Village Wellness, owned by Lance Isakov in Berwyn, PA recently took a giant stride towards breaking down the stigmas surrounding cannabis by hosting an event that was the first of its kind for Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana cardholders. The event was a Kundalini Yoga and Sound Journey hosted by Lance himself. Attendees were able to use medical cannabis in vaporizers throughout the 2-hour event. The only prerequisite for attending was having obtained a medical card.
The medical community and healthcare systems have begun to widely embrace and tout the numerous health benefits and alleviation of symptoms available with cannabis use. However, the landscape in Pennsylvania has been devoid of a conversation discussing the spiritual capabilities of the plant. Soulful Cannabis aims to start this conversation by explaining how cannabis can be used with intention and within a community setting.
Village Wellness created an incredibly welcoming atmosphere for our group of spiritual pioneers. As the evening began we formed a circle with our yoga mats, pillows and blankets. We were invited to bring anything that would make us feel more comfortable for the journey we were about to embark on. It was a small but open group that attended on a Friday evening at the end of November, and the size of the group created an immediate intimacy. We began by introducing ourselves and our relationships with cannabis. A number of the participants stated that this was one of their first times publicly talking with a group of like-minded cannabis users. As each participant introduced themselves and shared how they had been working with the plant medicine, an immediate camaraderie was felt and a safe space created.
We then partook in using our vaporizers and placed them, along with any other offerings, in the center of our circle. Lastly a picture of the herb was added to the alter along
PA’s first cannabis kundalini and sound therapy class
with our intentions for the session. We began with a simple yet powerful kundalini yoga meditation where we chanted and sat upright moving our upper body in a circular rhythm moving clockwise with our breathing following the same pattern, eventually shifting our bodies to move counter-clockwise. This movement served to energetically open and activate our chakras. We then briefly stopped to use our vaporizers again if we wanted before laying down on our mats to begin the gong sound healing.Â
I’ve attended sound healing events before but I’d never been to one where a gong was the primary sound. The gong was beautiful and capable of many sounds that I could never have anticipated. It instantly lulled me and soothed my being into an incredibly peaceful state. At some point in the journey I found myself floating and having an out of body experience. I had moved into a state of being that was incredibly vast in comparison to the 3D density of my physical body. I was in a space that was all purple, a color associated with the crown chakra. In this place I felt an inner knowing of the expansiveness and lightness that is available to all beings. I believe that a tremendous amount of healing can happen when the body is allowed to experience peace, stillness & calm. The gong combined with cannabis allowed for easy entry into a place that can be difficult to reach with the busyness of our modern lives. In this place of stillness we can remember that we are all healers and we can access an innate wisdom to find answers and solutions to whatever difficulties we face. Cannabis has an amazing potential to usher in this greater knowledge but the herb must be treated with reverence. As we shared our experiences following the gong, Lance added that in Chinese Medicine cannabis is associated with stimulating the liver, and that the liver is associated with astral projection. This new-to-me information helped me better understand the place that I traveled to while in an altered state of consciousness. The real goal is to take this experience and integrate that feeling of vastness into our daily lives and be reminded that we are so much more then our physical bodies; we are consciousness. I look forward to hopefully witnessing a growing number of events that allow for cannabis to work its magic in the realms of the soul and creating community between spiritual seekers as the plant becomes more widely available as a truly natural medicine.Â
I’m Soulful Steve. I’m a writer, IT professional, and daily user of cannabis for relief and wellness. Soulful Cannabis is where I share knowledge, product info, and occasional tall tales with those of you out there considered cannabis curious! Now that I’m getting older, I’m leaning into CBD products to keep my quality of life and take the edge off daily stress. Come explore the amazing cannabis plant with me!
