Meditation: Headspace, Unwind Length: 3 minutes Where: Bedroom, Los Angeles How It Felt: Like a hot bath
Man, this has been a weird week. One part “lovely lady days,” one part “introvert days,” one part running around taking care of stuff, one part back to auditioning for good gigs… I’ve been incredibly busy and not busy at all. It’s been weird.
Lots of great news this week, plus Steve’s 50th birthday. My oldest step-daughter turned 16, and I finally got to pass down a Tiffany’s bracelet I’ve been keeping to give her on this birthday. That was nice! Things are good….
Things are feeling weirdly normal. Unsettlingly so. One more week of a mask mandate in California. I’m long since vaccinated…
Are things just… normal now?
I don’t know how I’m going to go back to the days where I didn’t get a solid 8-9 hours of sleep every night, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out. I’ve gotten used to this slow pace! Long, leisurely days of eating whenever and doing whatever and wearing PJs until you change into clean PJs for bed.
Still…. I’m really excited for the second half of this year! I’m excited for our huge party in August at our Michigan house, I’m excited for our first real trip to Vegas since before the pandemic (we usually go at least three or four times a year! I loooooove Vegas!), I’m excited for the acting work I know is coming, some because it’s already booked and scheduled, some because I have confidence oozing out of my pores right now…
I’m just excited! It’s the transition into all this that’s tripping me up. Still, week by week, I get better. I can do more things more days in a row without feeling overwhelmed. I’m resenting real pants a lot less. Yesterday I ran errands in a real bra– not a sports bra!- and I felt so fancy.
Life is good.
Steve will be back so soon! In the meantime, bedtime is still a little lonely, especially when Tigre doesn’t come cuddle me right away. I’m back to night meditations.
Let me tell you something- that cat knows how to spoon. And he’s not even always the little spoon!
Last night, after dinner, I got properly high and did one of my favorite activities: I call it High Yoga. It’s an incredibly creative name for…doing yoga high. I have introduced many to this incredible workout, and now I’m inviting you, dear readers, to try it.
Disclaimer: IF THC is legal where you live, blah blah blah. (Is there anything dumber than weed being illegal? Honest to god, it’s a miracle plant, not some crazy drug. We know we are eventually going to legalize it everywhere, can we please just do it? It seriously helps so many people, including yours truly. I completely manage my mental health with the help of marijuana- only edibles, I don’t smoke- and no longer need prescriptions for depression, anxiety, or RLS when I use it. Does anyone really believe those awful chemicals with tons of side effects are better than a natural plant? Also, can we please release every single prisoner currently incarcerated for possession or use of marijuana? For crying out loud, my dispensary looks like an Apple store. How are White people making millions off of a product that people of color are locked up for by the thousands??? Ok. End rant.) (For now.)
Back to High Yoga! I have a lot of bodybuilder type friends who have discovered the benefits of Sativa edibles for their workouts. It helps with form, stamina, soreness, and focus. It really gives you an amazing workout. SO I was inspired to try it with yoga when I discovered one night that I can feel all my bones and muscles crazy clearly when I’m high. When you do the moves in a yoga workout high, or even just stretch, you can feel your form so perfectly. You can stretch farther, you can hold poses longer. You get crazy blissful.
I don’t do it all the time, and you have to really plan for it. Don’t get high first then tell yourself you’re going to start yoga. It might work, but it might not. Because, a little secret, marijuana can lower your motivation and make you super snacky. (Oh, that’s well known, you say? Not inside information at all? Interesting!) So, here’s what I do. I take the edible, and before it has time to kick in, I set up my yoga space in our little home gym. I dim the lights, get my mat set up, choose the video (I like YWA but also Do Yoga With Me but also any yoga), light my incense or spray my oils or whatever I’m doing, get a glass of water ready, etc.
Usually this is at night, obviously (oh, to be Seth Rogan and be able to actually function successfully, like millionaire famous guy success, and be a little high all the time! I cannot do that.) So, I also like to get ready for bed first, set up Tigre’s feeder, wash my face, get in PJs, all that jazz. Because, as you start doing the moves, you’re going to get really into it, and the higher you get, the more you want to do more. It’s the best feeling. It’s seriously like a massage you’re giving yourself from the inside. I can’t explain it. You just have to try it!
Some nights I’ll do three or four solid yoga videos in a row. I’m so ready for bed after, stretched and tired and perfect!
Last night, I only did one super long video, but then I meditated after, and I slept so solidly! Like a frickin’ baby. Perfection.
I did an Unwind meditation after, a quick three minute one from Headspace. Then I crawled into bed and closed my eyes after some last deep hip stretches.
Listen, I’m a huge THC advocate for managing mental and physical health. If you don’t know much about it, I really encourage you to learn. Cannabinoids are helping opiate addicts (especially professional athletes who are prone to painkiller dependency), cancer patients, people with severe, crippling anxiety, people with ADHD and depression, people with chronic pain, soldiers with PTSD- the list goes on for a mile. Petition your representatives, especially at the federal level. Support release of non-violent marijuana offenders- one of the most racist policies we have in this country, at least in terms of the stark difference between how Whites and Blacks are treated over a single substance.
It’s important. Used responsibly, this stuff really, really helps people.
Plus, we get to do High Yoga. Try it! Let me know how it goes!
(Warning: do not do it on a totally empty stomach! Some have reported nausea with all the bending and inversions if they don’t have a bit of a proper meal first!)
Enjoy, friends!
My Year of Meditation 