier app, since I need both to expand the print on menus when dining out! I’m also a fan of the Slingbox app—I use it to watch the Patriots play when I’m traveling.

What’s your workspace setup like?

Outside of my office in the edX HQ in Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, my most important office is a diner called Frescafe in Natick, right down the road from the town where my family and I live. On the weekends, I spend at least two hours a day in the place—just me, my laptop and many cups of decaf coffee. The greasy breakfast joint has been my haunt for twenty years—I wrote my co-authored textbook on electronic circuits there in the early 2000’s and they haven’t been able to get rid of me since! I’ve also been known to strike up conversations with fellow diners and wait staff. On numerous occasions, the edX sticker on my laptop has been a conversation starter and I’ve had the pleasure of hearing stories from edX learners who happened to visit or work at the diner. There’s no better motivation to really crack on with a difficult proposal or review a long deck than hearing inspiring stories from real-life edX learners.

What’s your best time-saving shortcut or life hack?

That’s easy! Procrastinate. When it comes to work, my life hack is ‘if it can be postponed then postpone it.’ Even though I know it’s not the most perfect way to go about managing my time, it works for me. It probably also makes my colleagues mad at me! Sometimes I find that the work was unnecessary and can avoid it altogether, but usually what happens is that I end up having far too many things to do close to a deadline, so I have to prioritize and be super efficient and minimize the time I spend on things, while maximizing the thoughtfulness and energy I put into them. Can I caveat this answer by saying that if there’s one thing I’d like to do better, it would be time management?

What’s your favorite to-do list manager?

The piece of paper I have currently crumpled up in my pocket. It’s not high-tech, it is super portable, never runs out of charge, works on airplanes, but you better believe that if I add a task to this scrap of paper, then it will get done!

Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can’t you live without and why?

During conference calls or meetings, I can’t live without an analog desk clock in clear view. I tend to love deep diving into rabbit holes during conversations and can lose track of time. I don’t wear a watch, and prefer not to have my phone or laptop or any other device out to distract me during meetings, so my usual sources of time are unavailable. So, an analog clock keeps me on track, as I can keep my eye on how much time I’ve spent talking without opening my phone or laptop.

What everyday thing are you better at than everyone else? What’s your secret?

Making Kerala fish curry. Mine is unparalleled!

Also, I used to do stand up comedy in school, and I think being funny and being able to find the humor in things is critical to being a good leader. You can disarm people with humor even if they are going to be unhappy with a decision.

What do you listen to while you work? Got a favorite playlist? Maybe talk radio? Or do you prefer silence?

I listen to talk radio when I drive and am not on the phone. But, having grown accustomed to a VERY noisy dorm at IIT Madras during my undergrad years, I can work practically anywhere. These days, I can still shut out the noisy background of the world while working. Once, I even missed my Air Canada flight as I sat hammering away on the keys of my laptop opposite the boarding gate even as they called out my name several times. To avoid this, I now set the alarm on my mobile phone!

What are you currently reading? Or what’s something you’d recommend?

Probably something by John Grisham.

How do you recharge? What do you do when you want to forget about work?

I think about working out and that tires me, but I really need to start exercising. A greasy breakfast at a diner or going out for pizza is always fun. I also turn to Netflix, when I need to escape into a movie.

What’s your sleep routine like? Are you a night owl or early-riser?

I can sleep very easily at any time. I can, in all honesty, sleep standing up. I try to get six to seven hours of sleep a day.

I am absolutely a night owl and I love to work late into the night. I despise the early morning! I’d much rather stay up all night to make a 5am meeting than face a 5am wake up call.

Fill in the blank: I’d love to see _________ answer these same questions.

Some of our edX students like Battushig or Amol Bhave. They are truly inspiring and their accomplishments never cease to amaze me! Both took my MIT Circuits course on edX as high school students in Mongolia and India, respectively, and aced it! Then, they got into MIT, and are now in their senior year. They are young, but their ambition and talent are just incredible. I’d love to know how they do it all!

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

The best advice I have ever received is to always act on your curiosity. Throughout my career, curiosity has served me well. Believe it or not—it started with a visit to a family friend’s chicken farm when I was a teenager. After the visit, I was curious about chicken farming, so I started a small farm of my own. The farm thrived, as I expanded its reach by selling eggs to neighbors and in bulk to a local restaurant. You could say I discovered B2C and B2B early! The curiosity to start and develop this endeavor helped lead me to create several high-tech startups later on, and the importance of following your inquisitiveness has remained with me throughout my professional life.

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©

[medicalmarijuana-news]

How to Combine Yoga and Cannabis: A Beginner’s Experience

As 2016 comes to a close and memories of the past year remain perpetually frozen in time, New Year’s resolutions shake off their collected dust to once again motivate the masses. In 2017, I will be included in that mass, crossing fingers that my endurance won’t fade out halfway through (as usual) when January fades to February. So, to keep my spirits up, I thought I should try something new and stray from the basic “think more good thoughts” and “drink more water.”

For the year ahead, I want to focus on my body while opening my mind to a stronger creative flow. Cue both yoga and cannabis. Naturally, I decided to coax these effects out of both relaxing and energizing yoga routines while puffing on an assortment of cannabis strains.

Now, before diving ahead, it must be understood that I am a beginner to both and I hope my experiences may shed a bit of light to other beginners. My cannabis consumption rivals only those who have occasionally puffed on a passing joint at a party, and my yoga practice fares no better. I’m already an advocate for cannabis consumption, especially when hearing about surfacing medical breakthroughs, and I’ve always had interest in starting regular yoga practice – so why not explore both at the same time? After all, there has been a growing movement within cannabis legal states to offer cannabis-infused yoga classes.

The inclusion of cannabis in a yoga routine seems interesting enough to keep me going – I can imagine it will be a unique experience every time I hit the mat (and I’ll be less inclined to give it all up as I do my other dead and forgotten resolutions of years past).

To start, being the naïve cannabis consumer that I am, I had to pre-prepare for 2017’s new me (I don’t even own a pipe), so first thing’s first. With a little research and my insatiable love for elephants, I decided to purchase a small figure-pipe from SmokeDay complete with upturned trunk – a sign of good luck that will hopefully transfer to the year ahead.

With my newly purchased pipe in tow, next I needed to learn how to pack it (I told you I was a beginner). Thankfully, I stumbled upon this step-by-step guide to corral me around the ins and outs of a perfectly loaded bowl. With tools and tips at my fingers, I needed one more important piece to complete my ‘new me’ frame of mind: the cannabis.

Where do I begin? What strains should I try? Is an indica or a sativa better for yoga practice? Where should I go to get the best recommendations? Should I invest in a grinder? Should I ditch the pipe and eat some edibles?

This slew of unending questions could only be answered by someone who has extensive knowledge in cannabis strains and how they usually affect the body or mind. Enter Bailey Rahn, resident Leafly strains specialist and part-time yogi.

We took a bit of time out of the office to hit up Dockside Cannabis, where she walked me through the process. I believe at one point I uttered, “I feel like a helpless child,” having been surrounded by people with a lot more knowledge than I possess, but it only made this whole operation even more intriguing – the puzzle of it all. We walked out with an array of flowers – an indica, a sativa, a hybrid, and a CBD-heavy strain.

Since I am a beginner, I made the decision to bypass a yoga class and instead hide away in my home with a few yoga videos – it wouldn’t bode too well if I ended up dissolving into a paranoid mess in the middle of a class full of people. Also, what would I say to the teacher when I smoke the indica and end up napping during downward dog? So, to avoid my own self-consciousness of smoking in public, I resolved to take a few hits in my backyard before firing up YouTube and unrolling my mat.

Bedtime Yoga and Lavender

First up, Cole Chance’s routine for relaxing yoga – a 20-minute stretch just before bedtime. I decided to pair this with Lavender, a strain I’m most excited to try given my love for the fragrant flower. Surprisingly, I didn’t hack up a lung on my first inhales (it’s been a while), and I felt the effects soon after.

The Lavender didn’t knock me out right away – it floated around, giving me a delicate body high while keeping my mind in an alive and imaginative state. As Cole guided through each pose, I felt a stronger connection to my body that I had not experienced in a sober state of mind – it was more grounding, more inward.

I have done Cole’s bedtime video on rare occasions before, and when I would breathe through the stretches I would try to focus on outward thoughts usually revolved around nature – crystal lakes, gold lighted fields on a summer morning, hiking through lush green forests.

This time, pairing my routine with cannabis evoked an inward response – I was thinking about my body and how my muscles and joints communicated with the stretches. I pictured my bones melting into the floor, I felt my muscles relax. I believe my stretches were deeper and more engaged.

Unfortunately, after my yoga session was done I was hoping to drift off immediately since my body felt refreshed yet heavy, but my mind was awake and filled with mellow thoughts that wouldn’t let go. I awoke the next morning with tired eyes, but with a body ready to take on the day.

Hips/Low Back Yoga and Girl Scout Cookies

Sarah Beth offers a full hip and lower back routine that I thought would pair well with Girl Scout Cookies, a strain that boosts body relaxation.

Contrary to my Lavender and Cole Chance yoga pairing, I felt a soft energetic body flow with Girl Scout Cookies and Sarah Beth. Instead of a physical and mental grounding, my body felt a bit ‘above’ what was happening on the mat and my mind was constantly distracted – I ended up focusing on muffled conversations and the sounds of cooking happening outside my bedroom door. My breath flow was only ‘okay’ – there were numerous times within the routine where I had to mentally remind myself to take long, stretched out breaths.

I’ll probably stick to the Lavender strain when considering a future relaxing yoga practice – the grounding element was smooth and highly contributed to a mental openness. However, I had less of a morning after ‘weed-over’ when smoking GSC and was more alert the following day.

Beginner’s Vinyasha and Tangie

Next, Yoga Shala offers a beginner’s vinyasa flow presumably perfect for the Tangie, a sativa-heavy strain.

The Tangie strain would have been a perfect fit for this yoga routine had my mind not wandered so far and around. Poses felt as though I was holding them for double the time, and I couldn’t wait to go into the next move and get the full routine complete. I felt light-headed and airy; my energy levels were going through the roof.

I think the best benefit to doing this routine while smoking Tangie was the after-effect. I had smoked midday, and after the energizing yoga routine I was ready to get things done – chores complete, extra work finished. Regretfully, I did not feel any deeper connection to the routine in general as I had with the indica strains.

Energizing Yoga and ACDC

Last but not least, Cindy from Psyche Truth has an energizing flow I decided to pair with ACDC, a cannabidiol-heavy strain for a clear mind and relaxed body.

I had a wonderful body high off ACDC while maintaining a clear mind. This cannabidiol-rich strain was one of my favorites to pair with an energizing yoga flow. During the routine I could control my breathing easily, and afterwards I felt refreshed – as though I had been internally cleansed. Peace settled throughout my body and mind. It was the most easy-going I had felt in a very long time. I would also suggest snacking on fresh slices of watermelon afterwards to complete this restoring flow and stave off dry mouth.

Thoughts and Conclusions

Overall, I’m extremely happy I went ahead with my New Year’s resolutions to find what works best for both my body and mind. Though there were upsides and downsides to each strain and yoga pairing, I found my two favorites lay in Cole Chance’s routine paired with the Lavender strain and Cindy’s routine paired with ACDC. I’ll be incorporating both pairings throughout the month while I continue to explore different strain and yoga couplings.

I��highly recommend pairing yoga with cannabis to those who are hesitant or are unsure whether or not to incorporate both. If it makes you feel more comfortable, go ahead and take a class rather than attempting on your own (this option is preferable to those who want an instructor keeping watch of their movements). It was truly an eye-opening and thought-provoking experience.

If there are any strains you feel most connected to while practicing yoga or a type of yoga you feel most connected to while practicing cannabis, let us know!

Hannah Meadows

Hannah Meadows is an editorial intern at Leafly, where she contributes to lifestyle content.

The post How to Combine Yoga and Cannabis: A Beginner’s Experience appeared first on Leafly.

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