Finding the Balance

Combining  yoga with yerba is one form of holistic healing

As Americans age and funding runs dry for public health care, patients are turning to cheaper, more traditional methods for healing themselves. One method is yoga, the ancient Indian exercise that combines breathing, meditation and low-impact poses to increase muscular endurance and flexibility.

Like yoga, cannabis is also effective for treating a host of severe medical afflictions. Some medical cannabis clinics are even offering yoga classes to patients who use cannabis to treat their illnesses and injuries.

Jim Stockton has been teaching Iyengar yoga at Harborside Health Center in Oakland since the center first opened. All of his students are medical cannabis patients, and they aren’t just from one demographic.

“I’ve practiced therapeutic yoga for over 10 years,” he tells CULTURE.

As an experienced instructor, Stockton has worked with everyone, from the injured construction worker to the older, retired business executive.

“I’ve been seeing a wide spectrum of clients,” he says. “This is such a wonderful place. We’ve really provided a safe haven for people suffering from afflictions.”

Stockton points out that many of his patients practice yoga to avoid harsh medications. Some are recovering addicts. Both benefit from Iyengar yoga, which is known for being particularly therapeutic.

“Yoga’s approach to health is to empower people who are seeking help,” he explains. “The health science of yoga is about balancing the mind, body and spirit. Being on too many medications disturbs this balance.”

Both yoga and cannabis are tools for achieving this balance and avoiding truly corrosive drugs like Oxycontin, or for recovering meth addicts.

“They say cannabis is a ‘gateway drug,’ but here it’s a gateway to get people back in balance and away from harsh drugs and medications.”

Stockton stresses that his classes are not the place for a person to participate in if they’ve overindulged in cannabis.

“If a person is over-medicating and coming to class, I’ll take them aside and have a talk with them,” he says.

Isaac K. Oommen is the communications coordinator for the British Columbia Compassion Club Society (BCCCS) in Vancouver, British Columbia, which also offers yoga classes in addition to providing cannabis to licensed patients.

In contrast to expensive physical therapy, yoga classes at the BCCCS are very affordable.

“If you are a member of this club, then you can take classes,” Oommen says.

The money helps pay the yoga instructors.

“We can also completely waive the yoga fees for member who can’t afford it.”

This is fortunate, because many of the members of BCCCS are retired.

“Fifty percent of our patients are seniors who are 65 or older,” Oommen says. “We offer a lot of therapies that are very cheap, from cannabis to acupuncture. We see ourselves as offering many doorways to holistic wellness. One of these is yoga, which helps decrease blood pressure and heart rate, reducing anxiety and creating a strong mind/body connection. Cannabis can help with that, and so can yoga.”

A Real Bender

Iyengar yoga is a form of Hatha yoga known for its use of props. It was created by B. K. S. Iyengar, one of the well-known and respected yoga teachers in the world, who has been practicing and teaching for more than 75 years. He is best known for saying, “When I practice, I am a philosopher. When I teach, I am a scientist. When I demonstrate, I am an artist.”