Focusing on wellness is crucial to living a healthy life. You’ve been told this by doctors, friends, family, and even influencers. But for many people working out or eating greens seems more like a chore rather than a relaxing activity.
Wellness should be about getting in touch with your body and feeding your mind. Some workout gurus have even combined cannabis with wellness.
When cannabis is intentionally used for wellness you can infuse your favorite products into your workout routine. You might find yourself taking a CBD gummy or hitting a joint before hitting the yoga mat, field, or wherever you like to work out.
Higher Health’s Weed and Wellness experience
On a Saturday in the lovely Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, people gathered at The William Vale hotel for Higher Health’s Weed and Wellness experience. The experience included yoga and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) classes instructed by Higher Health co-founders Nina Marchione and Lucian Campodonico. The class was followed by conversations with Nina, Lucian, Hustle + Flo Founder and CEO Jamie Alexandra Galvis, and Her Highness Co-founder Allison Krongard.
"Weed is wellness," the event's tagline, was created by Lucian, who considers it a motto for life. According to Lucian, "One of our missions is to change the narrative surrounding cannabis, so you hear 'weed,' you think 'wellness.'"
The Higher Health Workout: Yoga & HIIT
Up at the Vale park guests were invited to have a seat on a yoga mat and take a look at their gifted tote bags. From prerolls from Vita Budz to Her Highness ashtrays Higher Health partnered with some great cannabis companies to provide participants with the best goodies.
After raiding the goody bags we were greeted by Nina and Lucian. Everyone in the class was asked to introduce themselves and say why they wanted to take part in the weed and wellness event. This helped us to share our experiences and connect before the class began.
“We really want to teach people about the benefits of using cannabis with healthy practices,” Lucian says.
We started with breath exercises to prepare our lungs for the HIIT portion of the class. This helped us to take a moment and set intentions to ease our bodies into the workout. Nina led us through yoga stretches to get us moving.
Lucian hopped in to lead the HIIT class. High-Intensity Interval Training sounds scary and intense, but it can be a fun way to build strength and muscle. We went through four rounds with four different exercises. Throughout the class, we encouraged each other through high-fives and fist bumps. Some of us had to sit it for a couple of rounds—rest is always encouraged.
We finished the HIIT dripping in sweat, but we made it. Nina came back in with some amazing yoga stretches. Finally, we did a guided meditation. We were asked to lie on our backs while Nina gave us adjustments and Lucien spoke inspiring words over us.
Post-workout a smoke/water break was encouraged to prepare for our conversation about intention with weed.
Higher Health Spotlight: Using cannabis with intention
The conversation continued downstairs at The William Vale’s restaurant Leuca.
Lucian shared his journey to weed and wellness. He was in a horrible car accident and he suffered many injuries to his legs. Lucian wanted to find a way to heal and get back to health in a more holistic way rather than opioids. The opioid epidemic has been an issue for a long time and in many ways still is.
According to the CDC, “Prescription opioids were involved in nearly 18% of all opioid overdose deaths in 2020.”
To avoid becoming a part of those statistics and save his life, he turned to cannabis.
“I feel indebted to this plant,” he said. “I owe my life to her.”
Hustle + Flo: A Journey to Higher Health
Cannabis helped Lucian to get back on his feet. In sharing his inspiring story, Jamie Alexandra Galvis shared how she started Hustle + Flo and got into using cannabis with intention.
Hustle + Flo has some great products for people who are interested in plant medicine but may not want to dive into THC. Jamie showed us her “press to reset” CBD spray and passed around fresh peppermint leaves so we could feel the real and refreshing ingredients that are used in her products.
“Plant medicine has so many benefits,” Jamie mentioned.
One of the guests of the event shared her experience using the Hustle + Flo CBD spray.
“I use it every day,” she said. She then shared her story of being diagnosed with breast cancer and how that impacted her life so, like Lucian, she turned to plant medicine and found comfort and healing.
Her Highness: Allison Krongard on Weed and Wellness
We also had a chance to speak with Her Highness herself, co-founder Allison Krongard, and her thoughts on being a part of the weed and wellness community and as a mother and business owner.
“I feel so bad that women are so immersed in alcohol and pharmaceutical culture," she said, emphasizing her commitment to cannabis for health.
Krongard calls herself not only Her Highness but a weed mom. She finds value in plant medicine and weed consumption as an alternative to common vices and medicines.
“Being a weed mom helps to break down those negative stigmas,” she claimed.
Weed helps Krongard to calm down and step out of her entrepreneurship lifestyle. She can be present with her children and connect with them.
“Weed helps me connect to empathy.”
After everyone shared their experiences with intention, we wrapped up and headed to brunch at Leuca to try some CBD Signature cocktails that were made specially for the event by Hustle + Flo and Leuca.
CBD Cocktails and frittatas sound like a much needed combo post-workout. And the outdoor patio at Leuca made for a great space to continue the conversation about cannabis and wellness until the event’s close.
So no matter what cannabis products you use, use them in moderation and with intention. Everyone has different experiences and needs so each person’s cannabis of choice will be different, and their wellness practices will be unique.
Find what weed and wellness combination works for you so you can live the healthiest lifestyle and find your higher self.
For more information on upcoming events, visit weedandwellness.com.
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-- (c) Last image by Ren D
