It’s been a weird couple of days. I have had all sorts of nervous energy and anxiety…I don’t want to call them panic attacks, but rather feelings of intense dread for no reason. Sometimes my mind races. It kind of feels like a ball of energy heating up at my center and moving up the top of my body. I think this nervous energy is the cause of my insomnia as well.

I notice that I have been ‘holding’ my breath a lot and have been tense or fidgety for no reason. I have been doing some of the stress relaxation techniques and deep breathing drills which are actually working ! I haven’t experienced the marijuana withdrawal anxiety before to this severity.  Usually it was only mental, but the physical withdrawal symptoms from cannabis are discomforting. I need to bleed off more stress during this beginning transition phase.  With the right stress management program, the stress and anxiety from marijuana withdrawal can be minimized.

Quitting Marijuana can cause anxiety in some people, but I don’t know how long it is supposed to last, and what to expect. Needless to say, the last couple of days have NOT been fun. I got about 6 hours of solid sleep. Normally I wake up a lot during the night, but this was a nice uninterrupted rest.

Only one dream of note so far, all I remember is being hit in the liver by something, then someone I knew (don’t know who) hitting me in the same spot.

This is the last post in this weeks series of posts on relaxation techniques for helping cope with the stress associated with marijuana withdrawal. A couple commentators, Meggers and Tani, have both recommended yoga for stress relief and a great nights sleep.

Yoga is an ancient path to spiritual growth, and originates out of India where hinduism is practiced. The practice and goal of yoga dates back to the Upanishads, written between 1000-5000 BC.

I have only performed one type of Yoga sequence before, and I think it is perfect for beginners. The Sun Salutation is a sequence of 12 movements that can be performed quickly whenever you need a boost. I just did a set to try it out – I like it. It feels more physically demanding than the moving meditation relaxation technique and gets the blood flowing quickly.

Click Here for the Sun Salutation Exercise

I came across deep relaxation audio tape that I liked and thought I should share it. The first few days of withdrawal from smoking weed are always the hardest for me, so I am building up a nice list of relaxation and distraction techniques to help me get through the cravings and other marijuana withdrawal symptoms.

You will need RealPlayer to play the files. One of the files is 6 minutes, and the other is 20 minutes.

Click Here for the Deep Relaxation audio recording

Do any of you have specific techniques you would like to share? If you do, please leave a comment or contact me!

Todays relaxation technique is one that I learned from an old roommate of mine, he used to perform this technique when he couldn’t fall asleep. This is a great exercise for marijuana withdrawal when you have insomnia. I struggle with insomnia when during the first couple days that I stop smoking weed.

The exercise is called “Muscle Tension and Relaxation”. It is very easy to do – you simply tense up, then relax certain muscle groups in your body.

If you practice this regularly, you will get to know your body better and have a good understanding what tension and relaxation feel like in your body. Relaxing your body also helps to relax your mind. You can combine this exercise with deep breathing to get rid of any more stress.

I like to start at the feet, then work their way up to the face. The exercise is the same for each body part

Instructions:

• Get comfortable.
• Take a moment to relax, breathing in and out in slow, deep breaths.
• Once relaxed, shift your attention to your right foot. Feel your awareness in your foot then slowly tense the muscles. Squeeze as tightly as you can while counting to 10.
• Relax your right foot. Feel the tension flowing away from your foot as it becomes limp, loose and relaxed.
• Take a deep breath and continue to relax your foot.
• Follow the same sequence for your left foot.

Starting from the feet, move slowly up each muscle group in your body. Here is an example pattern:

• Right / Left Foot
• Right calf / Left calf
• Right thigh /Left thigh
• Hips and buttocks
• Stomach / Abdominals
• Lower Back
• Chest
• Upper Back and Trapezoids
• Right / Left Arm and Hand
• Neck and shoulders
• Face

I hope you enjoy this exercise and it helps you get to sleep when you are going through marijuana withdrawal. Insomnia is very common when you quit, so remember you are not alone and you can be proactive when dealing with insomnia, anxiety, or other weed withdrawal issues.

This is my second post in this weeks series of relaxation techniques to help bleed off some of the stress associated with quitting weed. We will be looking at a chi-kung technique from the falun-dafa school in China. I have practiced this technique and found that the more I practiced and ‘knew’ the exercise, the more relaxing and rejuvenating it became.

This video clip is about 8 minutes long and guides you through the moving meditation called “Buddha Showing 1000 Hands”.
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I will be performing this exercise daily. I recommend doing three complete sets of the exercise once per day. You will get the most benefit out of this technique by going slowly, and really learning the steps and body movement. Even though you aren’t moving much, there is good chance you will sweat a lot….You are sweating out your stress and toxins, so enjoy it!For more information on these and other Falun Dafu exercises, visit the Falun Dafa website