“Every Monday night, I get together with my girlfriends – all moms with demanding careers – and get stoned. Then we do yoga. That’s right, stoned yoga. Or stoga, as we call it.” New motherhood blog Mommyish dishes on how doobs and downdogs go together like girlfriends and gossip, literally.
And it all started when…waaait…(cough) huh?
Our fearless organizer, Sasha – she’s the one who came up with the idea in the first place – has been practicing yoga for 15 years. But the Monday-night routine has given a whole new meaning to her practice:
“Yoga is an individual journey. With stoga, there’s a deeper level of bonding… It’s become a group journey. And you also get a night of partying with the girls!”
There you have it! Stoga bringing sisters closer together one joint at a time.
Do you puff and pass-ana?
[Mommyish Via The Hairpin]
——
Earlier…
I don’t get it. If you are doing yoga for better health physically or mentally, why would you smoke anything?
No thanks.
chill!
indian sadhu’s have been yoga-ing and meditating stoned for centuries. I like taking a little hit before yoga sometimes – it drops me into my body real quick. Not for purists, but then again, most of us alter our body chemistry with processed foods, artificial lighting, and electronic stimuli all day, so STOGA is a welcome respite…
Yoga Sutra IV.1: “The attainments brought about by integration may also arise at birth, through the use of herbs, from intonations or through austerity.” (Hartranft)
Walk through the door of whatever works, then expand from there. As long as you don’t try to repeat experiences, it’s a win!
Their kids, co-workers and partners likely appreciate this…
Hate to be the voice of reason – lord knows I’ve battled with puffing – but to that end, through history marijuana has destroyed many people, and even entire cultures, including Indian culture.
Scientifically, Marijuana actually reverses the flow of ojas in the body, blocking the rise of Kundalini energy. It also accumulates in the brain stem, and actually never leaves (unless you do a special banana fast). While users doing “stoga” – only a stoner would have thought that phrase was brilliant – may appear to be having a temporary opening of consciousness, it will soon be forgotten, and in the long run, it actually lowers your consciousness and blocks you from opening your higher centers (i.e. makes you say stupid stuff and act socially retarded).
Plus, that money spent on pot could be used to serve and help others, instead of supporting, well, what all drug money tends to support – bad juju stuff.
I don’t commend the avocation of this. Sure, I (think) I’ve had some great experiences on pot, but in reality, I get the very highest connecting to my totality and God. Pot, instead, creates duality and fantasy, especially when you don’t follow through on all your “great ideas” – which creates negative subconscious anchors in the brain. This in turn takes you away from God.
Yoga’s about commitment, character and being realistic. I don’t agree, or think pot fits into that long-term equation of growth, service and happiness.
Fateh (Victory) Singh (Lion).
You lost me (and your credibility) at “retarded”
Leo (Lion) Cazador (Hunter)
Dear Leo,
Perhaps I used this word incorrectly. To “retard” is a clinical term. What I meant by that is that marijuana acts to retard people’s social growth. This is a very well researched and documented detriment of the drug;
“There are good reasons to avoid chronic use of marijuana: It retards social development and motivation, learning and intellect; reduces fertility and sex drive; causes cancer, lung disease, birth defects, and miscarriages; retards growth; decreases body weight, and causes physical dependence. ”
– Mary P. Andersen, M.S.
Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Environmental Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo. 65212
As far as any decisions on my credibility, you are free to make any decision you want. And certainly, God blessing, you are free to believe what you want to believe.
Best to you.
FS
Dear Fateh,
You Da’ Man.
Life’s not about speculation. If it were then we would just blame the universe for everything…
Truth speaks loudly, are we willing to hear it?
JV
Thankfully the people that do this aren’t looking for your approval. And especially not approval from some fictional god you have invented in your own mind to make yourself feel better about your pointless life.
Megs!!
You put a smile on my face. I’m actually sorry you feel this way, but it’s an affirmation for me to actually work harder to be kind, caring and uplifting to people.
Just remember one thing – the words you use to harm other people end up harming you, more than others.
I will forget about you within half a day… But the words you used will continue on forever, and you’ll have to live with that.
It’s something to consider… In your perspective, your life and what you say is in your hands, alone. I choose a different perspective; We are all One. And with you and your opinion included that makes us whole.
Bless you.
FS
“If you cannot see God in all, you cannot see God at all”.
Stop being so serious, have a little fun!
I am thrilled to see this article. I thought I was the only one!! Yoga is amazing stoned. I am able to relax and find myself in the moment exponentially faster. Many of my most intense yoga experiences, those times when I’m able to go inside and learn, have been during these practices. As contradictory as it might seem, I’m much more in tune with my breath and I remember to breath slower. Doing a restorative practice stoned is a transcending experience. And let’s not forget that marijuana has been illegal and a social taboo for only about 100 years. Yoga has been around for over 1000.
Sloane
You are most definitely no the only one. It’s the best way to practice for me.
Wow. I don’t know what to say.
wouldn’t they pass out in svasasana?
don’t Bogart that joint.
Damn hippies!!!
I don’t smoke, but I could see how marijuana could enhance one’s yoga. Marijuana is an amazing plant, and much less harmful than nearly any other “recreational” drug, especially compared to alcohol and cigarettes.
I don’t believe for a moment Fateh Singh’s assertions about marijuana blocking one’s energy. Different people will have different experiences with a substance like this, but marijuana is well-known as positive in many arenas, physical, emotional and mental. I’ll never forget the lecture on marijuana in my biochemistry course. The professor put up a list of the myriad ailments that marijuana relieves, including depression, anxiety, cancer, glaucoma, and fibromyalgia- and this is just a small sampling!
In any case, I think it’s an interesting idea, and I could see easily how some people could benefit amazingly from it. I have to agree though that smoking is contrary to the nature of yoga- why block your breath!? THC can be absorbed in many forms, perhaps the simplest is ingesting it- smoking it might be the “classic” way but I don’t believe that yogis will benefit.
You’ll also hear people say they drive better when they are drunk because they are more careful.
Stoned yoga doesn’t leave people dead in the middle of the road or brutally disfigured. Drunk driving does.
You’re not harming anyone else and if they feel it brings them to a better attainment of yoga then why not? If that’s not how your yogic journey swings then that’s great. Doesn’t mean judgement should be put on them.
Well, your reaction suggests that, perhaps, the several points embedded in my terse comment eluded you somewhat. I’ll try to brief, but undoubtedly it’ll be longer than I want. First, if people want to get stoned and do yoga, so be it. But don’t try to convince people that you “totally rocked crow” while high. Self-reports of competence by people under the influence of a psycho-active drug are, well, I’ll just say they are unreliable (there is plenty of evidence of a higher quality that the “self-reporters” are entirely wrong about their perceived increase in abilities while high). Second, stoned yoga is likely a danger to the person practicing it. If someone wants to take a drug that might affect their ability to comprehend whether they have pushed your body too far in a pose and then proceed to do yoga, go for it. Just don’t try to justify it by somehow indicating that it’s good for you, particularly when there is good evidence that MJ is bad for you. Third, (getting to the drunk driving point), I’m guessing they all spend the night, so they won’t drive home under the influence, right? Perhaps stoned yoga *does* leave dead people in the road (unless they totally drive better when high). Fourth, if Stoga devotees are concerned about the ethical ramifications of their behaviour (given the yogic debates of vegetarianism, eco-mats, etc. this is not such a large assumption), I cannot see how they could be blind to the fact that their drug purchases directly and indirectly cause great violence in our society and others. Mexico is practically overrun in some areas by drug cartels, fueled by, yes, to some extent, money spent for pot. I wont’ even get to how drug money crowds out other forms of investment that could be used to build a sustainable economic infrastructure for some of the countries afflicted by the drug trade. Eh, that’s enough for now. The fact that my yogic journey does not “swing that way” does not mean I have to be blindly accepting of what someone else does.
Perfect point David. “Liked”.
This is interesting. So much good is happening on those Monday nights: fellowship, yoga, friendship, stress relief. It makes me look at the marijuana component differently. I don’t understand marijuana and I haven’t tried it, because I was adequately scared into believing it would ruin my life.
It seems to me that some people are opened by it while others use it to numb themselves. I suppose it is no different than asanas, in that sense.
I may have to research the benfits of cannabis so I’m not so ignorant.
I like your comment Embee! You seem so kind, open minded yet unbiased, and interested in research 🙂 Not saying that other comments aren’t also interesting to read. I don’t see what’s wrong with blind acceptance of others. I hate smoking cigarettes but about one every five years I’ll crave one. I love my friends who smoke cigarettes. I often wonder how and if their personalities would change if they stop smoking. I agree with the idea of personalized medicine, to an extent… to the extent that we see people as persons instead of people. I’m paraphrasing a kidney doctor from Vermont on that. He might have been stoned but I don’t want to inflict upon him to a geographical bias.
PS MOST YOGIS ARE TOO SERIOUS. I don’t understand what all the fuss is about. No offense. Not to sound judgmental. Some persons who perform yoga asanas seem to be extremely serious all the time. Some do not quite so much. Because if being serious makes many persons/yogis so happy…. then I blindly accept them for that, as strange as it is to me 🙂
The more I think about this article the more I realize that it is not about yoga at all. It is about a bunch of women who are using yoga as an excuse to use an unhealthy substance that provides them a temporary escape from their demanding stressful lives.
Fateh Singh is right. It’s a fantasy.
I see the US government’s disinformation campaign against the weed has worked successfully… how many of you haters drink diet coke?
No thanks. I’ll continue practicing yoga without the need to get stoned.
This debate has a myriad of origins; legal, ethical, scientific, emotional, mental and so on. From the legal and ethical standpoint: Marijuana is not illegal because it is a gateway drug. Marijuana is illegal because it can be easily cultivated to achieve maximum amounts of tetrahydracannibinol. Because it can be easily cultivated and consumed with very little if any refinement necessary, it would be most difficult for the government to regulate. It is scientific fact that cigarettes and alcohol are legal because not just your average joe can produce great tasting and popular whiskey, or add addictive carcinogens to tobacco products. These traits make them easily regulated and help secure revenue for the government via taxation. Now, telling me something is unethical because it is illegal, given the above information, holds no water for me. Because of this, the legal debate in my mind at least, is negated. By the way, I’m not a proponent of pot, nor am I against it. I choose not to smoke it because I don’t like the risk of breaking the law (valid or not) and because the effects of THC hold no real epic experience for me.
As far as yoga in its purest form and pot somehow corrupting that, I believe that each side has a valid point. The issue on one side is that “hey, I’m not hurting you, and I truly believe that the euphoria raises my consciousness, so that’s why I do it”. The other side is that yoga and indeed the entire lifestyle and atmosphere of yoga is one of purity, and weed does, no matter what anyone says, dirty the mind and lungs. When I say dirty the mind, it is in a metaphorical sense. It is not a permanent change, just a temporary skewing of perspectives via chemical introduction. When I say dirty the body, I don’t know if pot causes cancer, but as a former avid smoker of it, I can attest to the tar and coughing that accompanies its use.
I will say this though. Most avid, multiple-times-a-day users that I know live paycheck to paycheck and are very socially awkward. Most of the people that I know that only indulge once in a while in small amounts are easier for me to get along with than the super conservative types that “have never, will never”.
I don’t know yoga, but I do know marijuana and the different sects of users. People that have to be high to heighten most experiences are really crippling their minds. People that utterly refuse to try things, at least just once, are suppressing their potential for fun and adventure.
I say if these ladies are housewives with not much to lose if they get caught, and it augments their experience, then so be it. Big deal. There is one sentiment I agree with though. “Stoga” is so unimaginative that it hurts.
Jake.. Dude.. You need to do some yoga.
Haha Fateh. Agreed.
Let’s be honest about the “tradition.” Most yoga taught in the US is a far cry from traditional yoga as practiced for thousands of years in India. On one hand, I could easily say that having music (even soft electro-kirtan or whatever) playing detracts from mindfulness; and that modern forms of yoga are perversions of the original. I can’t imagine how Bikram’s yoga could possibly benefit a Pitta individual, and I can’t imagine anything less mindful than a room of sweaty Spandex-clad, fake-boobed, hair-dyed Lexus-driving narcissists pounding their joints into submission with “power” yoga. IMHO, smoking a joint and doing yoga is far closer to tradition than what most practice.
Sure, that’s an opinion you’re welcome to have. That doesn’t mean it’s proper, or healthy. You want authentic? Sit on your own, with yourself, and figure it all out by yourself. See you in 2,000 years.
Or, in my humble opinion, you (the universal you, including everyone else) gets off the couch and out of the gyms and finds something authentic – like Kundalini Yoga which is really authentic, deep, and very spiritual, which incidentally is why it’s one of the smallest and least popular(ized) forms of yoga in the US.
You don’t need pot for any of that. Yoga is supposed to challenge you to get over your ego; don’t indulge your weak side… Life is too short. Blessings.
“Don’t indulge your weak side.” Very well put. Everyone wants their vices to be virtues instead of conceding that they might actually be vices.
This is also a very valid point. Everyone seeks justification for their vices and also pushes the point in an attempt to totally vindicate the topic so that it becomes not a vice at all. I’m a cigarette smoker, and I hate it. Unfortunately, my addiction is very strong and extremely difficult for me to kick. I tell myself when I fall off the wagon after an attempt to quit that “it’s just the stress, I can quit again no problem” or “I can only smoke when I drink, which is seldom”. All of these feeble and futile excuses serve only one purpose; to alleviate guilt for giving into a weakness. Good stuff, Fateh.
Jake,
You’re not alone. Cigarettes are really tough to quit! It took me 9-10 tries… But if you are serious about quitting and want to help yourself, then do a Google search for “medical meditation for habituation”.
I quit pot after doing this meditation 40 days. I know women who quit eating disorders on it, and I know drug addicts, smokers and even sex addicts who have used it to drop their addictions.
Do it everyday for 40 days at 5-7 minutes per day and get back to me if it helped you. Be strong. Be committed. You were not born a smoker.
I love cigarette smokers, if that makes you feel any better Jake. I feel like if we die before we’re ready and when we’re doing stupid things… there are benevolent God-like universal forces that will allow us to be reincarnated so naught is lost. Doesn’t yoga teach that? I feel like it’s hard to be ‘healthy’ with that attitude. Being healthy generally feels better than being sick so that’s as good of motivation as any?
The worst part about cigarettes, I think, is that they kill you and waste money… what are we supposed to die of, old age, good health, and too much money?? Is this a ‘bad’ attitude? 🙂
Both still can be done afterall toning up and smoking dope normally arent done together esp.as yoga encourages 1 to breathe properly.Especially in pilates yoga try taking a puff whilst doing that!!
Really what a load of ole moaners.
Mr. Singh,
Where exactly did you get your degree and what field is it in? The “facts” you profess have no basis in scientific fact whatsoever. Marijuana has been legalized in many states for medical treatment and the many advantages have been well documented. Before you ask, I do happen to have an advance degree, a PhD in biochemistry. It seems strange to me that someone who seems open minded would actually be so closed minded and even insulting (“only a stoner would think stoga is original”). You really are not representing yourself nor your beliefs in a very positive light.
Perhaps reading a bit more outside of your biased literature would provide you with a more well rounded perspective on the world. Just because it isn’t right for you doesn’t mean you should dictate what works for others or dominate a chat board with your personal philosophies. One comment, thank you for sharing. A torrent of comments, you just look like a radical who can’t be quiet long enough to learn or respect others. Asian philosophies advocate listening more than you speak. Think about it…
ALW, you tell a nice story. But I don’t subscribe to it for even a moment. Thank you for sharing. Now, this hardworking daddy’s gotta get back to my boys and start doing some “advantageous” all night blowga until the sun comes up.
You are completely wrong and I’m completely right. I am completely right because I went to a school and graduated with a degree. Trust me, I wouldn’t anonymously post on the internet and propose an argument to authority, suggesting myself as the authority, unless it was appropriate. Therefore, I decree that I am right and you are wrong, and I can’t be bothered to attempt to support my assertions by either specifics or proof.
Further, I am a better person that you. Some day, you will read the information I approve of and you will be what I will label well rounded. I won’t tell you what this material is or what it says, but trust me because I’m right.
Once you read the right things and get some kind of degree that I like, you will be open minded if you agree with me. You see, no one could possibly be open minded and yet reject my beliefs because I’m right … and open minded. The only way to be open minded is if you agree with me. No one could possibly read what I’ve read and disagree with me because I’m right. Once you read what I tell you, go to school at some place I approve, and agree with me, you will be morally superior, like me.
Besides, would a pot smoker steer you wrong about pot?
Lol! So right-eous.
He’s talking about. You.
Um, no abbi. Re-read…
He’s making fun of you, dummy.
Lol. So right-eous.
special banana fast??
Glad you asked Mark. It’s a 3 day monofast which was given by my teacher as “the only way to get the residuals of pot out of the brain”. Take the fast like this: 3 bananas with 1 raw cardamom seed per meal. 3 meals per day. 3 days. eat the strings of the banana too. You can drink water or light spice tea with it. Cardamom raw chewed is a bit rough on the gums. Brush well after or blend all together with water. There’s also a special meditation for clearing marijuana from the brain stem which could go with it but its not required. I also have one for breaking addictions to do if one is still addicted. Email me.
Yikes Fateh. That 3 day fast is quite traumatizing to the body (as are all so-called “fasts”). Depriving the body of required vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins, etc is never good.
Although smoking pot is not my thing, a doobie once in a while is not going to cause any harm. Chill dude.
Dear Sam, who gets his information from High Times…
Thanks. What a newsflash! Screw written history, religion, yoga, and volumes of modern scientific research – the new dietary paradigm according to you; chowing down a Big Mac and big gulp, downing a hash brownie, and inhaling carcinogens are the new essential “vitamins and minerals” which are serving humans perfectly well, and will do just fine for generations to come… What a relief!
– Fateh (will never) “Chill dude” Singh
Dear Fateh,
Firstly, I’m a she (as in Samantha) 🙂
Secondly, when did I say anything about Big Mac, hash browns, etc?
And no, I never once said that you can get vitamins and minerals from smoking pot. I merely pointed out that having a joint once in a while will not kill you. Calm down.
BTW: modern scientific research does tell us that eccentric, radical diets and fasts, such as the one you proposed, do more harm then good.
Cheers,
Sam
Samantha,
You can do whatever you like, but to say it’s traumatizing to the body and speaking in absolutes like “never” good for the body, without any experience or backing it up with research just sounds like opinion. I don’t really have much further to discuss about this…
Religions (jews, muslims, christians), yogis, cleanses, detoxes, modern science and historical evidence shows that fasting has been used and continues to be used in healthy ways, for spiritual growth, and for purification for thousands of years.
It may be contentious for some, and there’s research on both sides to show some advantages and disadvantages, but there’s no absolutes.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/04/regular-fasting-may-boost-heart-health/
Fateh
Additionally, in nature, animals mono-fast all the time. I’ve done several mono-fasts, and I’m a skinny pitta who doesn’t ever do straight-up fasts… and they have felt fantastic. Meditation on them too, has been absolutely wonderful. Yogis actually recommend fasting in general twice per month on the full and new moons… And in fact, you are fasting every night when you go to sleep… That’s why in the morning when you wake up you are having “break-fast”.
It’s my opinion that the body wasn’t made to be filled with food all the time – we overindulge ourselves with a constant numbness of food intake and satisfaction of our urges. It’s good to cleanse and taste just air and heighten our senses… I’ve tried eating… In fact, I do it 2,3,4 times per day! Boring. Why *not* give not eating a try once in a while?
Fateh,
Again you read your own biases into my (and others’) posts. When I used the word “never” I was referring to diets or fasts that last several days (or even weeks). I said depriving the body of nutrients for that long is never healthy. I did not say someone fasting from sunrise to sunset (for example Ramadan) was never good.
If you can provide actual scientific data to back up your claim that a 3 day banana diet is healthy please provide a link. Otherwise, stop giving out unhealthy nutritional advice on this blog. As a yoga teacher I am quite concerned how many of my teacher peers feel qualified to hand out unsolicited nutritional advice. For some reason, some teachers feel a 200 hr certificate in yoga makes them food experts. And don’t get me started on Kundalini teachers…..
Not cool.
Everyone seeks yoga for different reasons. If they are happy with the results, then so be it. It may or may not be healthy, but not everyone is seeking a pristine, “healthy” lifestyle.
I have known people who eat fast-food before doing yoga while others won’t ever touch a food that has even been cooked. We should be careful to avoid assuming that the path that is best for one individual is best for another.
K, now let’s start doing blowga.
Do a few lines of blow and rock the surya namaskara.
That would be so funny!
…except weed is not comparable to blow. Sorry!
Wonderful!
thank you one and all for these comments- and the article, of course! We are all different and all the same, I love the courage and guts reflected here and the gift of a good laugh you all just gave me!
Namaste
Regine
Bwahahaha @ Fallacious Reasoning. You’s a puuuuuuuure genius. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen something so poignant and full of hilarity.
Yikes Fateh. That 3 day fast will cause more harm to the body than good. Along with shocking/traumatizing the body, depriving it of vital vitamins, minerals, amino acids and protein is not healthy. In fact, all the so-called “fasts” (eg. 40 day beet diet) can be downright dangerous.
Although I am not a pot smoker (tried it in my younger days. Meh), having the odd doobie is not going to hurt anyone. Chill due.
Fateh, this is what you sound like “I am right you are wrong!! And stupid!”
“Humble” is not the word I would describe you with. We all have an opinion, and most of us like smoking pot and live pretty good lives anyway. So if you get a rush from arguing online, go for it, but otherwise you just look like a jerk.
Thanks Abbi. Keep doing what you are doing. Bless you.
Abbi, Don’t lump us together by saying “Most of us like to smoke pot”. Some of us want to, and enjoy leading a drug free life. Simply being high on life enough. I don’t need to be stoned! Yoga is the high.
Anyone know where I could score a sack of the purple hairy stuff? Kidding. Lighten up everyone. Newsflash: stress is terrible for the body and conflict and resentment and hostility inspires loads of stress and angst. We can all co-exist; weed-loving stretchy bendy types and hardcore flush-your-system-till-your-poo-is-transparent types alike.
Thanks Jake! LOL! So true.
I think Ben Harper says it best…
My choice is what I choose to do
And if I’m causing no harm
It shouldn’t bother you
Your choice is who you choose to be
And if you’re causin’ no harm
Then you’re alright with me
If you don’t like my fire
Then don’t come around
Cause I’m gonna burn one down
I imagine she’s not the only one
No, these people aren’t the only ones…and if truth be told, there are HUNDREDS of natural flowers, herbs, weeds and seeds that have been smoked for CENTURIES to attain higher levels of consciousness and spiritualism.
It’s a never ending battle legally because once the do-gooders protest and make a big stink and the mj is removed, its easily replaced. It would be unwise to think that the government should remove all fruits, veggies, herbs and spices as well as flowers, plants and seeds, lol! Live and let live!! You don’t like it? Don’t do it!
Could not agree with you more… as you say: Live and let live! You don’t like it? Don’t do it!
Simple as that.
guys, seriously… who the fuck are you to judge someones time of relaxing. You’re telling them it’s not relaxing… when clearly they enjoy it… you morons.
when i read this…. i was upset, then i laughed. Simply because this is as retarded as arguing about weither or not you wipe your ass standing or seated. Grow up…
3 Day Banana Diet? Marijuana staying in the brain stem?
Fateh Singh, that is ludicrous lol. It’s scary that people believe these COMPLETELY unfounded assertions, and even scarier that they might pass this information onto others. Marijuana, well specifically THC (the psychoactive chemical that makes you high) does not stay in your brain. Yes, it is a fat soluble chemical and can be found in trace amount in your system (the reason they are able to detect you have used it even months after use).
As for your nutrition advice…
Doing a 3 day banana only diet is a horrid idea.
Your body needs a balanced array of nutrients to work efficiently(read any nutrition textbook).
Participating in one of those radical diets is never a good idea.
While it may not outright kill you, it’s not recommended for your health.
Guys I smoked marijuana and I grew an extra foot
Personally, I don’t smoke and haven’t used cannabis myself.
But, there is certainly a long history of it among the sadhus in India, and I believe it’s even attributed to Shiva (i.e., that shiva uses it), and while I doubt these women are of the same mind or coming from the same perspective as that lot, I can’t really see an issue with it either way.
I mean, to an extent, it’s no different than juice-fasting-and-yoga or chocolate-and-yoga or wine-and-yoga or beer-and-yoga or tapas-and-yoga or whatever else, honestly.
So, while I don’t do any of the things listed above, I see no direct harm in doing them, and figure, “to each their own.”