Cultivating therapeutic relationships between yoga and cannabis

Exploring cannabis with my yoga practice, pranayama and meditation I soon realised combining them together allowed me to cultivate a genuine place of healing, self awareness and calm.

Written by Victoria Logan: Yoga teacher with cannabinoids, Co-Founder of PlantEd Collective and Events and Communications Lead at The Centre for Medicinal Cannabis

I’ve always used plant-based alternatives, avoiding anything that is derived from animal products. Having spent my childhood growing up in the countryside, with a strong connection to the land, plants and animals I realised from a young age I wanted to live a very holistic lifestyle. As I grew older this manifested into wanting to be educated on how other cultures explored their existence with plant therapies and rituals, which led to me blurring the lines of western upbringings with eastern philosophies. I travelled throughout my entire twenties and thirties living in various countries and cultures around the world, absorbing these different living environments, which only fuelled my interest in alternative therapies, lifestyles and medicines. 

I completed my yoga training in India, a country I absolutely love and have subsequently spent a huge amount of time there travelling, and studying the ancient practices of Ayurveda and yoga. The ancient Ayurvedic system of Indian medicine contains a number of references regarding medicinal plants, specifically cannabis. The Ayurveda traces its mythological roots back to the gathering of sages in the Himalayas that took place about 5000 years ago. The Sages, who arrived from all areas of the country, exchanged their knowledge of healing, and this was passed down verbally for some generations until finally being committed to writing sometime around the first century AD. 

During my trips to India, I found myself studying and exploring cannabis with my yoga practice, pranayama and meditation and soon realised combining them together allowed me to cultivate a genuine place of healing, self awareness and calm.

I was then drawn into the UK medicinal cannabis space with an opportunity to work for The Centre for Medicinal Cannabis (CMC) which felt like a natural progression, and I found myself navigating media campaigns that were already in full flow: parents fighting for cannabis based medicinal products (CBMP’s) to be made available for their sick children via the NHS, specifically at the forefront, Billy Caldwell and Alfie Dingley and their unrelenting mothers Charlotte Caldwell and Hannah Deacon. I learned quickly that this plant was not only a beautiful addition to my daily self care routine, but was in fact supported by clinical expertise as a treatment option for many different medical conditions. I felt inspired by what this could mean for cannabis regulation in the UK and the availability of the plant. My role within the CMC gave me the opportunity to meet lots of interesting people working in the UK cannabis space, and more importantly learn from them. 

The cannabis industry is an inspiring space to work, but it can also be a frustrating one as industry regulators, policy writers and government bodies don’t listen enough or move quickly. I’ve had the opportunity to contribute in meetings with Westminster representatives discussing cannabis and CBMP’s, engage with Health Ministers in an attempt to give them the knowledge, understanding and most importantly the evidence to move the conversations forward, but the process is slow and very little has changed for the majority of patients with chronic and life-limiting conditions.

Since the change in medical cannabis regulation in 2018, many of the barriers to NHS access still remain.

Over the last three years and within these parameters, the connections that have resonated with me the most are the entrepreneurial and pioneering women who have crossed my path. Women who are dedicating their lives to advocating for medicinal cannabis, breaking down stigmas and barriers while creating companies, roles and opportunities for themselves within the space. 

Women who are creating parliamentary groups, or who work in science or R&D. Who create patient advocacy groups or cannabis products. Women who are CEO’S. Women who write books. Who record podcasts. Who believe in the plant and its therapeutic powers. Women who are making genuine differences in peoples' lives. 

I understand why so many, myself included, are collaborating and creating cannabis focused safe spaces. Promoting the plant in its true form as a medicinal product. This is where I feel I have come full circle, and have gained the understanding to be able to walk alongside these women by creating yoga practices with cannabis. I have gained the knowledge, confidence and opportunities to create Victoria Logan Yoga. Teaching yoga online and in-person in Edinburgh, I openly discuss cannabinoids and other plant therapies as part of my offerings, advise on cannabinoids as part of a yoga practice and additional self care rituals. My yoga offerings explore not only yoga, but breathing techniques, meditation and connectivity with the body’s own chakra energies, combined with the power of the cannabis plant.

I hope through the combination of my work at The Centre for Medicinal Cannabis, my collaborations with other cannabis and patient focused organisations in the space and my own yoga teachings with cannabinoids, I can assist and contribute to the educational conversations around medicinal cannabis. Cultivating a more therapeutic relationship between the cannabis plant and wellbeing.