4 | MARCH 18 - 24, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
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Clark University student brings yoga to new level with ganja Monica Sager Special to Worcester Telegram & Gazette USA TODAY NETWORK
WORCESTER — At the onset of the pandemic, Clark University student and certifi ed yoga instructor, Melanie Adams couldn’t make herself practice on her mat. With so much going on in her life — from being forced to go back home to leaving her friends behind and even trying to circumnavigate a virtual world — yoga wasn’t taking priority for Adams. Her solution? Ganja yoga. In October of 2020, Adams earned her certifi cation in ganja yoga, making her one of only of two yoga teachers in Massachusetts trained to teach cannabisenhanced yoga. “This is a great activity because cannabis and yoga pair so well with some improved fl exibility, and for some people their balance can improve,” Adams said. “People really get into the fl ow of it more. It takes away the obstacle or the boundary of the mind.” Adams, who works at Worcester’s Mayfl ower Medicinals at 645 Park Ave., ensures that the cannabis she shares with her classes is safe and high quality. “I just want to make sure everyone’s having a good time,” Adams said. “It’s very important to know how to safely guide people through this practice. I was able to apply everything I already knew from being a yoga teacher and from teaching for almost three years at this point.” People, who must be over 21, join her for the inviteonly, two-hour class on her porch where they pass around a pre-roll or bong at the start. Adams also of-
“This is a great activity because cannabis and yoga pair so well with some improved flexibility, and for some people their balance can improve,” says Melanie Adams. COURTESY MELANIE ADAMS
fers edibles that are generally 70 to 80 mg, such as Lucky Charm marshmallow treats or blondies, that she makes herself in the shape of a heart. Students pay for the yoga portion of the event and not for the cannabis, ensuring that Adams and everyone present are heeding the law. The group sits around and smokes for around a half hour, listening to a collaborative playlist, before they move to Adams’ fenced-in backyard and lay their mats out in rows to begin their hour-long practice with a 15minute meditation to end it all. Adams, who is a senior at Clark studying psycholo-
gy, mentioned a Sanskrit phrase, “this is what occurs when the mind ceases turning,” that becomes center in a ganja yoga practice. “I want to help people to unlock that state of almost enlightenment, where they’re not as focused on all their obligations and worries that they usually carry,” Adams said. “This is a space where they can escape all of that, even if it’s just for a little while.” For Adams, she said the hardest part of ganja yoga is remembering what she did on one side of the body in See YOGA, Page 5
