Yoga is, without a doubt, the greatest practice for our mental, physical, and spiritual health. With its significant beneficial remedies that promote self-healing, personal power, greater awareness and even better relationships, it’s promising that microdosing before yoga is nothing short of phenomenal. The healing properties from both microdosing and yoga are talked about everywhere, so combining the two may be magnificent and perhaps, life-altering.
What Are the Benefits of Practicing Yoga?
We’ve all heard it before, “Yoga has completely changed my life.” In fact, 36 million people within the US practice some form of yoga, many of which report varying levels of improvement in their daily lives. There are tremendous benefits when it comes to the practice including mental and physical healing, increased flexibility, athletic performance, weight reduction, body toning, energy, vitality and so much more.
With over 5,000 years of traditional practices — yoga is one of the oldest physical disciplines known — it has been proven that yoga truly does heal the mind, body and spirit. Being able to work through the mind, body and soul helps one get in touch with their true emotions. Many of today’s physical stresses stem from repressed emotions. According to Dr. Sarna, a specialist in rehabilitation medicine at NYU Medical Center states that childhood traumas can deposit anger in the subconscious mind.
If one goes their whole life repressing their true emotions, it accumulates and becomes rage causing the physical body to ache or create other physical symptoms as a form of distraction. Thankfully, yoga can be extremely beneficial for these issues. A study published in Annals of Internal Medicine discovered that folks with chronic back pain who attended weekly yoga classes increased their strength and mobility. Research and experiences have proved that integrating yoga into your lifestyle can assist in both mental and physical health.
What Is Microdosing?
Microdosing — which is now popular in mainstream media — is said to be very beneficial for our mental and physical health. Although relatively new, microdosing is known to improve mood, focus, enhance creative thinking, and also help those who suffer from depression, ADHD, and anxiety. Usually, the consumption is in very small doses of psychoactive drugs.
Generally, 5 to 10% of the standard dose is considered ‘microdosing’. These small doses, sometimes, produce feelings of euphoria, focus, and even help heal physical pains like migraines, aches, etc. As of 2020, according to Harvard University, some of the first clinical trials are on their way under the supervision of a medical professional. The purpose of these trials is to experiment with the popular drug ‘psilocybin’, both its safety and tolerance will be thoroughly evaluated.
One of its main trials, according to ClinicalTrials.gov, is to evaluate those who suffer from Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Those who meet the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders will be studied and evaluated while being on a single 25 mg oral dose of psilocybin, or a single 100mg oral dose of Niacin. One pill is psilocybin and the other is a placebo. The basis of these microdosing trials will be to evaluate its efficiency compared to the placebo dosage.
While there is much more research, studying, and evaluating to do when it comes to ‘microdosing’, it’s quite obvious — based on the expansive and cultural positive feedback on microdosing — that small doses of psychoactive drugs can help those suffering from mental disorders, or even those who feel lost in life. With the right environments and supervision, it is hoped that through these trials, ‘microdosing’ will be a huge part of healing some of our toughest mental and physical battles.
What Can You Microdose Before Yoga?
Mircodosing before yoga seems pretty darn magical, especially knowing how effective both of them are. According to the Journal of Psychedelic Studies, psychedelic medicine can improve well-being as much as practicing yoga. So, why not combine the two for an even greater experience? Microdosing psychedelics can vary, of course.
While it is much more popular to microdose psilocybin, it can also be effective in microdose other psychoactive drugs like LSD, Ketamine, MDMA and even cannabis. Based on extensive research and tons of clinical trials, both yoga and small psychoactive doses can have a huge influence on reducing the neurotic symptoms of anxiety and depression. According to the Australian Psychological Society, those who engaged in both yoga and microdosing found that they experienced fewer feelings of fatigue, stress, and depressive episodes suggesting that they could have massive symbiotic effects.
Microdosing any type of psychedelic can increase conscientiousness and help one feel more connected to themselves, similarly to yoga. So, which psychoactive drug to microdose before yoga is entirely up to the participant, however, it is imperative to be in a safe and effective environment prior to the session.
General Benefits of Microdosing Before Exercising
According to Disturbemenot.co, only 23.2% of US adults participate in weekly exercise activities. The statistic had drastically decreased due to the Covid-19 pandemic since many people experienced a rise in anxiety and depression. While it’s quite obvious that exercise helps improve our overall mental health, it may have been difficult for those struggling to find any type of motivation.
The new phenomenon, microdosing, can be beneficial to those looking for a new kick in motivation. In fact, Denver and Oregon have already decriminalized psilocybin mushrooms due to their long-term benefits for people suffering from stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, and PTSD. Taking a small dose of whichever psychoactive drug can help enhance feelings of euphoria which can be a great kick start to your workout.
A writer of The MAPS Institute, Tyler Lesher says, “Some people are using microdosing to induce a flow state of creativity, increase focus, and extend cognitive functioning. For similar reasons, some are also experimenting with microdosing during workouts. In fact, research shows that the body tends to function better during workouts when a microdose is present in the system because of the mindful effects that are produced from psilocybin. It is believed that this effect is because microdosing helps to decrease the stress of daily life, improve mood, increase cognition and focus, reduce the rating of perceived exertion, and because it aids in ego dissolution. Ego dissolution is the “complete loss of subjective self-identity,” which is a critical aspect for researchers when looking at psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and psychosis. As a result, those microdosing report an increase in motivation due to the higher cognitive function and are able to push more weight, run longer and faster, and not have their inner voice telling them to stop.”
The benefits of microdosing before working out are vast, and of course, with the right mentality, can help us push our mind, body, and soul to a whole different level.
So, fellow psychonauts, what do you think about microdosing before yoga and workouts? If you’ve tried it or have any input on the matter, let us know in the comments below. We want to hear from you!
