Posts tagged with "physical health"

yoga illustration by Heather Skovlund for use by 360 Magazine

How an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Helped Me to Overcome PTSD

By Beth Lauren, certified Ayurveda Wellness Counselor, founder of Sangha NYC and author of Reeling: Misadventures in Moviemaking, Money and Love

It can be challenging to assess how the mind contributes to a person’s overall physical health. Still, the mind-body connection is now widely accepted by Western medical traditions as it has been by Eastern medicine for centuries.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric condition that can occur in people who have experienced a traumatic event such as combat, a severe accident, or sexual assault. Studies have shown that the hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD may also put a survivor in a constant state of stress and anxiety. It’s common knowledge that both put tremendous strain on a person’s body, increasing the risk for physical health problems including cardiovascular disease, asthma, chronic pain, sleep apnea, and a host of gastrointestinal disorders.

The mind and body work together in both harmony and disharmony. For years PTSD troubled my mind and continued its descent through my body, resulting in bouts of IBS, sleep apnea, and insomnia. PTSD was my enduring legacy as a rape survivor. I was just 12 years old at the time of my assault. I would be 46 when I first began to process this violent and painful experience that was too much for both my brain and body to handle for 34 years.

Five years later, I became an Ayurveda Wellness Counselor and adopted the daily routine, or dinacharya, an Ayurvedic lifestyle recommends practitioners follow. And now, at the age of 55, I’m experiencing the best mental and physical health of my life.

Ayurveda is an ancient healing system. Using a holistic approach, Ayurveda balances manas (mind), shareera (body), and atma (soul) for optimal health. The goal of practitioners is not merely to prevent and cure disease but to focus on optimizing physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being. Managing both mind and body together is the approach needed to treat symptoms of PTSD successfully.

Ayurveda also offers a personalized methodology that is well-suited for treating the individual needs of those who have PTSD. No one’s pain is the same. How trauma manifests in the body can be affected by climate, pre-existing health issues, age, genetics – so many factors.

An Ayurvedic way of living: diet, daily routine, yoga, and meditation 

On my journey, I found that I wanted my body and soul to follow once my mind was free from suffering. I began by paying close attention to how my eating habits affected my mood, digestion, and weight. It wasn’t just what I put into my body, but when I ate—the time of day and my state of mind when I was eating contributed to my malfunctioning digestion. Emotional eating was an issue for me, as it is for so many survivors, especially women. How many television shows and movies have we all seen where the heroine soothes her broken heart with a pint of ice cream?

In Ayurveda, food is medicine, not a consolation prize. Choosing foods that are in harmony with the season, grown locally, and favor one’s dosha—the energetic force of nature that comprises one’s unique body constitution—is essential for following an Ayurvedic lifestyle. I also found that eating primarily hot cooked foods and adding warming spices such as turmeric, cardamom, cumin, and cinnamon nourished my body and brain.

The more I learned about what an Ayurvedic lifestyle could offer, the more it seemed intuitive. Simple adjustments such as having my largest meal for lunch instead of dinner made sense to me. Why wouldn’t I give my body as much waking time as possible to digest heavy foods?

Digestive strength is paramount in Ayurveda. Maintaining strong agni or digestive power supports the body’s immunity, and a robust immune system is essential for managing daily stressors. Digesting doesn’t just apply to nutrition. We are constantly digesting our thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Healthy agni is key to a calm and peaceful state of mind, so all three don’t overwhelm us.

My daily practice includes 1-2 cups of Cumin, Coriander, Fennel (CCF) tea, a traditional Ayurvedic blend that supports digestion and gently detoxifies the liver. CCF’s calming and cooling qualities work well with all constitutions.

Several Ayurvedic herbs nourish and calm the brain and body, but the one I recommend as the most productive is ashwagandha.

A powerful herb in Ayurvedic healing, ashwagandha has been used in India for centuries for a wide variety of conditions, including stress, anxiety, insomnia, joint pain – the list is endless, and it includes some of the most common PTSD symptoms. In Ayurveda, specific herbs are adaptogens, which help the body cope with external stresses such as toxins in the environment and internal stresses such as anxiety and insomnia. Ashwagandha is one of them.

Yoga is so much more than a way to stretch and strengthen muscles. Daily practice can provide mental clarity and peace, providing a spiritual and psychological foundation for Ayurveda. It’s no mystery why certification as an Ayurveda Wellness Counselor includes a yoga module. For me, slow-paced yoga postures such as paschimottasana (seated forward bend pose) and matsyendrasana (half spinal twist pose) help to keep me calm and relaxed.

Given that the mind-body connection is fundamental to Ayurveda, it’s evident that meditation would be, like yoga, an integral component of its practice. Meditation helps us to attain awareness and harmony by experiencing inner calm and deep relaxation. While the violence I survived will always produce lingering feelings and thoughts resulting in anxiety, sadness, and eyes that fill with tears, all those emotions are less charged now. Those memories no longer imprison my body and brain. I can honestly write that a 5,000-year-old modality has been a massive part of my recovery, and for that, I am very grateful.

ABOUT BETH LAUREN

Beth Lauren spent over a decade in the film industry as a writer, producer, and director. She poignantly and humorously documents the devastating journey to produce her second feature in her memoir, Reeling: Misadventures in Moviemaking, Money, and Love. Beth wrote and produced the feature film, Fairytale of New York, which premiered at the New Filmmakers Series 2000 in NYC. She wrote, produced, and directed the short films: Immaculate Concoction and Getting Ned, in addition to co-producing and consulting on several plays and short films.

She is a certified Ayurveda Wellness Counselor and is the owner of Sangha NYC, where she offers virtual and in-person Ayurvedic counseling services and products. Sangha NYC enjoys a partnership with Nirogam, one of India’s largest and most trusted suppliers of Ayurvedic medicines. Beth is the Well-Tech World Summit organizer, which will take place in Dublin, Ireland, in March 2022.

health via 360 Magazine for use by 360 Magazine

New Latinx Community Studies

 Leading Latino digital media company mitú, in partnership with premier multicultural marketing and communications agency The MRKT, released the first of a series of studies titled The mitú InTell Series. The studies aim to gain and socialize insights on the current state of the U.S. Hispanic community while digging deeper into their motivations and behaviors behind topics ranging from health and wellness to finance, sports, food, commerce, and travel.

“As a digital media brand that has stood for Latinx representation for 10 years, mitú has conversations with millions of Latinos daily. This interaction and our editorial process allows us to gather signals and real-world concerns from our audience to develop insights not only on what our community is thinking, but also why, and to do so while the topics are still actionable and timely,” said President of mitú, Stephen Brooks. “Ultimately we feel a responsibility to not only share these insights, but to give a voice to our audience.”

Both mitú and The MRKT are inherently able to provide insights into the state of the U.S. Hispanic population both from a macro, public perspective and at an interpersonal scale, allowing them to uncover nuances and evaluate the community from a unique point of view not seen before. 

“As a leading multicultural marketing and communications agency, our team lives and breathes the experiences that permeate the cultural zeitgeist within our community, making the issues that affect the U.S. Hispanic community incredibly evident to us. It is with that real-world and professional experience that we help create these studies which we hope enable other entities and organizations to identify the most current needs of the U.S. Latino population and bring us closer to a future where our community is fully seen and heard.” said President of The MRKT, Marcos Barron.

This first online quantitative study – conducted by a third party, HyperFocus ROI, with a sample size of 1,000 U.S. Hispanics–consisted of evaluating participants for their various attitudes, perceptions and behaviors across a number of demographic segments relative to the broader topic of health & wellness. Four key areas under this topic–medical, mental health, fitness, and nutrition–were evaluated across key audience segments broken out by age, income, gender, and country of origin.

While specific insights relative to each of these four areas were uncovered across the various audience segments, mental health emerged as the most common denominator, garnering the highest overall importance ratings when compared with the other three subcategories, with 65% of all respondents rating mental health as very important. Notably, mental health has declined across all segments of the U.S. Latino population vs. two years ago.

 Additional key findings include:

  • U.S. born Latinos are reporting health issues that affect multiple generations at nearly twice the rate as non U.S. born Latinos.
  • 37% of the Latinos surveyed report that the #1 reason they don’t have a primary care physician is their financial situation, with non U.S. born Latinos expressing this as a barrier with even more frequency at a rate of 46%. 
  • Latinos in the lowest income bracket (earning under $49K) are rating all of the health subcategories (medical, mental health, fitness, nutrition) as being somewhat/not at all important to them. However, there are some key barriers and reasons that surfaced on why they may not be placing importance on their health when compared to the other groups.
  • Out of the four subcategories, Latinos aren’t placing as much importance on fitness even though their reported habits are demonstrating that they are exercising at higher rates when compared to two years ago, with 45% stating that they are exercising more often.

For more key insights and to read the full study, click HERE

About mitú

Mitú is the leading digital media company representing the Latino point of view among consumers 18-44. Through our multiple touch points in video, editorial, social media and commerce, we connect brands, content buyers, and creators to the massive community of Latino consumers in America. Our audience is the 200%, 100% American and 100% Latino, who inspire us to create authentic, culturally relevant stories. We reach a massive, cross-cultural audience across a variety of social and O&O platforms. Mitú is a GoDigital Media Group company headquartered in Los Angeles, CA with operations in New York, Miami, Chicago, Mexico, Colombia, Belarus, Sri Lanka and South Korea. 

About The MRKT

The MRKT is the full-service multicultural marketing and communications division of Terry Hines & Associates (THA), a leading entertainment-marketing firm for over 40 years. The MRKT offers a comprehensive approach to creating narratives and experiences that connect clients to diverse, multicultural demographics via culture and lifestyle, over stereotypes and assumptions. The MRKT specializes in reaching Latinx, African American, and AAPI consumers and executes campaigns with both a national and local footprint, all infused with cultural resonance, across several disciplines including: PR, social media, influencer marketing, experiential, grassroots, and creative (print, digital, AV) on behalf of some of the largest entertainment and consumer brands in the world.

Medical illustration by Heather Skovlund for 360 Magazine

Why kicking an addiction is more than just quitting

Why kicking an addiction is more than just quitting; the importance of self-improvement to recovery

Regardless of what someone becomes addicted to, be it drugs, food, or a computer game, there are usually underlying causes that have led to the addiction developing. So, it makes sense that when the addict chooses to try and break their addiction, it is not just the addiction that needs to be addressed but also the underlying causes. Without doing this, the person is far more likely to fall back into their habit. Thankfully there are many routes to self-improvement that can be used in the fight to overcome addiction.

Talking therapy can be a valuable tool for uncovering deep-seated issues that have eroded a person’s confidence and mental health and pushed them into escapism that became a dangerous addiction. Whether you choose to use a psychologist or a trained counselor, they will work to improve your mental health, giving you much-needed strength to break that addiction. Therapists are also there for you once you’ve broken the addiction but are perhaps still struggling with old triggers or when other stresses arise that could become triggering so that you can develop coping mechanisms to overcome them.

Rehab centers can be a scary thought, but they aren’t just there for those at the lowest ebb of their addiction issues. Rehabs are also designed to help you learn how to deal with day-to-day life after addiction so that you don’t need their services again. An Arizona Rehab Center will also provide outpatient services to provide that ongoing support while you reintegrate into the community. Being in a rehab facility also lets you see others who are at different stages of recovery than yourself, letting you look back at how far you’ve come and forwards to where you will soon be.

A general improvement to mental health is beneficial for anyone, especially when dealing with deeper issues. As well as therapy and addiction-specific help, look at other approaches to balancing the mind, such a meditation and mindfulness, which can be practiced in a group setting or alone in a quiet moment. Many people’s addictions stem from trying to escape the noise in their heads. The practices of meditation and mindfulness work to help you calm that internal noise and reset your mind, thus allowing you to step away from chaotic thoughts that have become overwhelming and, therefore, harmful to your mental health.

As well as working on your mental health, paying attention to your physical health is very important, too, especially if you’re fighting an addiction that has a particularly detrimental effect on it. Start small and gentle; if you’re coming off drugs or alcohol, a heavy gym session will not go well. Instead, opt for gentle exercise such as a yoga class or join a walking group (classes and groups have an added social benefit that will lift your mood). As you see improvement in your fitness and overall health, look at finding other activities in which to get involved.

Spa Guide

empyri

empyri is a cannabis wellness and skin care company based in London, Ontario, Canada. Founder Jen Grant fused her passion for personal health and wellness with her biochemical engineering background to create a revolutionary skincare company with three simple principles in mind: Clean Beauty, Conscious Consumption and Honouring Diversity. empyri is the first consumer brand on the market to use cannabis roots in wellness products, combining tenets of Traditional Chinese Medicine with evidence-based science. The brand is committed to empowering and inspiring individuals to achieve harmony – both with their health, and in their lives.

empyri products are formulated with cannabis roots, cannabis seed extract and cannabis seed oil to nourish and heal stressed out skin. Canadian made in GMP facilities, containing no THC or CBD, cruelty-free, chemical-free, vegan, and all packaging is 100% recyclable. For more information, please visit here.

empyri vit c orange leaves roots product image via Melissa Verdicchio at Nine Point Agency for use by 360 Magazine

CBD Health illustration for 360 Magazine

Best CBD Oil Companies

Top Brands to Try in 2021

CBD oil is currently the go-to alternative for people dealing with physical and mental health issues. The organic compound that’s found in the cannabis plant helps to effectively promote wellness. It works naturally with the endocannabinoid system to promote homeostasis. Due to its versatility, companies use CBD to make a wide range of products, including CBD oil. In this review guide, we analyze the best CBD oil brands in the market currently.

CBD stands for cannabidiol, which is the second most prevalent compound found in the cannabis plant. It’s an essential component of the formulation of medical marijuana since it has a wide range of medicinal properties.

CBD oil is usually made after extracting the cannabidiol compound from the cannabis plant. The extract is then diluted with a carrier oil, such as hemp seed oil or coconut oil, to create CBD oil.  The use of CBD oil is quickly gaining more momentum in the health and wellness sector thanks to its many health benefits.

Its flexible nature means that you can find it in several variations. So, in the next section, we look at the main types of CBD oil.

Top 5 CBD Oil Brands:

How The CBD Oil Brands Made It To The List

As a buyer, you should always exercise caution when buying CBD oil online. This is because while there are many brands that give you lots of options, the quality of the products isn’t the same. There are some brands that are only interested in making coins without catering to the needs of the consumers.

To come up with our top five picks of the best CBD oil brands, we did comprehensive research. The specific parameters and criteria we implemented will give you the clarity that you need in order to make the correct purchasing decisions. They include:

  • The source of the hemp plant
  • The method of extraction
  • Potency and flavors
  • Independent third-party lab tests
  • Price
  • Brand reputation

The Source of the Hemp Plant

The source of the hemp extract is important because hemp plants are bio accumulators. They normally absorb the elements found in its surroundings.  Hemp that comes from farms that use pesticides and other toxic chemicals are usually contaminated.

The best sources of hemp are from brands that use organic sources. The best thing about domestically sourced hemp plants is that most industrial hemp farmers usually follow the required laws and standards. So, you are guaranteed product safety in the end.

The Method of Extraction

There are several modes of extracting CBD hemp oil from the plant extract. However, not all of them are effective. Most brands that want to save on production costs normally use cheap solvent extraction techniques. However, the end product is usually contaminated and of low quality.

The best CBD oil products come from brands that use theCO2 extraction method. This is now what is considered as the industry standard because it’s effective, safe, and clean.

Type of CBD Oil

All types of CBD oils are usually extracted using the same method. However, the filtration process is what determines the contents of the end product. The best brands on the market mainly offer these three types of CBD oil products:

  • Full-spectrum: it contains CBD, terpenes, trace THC content, phytonutrients, and other health-boosting cannabinoids. However, the THC content is usually less than 0.3%.
  • Broad-spectrum: it’s pretty similar to full-spectrum CBD and its compounds except that it doesn’t contain any trace amount of THC.
  • CBD isolate: it’s an isolated CBD product that contains over 99% CBD content.

Potency and Flavors

Different medical conditions require different types of CBD oil strength. For instance, a mild everyday condition, such as a muscle sprain, will need a low concentrated CBD. On the other hand, chronic and severe medical conditions–such as arthritis–will require a CBD oil product with a higher concentration.

The best brands usually offer multiple potency options for the customers to choose from. Besides that, they also offer several flavor options to cater to different individual taste preferences.

Independent Third Party Lab Tests

With the medical cannabis industry being widely unregulated, it’s upon the manufacturer to ensure that they are selling quality products to consumers.

Reviewed brands usually subject all their product batches to independent third-party lab tests. You can find the relevant information from the certificate of analysis about the products’ purity, quality, and potency.

Price

While you might think that expensive is usually the best, cheaper can always be good as well. The best CBD brands in the market usually customize their prices to offer value for money. They are affordable products but ultimately, you will get what you pay for in the end.

The Brand’s Reputation

There are many brands that continue to market themselves as the best in the market. However, this isn’t truly the case. We did a comprehensive analysis to determine our reviewed brands’ legitimacy.

These brands are highly transparent about what they offer, including their source of hemp plants and the mode of extraction. Besides that, they have verifiable contacts, active websites, and physical addresses. Customer reviews also indicate that they sell high quality and effective products.

5 Best CBD Oil Brands of 2021

Picking the best CBD oil in the market isn’t an easy process, especially with the broad range of options. However, we have simplified the whole process for you. Here is a review of the top 5 CBD oil brands with quality products.

#1 Fab CBD Oil – Best Effective & High Quality

What makes Fab CBD Oil stand out is its effectiveness and taste. Consumer reviews show that Fab CBD is one of the best CBD brands with quality products.  You can rely on their premium, plant-based CBD product’s lasting health benefits.

Their pure oil drops are simply great additions to any wellness routine. According to the manufacturer, the award-winning selection of CBD oil comes in different flavors and they include:

  • Mint
  • Citrus
  • Berry
  • Vanilla
  • Natural

For safety and effectiveness, this company uses organic and domestic plant products to make its CBD hemp oil for sale. Made with full-spectrum CBD, this blend helps to support your body against normal, everyday stress. This includes aiding a healthy post-workout recovery, pain, and inflammation. Fab CBD is listed as #1 best CBD oil brand for pain.  Also, their CBD oil can help with mental health issues, such as stress, anxiety, and sleep.

Key Ingredients

  • Full-spectrum cannabinoid blend
  • Organically grown hemp extract
  • Terpenes
  • MCT
  • Flavoring from natural sources.

Pros

  • Ideal for a wide array of use
  • Organic and safe to use
  • Comes in five distinct flavors

Cons

  • FAB does not ship to the UK or Canada
  • No auto-ship or subscription options 

#2 Nuleaf Naturals – Most Potent

Nuleaf Natural’s CBD oil is made with high-quality natural hemp. It’s one of the best CBD oil products for managing mild to chronic discomfort. This is because it packs heavy amounts of the synergistic full-spectrum cannabinoids and terpenes.

The blend of high-potency formula effectively delivers around 60 mg of full-spectrum CBD per 1 ml. It’s also worth noting that this dose is consistent, regardless of the potency option you choose. This makes it easy to dose Nuleaf Natural’s CBD oil to align with your needs.

To cater to different types of pain levels, you can find Nuleaf Naturals CBD oil in potencies ranging between 300 mg and 6,000 mg bottles. Furthermore, organic hemp oil is free of toxins, flavorings, chemicals, and heavy metals.

This brand uses CO2 extraction for toxin and contaminant-free products. In addition to that, your safety is enhanced with the availability of the independent 3rd-party lab results that are normally conducted by ProVerde Laboratories.

Key Ingredients

  • Full-spectrum hemp extract and organic virgin hemp seed oil

Pros

  • High-quality CBD oil
  • The oil is made with just two ingredients
  • Ideal for all types of pain

Cons

  • There are no flavor options available
  • The CBD oil is quite expensive

#3 Medterra CBD – Best Value

For CBD oil lovers who want 100% THC-free products, Medterra is one of the few brands that sell quality CBD isolates. There are some occupations where taking a CBD product with even trace amounts of THC may be a serious risk. But you no longer have to worry about thar Medterra’s CBD is THC-free.

You can rely on the effectiveness of these products by using them for your daily wellness regimen. Medterra usually derives these products from domestically sourced Kentucky hemp. It then extracts almost 99% of pure CBD extract to make products for consumers.

You can find this CBD oil in concentrations of 500 mg, 1000 mg, and 3000 mg. According to the manufacturer, this CBD oil is not only safe and affordable, but also is easy to use. You can enjoy each serving sublingually, day or night.

Key Ingredients

  • Cannabidiol (CBD)
  • Coconut-derived MCT oil

Pros

  • Safe, organic CBD products
  • THC-free
  • Third-party tested

Con

  • The brand doesn’t offer whole-plant extract options

#4 CBDPure – Best Guarantees

CBDPure has been gaining a massive following on social platforms due to its effectiveness in promoting overall wellness. Apart from the flavor options, you get to experience a significant boost to your immune functions.

CBDPure is a proud member of the Hemp Industries Association. They offer the purest full-spectrum CBD extract oil. You can pick varieties of strength for promoting sleep aid, treating pain, and lessening discomfort. CBDPure uses a blend of organic ingredients that helps to promote overall wellness.

You can find these high-quality CBD oils in concentrations of 300 mg, 600 mg, and 1000 mg. To maintain high product purity, CBDPure commonly uses CO2 extraction. The brand doesn’t also use artificial flavorings.

The fan-favorite CBD oil can be found at affordable prices, with prices as low as $29.99 for a 300 mg CBD oil product. If you are a hardcore CBD oil fan, you can consistently incorporate this organic CBD into your wellness regimen.

Key Ingredients

Full-spectrum CBD oil extract & Less than 0.3% THC. Other carrier oils were not specified.

Pros

  • Pure CBD with quality results
  • Doesn’t contain artificial flavors
  • Provides lasting results

Con

  • Lacks flavor

#5 Joy Organics – Most Versatile

Joy Organics is known to sell the best CBD oil in a wide range of options. Joy Organics has capitalized effectively on versatility, and that’s why its CBD oil products stand out from the crowd. You can find its CBD oil in the form of broad-spectrum and full-spectrum CBD.

These quality CBD oil products are available in standard potency and high potency. You can make your product selection options by choosing from concentrations such as 450 mg, 900 mg, 1350 mg and 2250 mg.

These CBD oil products contain a natural blend of Phyto cannabinoid-rich hemp extract with some notes of specific essential oils. This natural blend makes Joy Organic’s CBD ideal for treating a broad range of conditions. This is why Joy Organics has the best CBD drops for anxiety, pain, stress, and sleep problems. They are listed on Westword as one of the best CBD oil brands for anxiety.

To cater to different user preferences, you can find Joy Organics CBD oil in these flavors:

  • Fresh Lime
  • Tranquil Mint
  • Orange Bliss
  • Summer Lemon
  • Unflavored

It’s worth noting that this is one of the best CBD oil brands that emphasize product quality and effectiveness. Joy Organics normally uses Ethanol extraction to ensure that consumers end up with quality and safe CBD products. Additionally, each product batch is usually subjected to independent third-party testing. You can conveniently find the lab reports directly on the manufacturer’s website.

Key Ingredients

  • Full-spectrum CBD oil: organic coconut MCT oil, full-spectrum hemp extract, and natural flavors
  • CBD Broad Spectrums: Broad Spectrum CBD extract and fractionated essential oils

Pros

  • Quality and natural CBD oil products
  • Multiple product options to choose from
  • Perfect addition to any wellness regimen

Cons

  • The oil tends to leave a lingering taste in the mouth
  • The brand only ships its CBD products within the USA.

Types of CBD Oil and Which One is Actually The Best

The difference between isolate CBD, full-spectrum, and broad-spectrum CBD simply depends on the type of chemical compounds found in each of the products.

CBD Isolate

It’s sometimes referred to as true CBD. CBD isolate contains only CBD (i.e. cannabidiol compound) and it’s commonly used to make vaping products. It doesn’t have cannabinoids, healthy fatty acids, or terpenes from the hemp plant.

Full-spectrum CBD

It contains CBD as well as THC, terpenes, fatty acids, and other cannabinoids that occur naturally in the cannabis plant. Full-spectrum CBD oil is also known as whole-plant or full-plant extract.  It’s ideal for treating a wide array of medical conditions since it is synergistic and produces the entourage effect.

Broad-spectrum CBD

Broad-spectrum CBD has all the hemp plant cannabinoids and chemicals that are found in full-spectrum CBD, except for THC content.  It also produces the beneficial entourage effect.

Determining the best CBD oil among the three isn’t easy since each comes with its own benefits.  In terms of strength, both full- and broad-spectrum CBD oils are quite strong and more effective as compared to CBD isolate. This could be due to the presence of additional cannabis compounds that produce the entourage effect.

Benefits of CBD Oil

CBD oil is proving to be the most ideal source of alternative medicine. Its organic nature, in addition to health properties, makes it effective in promoting good health. So, some of the benefits that you can gain by using such a product include:

How to Use CBD Oil

So, you have found the type of CBD oil that you need. But how are going to use it? You can use CBD oil products in two main ways:

  • Take it as a sublingual: this means that you place the oil drops under your tongue. Wait for a couple of minutes before spitting the oil. The CBD compound will be sublingually absorbed into the bloodstream. This technique normally provides faster effects.
  • Oral ingestion: you can consume the oil drops orally with food and drinks. Simply place the required amount of CBD oil content into the edible and then consume it. However, the effects normally take longer to kickstart. This is because the CBD compound has to undergo the process of digestion before it’s absorbed into the bloodstream.

The dosage of CBD oil you take depends on factors:

  • The severity of your medical condition
  • Weight
  • Age
  • Sex

Note: For safety purposes, it’s usually advisable that you start with a small amount of CBD oil. This is to give your body enough time to adjust to the introduction of CBD content into the body. Besides that, small doses are perfect for estimating the type of CBD oil dosage that suits you. Thereafter, you can increase the amount gradually to find out what works for you.

Can You Trust CBD Oils That Are Cheap?

Are cheap CBD oil products safe? Well, you should first understand that the medical cannabis market isn’t as regulated as other prescription medications. Generally, there isn’t a guarantee that the product you are buying is 100% safe.

It’s not a guarantee that expensive CBD products are the best. On the other hand, it’s not obvious that cheap CBD products are less potent. All you have to ensure is the quality of ingredients used. Ensure that the ingredients are safe and offer value for the money spent.

How to Choose the Best CBD Oil

There is already a wide array of CBD oil brands on the market. So, you need to be careful when choosing where to buy your CBD oil products. To ensure that you choose a product that suits your needs you can this website to check unbiased reviews on different CBD Brands. Here are some of the key factors to look out for when choosing a seller:

High-Quality Products

How do you know that a retailer has high-quality CBD products?  It mainly depends on the extraction method used, as well as the formula used to make the CBD oil. These factors determine the difference ranges between legitimate and fake retailers.

You will find that legitimate retailers have full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, isolate CBD, or a combination of these products. The type of CBD will be well-labeled on the product package or container to avoid confusion.

THC-Free

While CBD is legal, it must contain less than 0.3% THC. The best CBD oil brands on the market normally produce THC-free products. This means that it can be full or broad-spectrum CBD oil, or simply CBD isolate.

Product Consistency

All legitimate brands normally produce the same, or improved, products consistently. Their formulations, as well as the amount of CBD in every product package, are usually almost the same. If you are interested in buying CBD oil online, look for a brand that has consistent formulations from one product batch to the next.

Variety of CBD Products

The variety can be in terms of CBD oil strengths, type of CBD, or flavors. We all have different taste preferences, as well as different needs. So, a good brand should offer you multiple alternatives to cater to your needs.

Logical Pricing

Due to the lack of regulations, it’s mostly up to the brand to come up with their own product pricing. This means that there may be a significant variation between similar products in terms of cost.

The best way to determine if you are getting value for your money is to look at the company’s product line (i.e. product weight and the cost). The product line should match the target audience’s needs.

The Company’s Policies

Choose a company that fits your standards. The best CBD oil brands on the market manufacture and sell organic products. Besides that, the use environmentally friendly packaging is one of the biggest policy indicators of a brand that aligns with current world needs.

Great Customer Care

As much as a high-quality product is important, service delivery is also critical. Retailers who don’t take their services seriously are most likely selling cheap or contaminated products.

A high-quality brand should have a well-structured communication system. This provides customers with the perfect way to make inquiries or post complaints.

Mistakes, mishaps, and delays are always going to happen due to unprecedented events. However, how a brand handles mistakes is what sets them apart and shows a true commitment to their customers. Customer support systems may include FAQs as well as product brochures that ensure you are familiar with what you’re purchasing.

Where to Buy CBD Oil?

The CBD market is growing at a rapid rate. That’s why you can now find CBD almost anywhere. New brands are constantly coming up and the existing ones are trying to competitively stand out. So, where is the best place to buy CBD oil?

Well, you can buy CBD oil online or in brick-and-mortar stores. However, due to the lack of regulations and a specific governing body, lots of products found in the market are of low quality due to contamination or inadequate CBD content.

To buy CBD oil, you have to do your own research and identify reputable brands, like the ones in this article review. Besides that, customers should always place your order directly from the manufacturer’s website.

The Legality of CBD

The sudden popularity of CBD oil’s use has taken years of legal campaigns to push for the legality of cannabis-based products. So, is CBD legal in America, and can you legally use it in your state?

Well, after the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill, it became legal for companies to produce and sell hemp and its extracts. It’s worth noting that CBD products from industrial hemp that contain less than 0.3% THC are legal federally.

Anything that contains more than 0.3% THC is classified as a schedule 1 drug since it contains psychoactive content. You should understand that different states have different cannabis rules. So, before you consider buying and using CBD, make sure that you understand your state’s laws.

There is no doubt that we are making significant strides regarding the legality of CBD and hemp products. But currently, there is only one CBD-based product that has been approved for use clinically. Epidiolex is a CBD drug for seizures that can be administered as a prescription drug.

The Bottom Line

CBD oil can help to treat a wide range of conditions. It’s ideal for promoting physical wellness and aiding mental health. CBD Oil is normally used in many forms, but oral intake is one of the most common techniques.

The above-reviewed CBD oil brands are among the best on the market. They consistently produce high-quality CBD oil in different flavors and concentrations. Besides that, these brands normally source from organic hemp plants. As such, you can depend on these brands for safe and vegan-friendly CBD oil. However, make sure that you exercise caution. Speak to your doctor first before using CBD medical oil.

Mental Health Awareness illustration by Heather Skovlund for 360 Magazine

Mental Health Awareness

Many people, including children and adults across diversity backgrounds, can struggle with social, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral health. These challenges can be situational, present for a season of life, or be a struggle across a lifetime. The symptoms may also turn on and turn off, be persistent every day, or resolve just to pop back up again.

Even though having complications with mental or behavioral health is common, it does not necessarily mean a person is functioning at their best or the symptoms should be left unaddressed. Early intervention can be more effective, than the choice to put off addressing a mental health concern for another time.

Awareness of mental health signs and symptoms are important. The first step is recognizing when we need support. Let’s set aside labels such as depression, anxiety, addictive behaviors, and disorders for a moment. Instead, let’s consider observations. Below is a clustered list of commonly experienced struggles we can lookout for to monitor our mental health:

Socially

  • Noticing a pattern of withdrawing or avoiding friends, family, or activities
  • Having interpersonal conflicts with friends, family, colleagues, neighbors, or even strangers
  • Having a difficult time understanding and/or relating to others or common life scenarios
  • Feeling disconnected from others or struggling to get close to others
  • Feeling lost about knowing who you are

Emotionally

  • Experiencing sadness, despair, distress, prolonged sorrow
  • You or others noticing changes in your mood from high to low
  • Enduring excessive worry, fears, or discomfort with the unknown
  • Experiencing extreme guilt, self-blame, or negative self-talk
  • Having bouts with excessive or persistent anger

Cognitive/Thinking

  • Noticing thought patterns that are confused, conflicted, indecisive, repetitive, or forgetful
  • Having a lowered ability begin or maintain focus
  • You or others noticing a disconnect between your thoughts and the world around you
  • Feeling fearful such as paranoia
  • Having repeat unpleasant or worrisome thoughts or images
  • Hearing, seeing, or feeling something that is not truly there
  • Thoughts of hurting or killing yourself or someone else

Behavioral

  • Having a reduced ability to cope or resolve daily living complications or stress
  • Struggling with adjustment to life changes
  • Experiencing problems related to alcohol, tobacco, and/or legal or illegal substances
  • Noticing changes in eating habits such as too much, too little, overly focused on eating
  • Observing patterns of overexercise
  • Changes in sex drive
  • Having episodes of violence towards others, yourself, animals, or objects
  • Challenges with impulsive decisions or risk taking

Physical

  • Seeing trends in energy level such as significant tiredness or grand amount of energy
  • Struggles falling asleep, staying asleep, waking up, or low quality of sleep
  • Having physical symptoms such as stomach pain, back pain, headaches, heart pounding, shortness of breath, or other unexplained physical symptoms
  • Experiencing medical providers do not take your symptoms seriously enough

Experiencing one or a few of these symptoms at one time may be a part of life based on the amount of lemons life just handed you. However, there may be a mental health concern worth seeking proper care for if you experience one or more of these symptoms for a short or an extended period of time. Due note, some symptoms are more serious than others, such as harm to yourself or someone else, that should not be ignored and need care immediately.

Another element we can use to monitor our mental health is awareness of how our mental health symptoms interact with our daily lives. Sometimes mental health struggles can become disruptive to daily life such as negatively impacting relationships with others, how you think or feel internally about yourself, employment, housing, finances, and/or legal issues. Other symptoms are manageable and do not cause a large disruption; however, beware some symptoms can fly under the radar, but that does not necessarily indicate all is well.

If you are unsure if you are experiencing mental health concerns and would like a better understanding, then consider completing a screener. Mental Health America provides a free, quick, screening tool that provides mental health you can use to make decisions about next steps for care. The results can also be used to start the initial discussion with a mental health provider.

There is hope! In most circumstances, symptoms can be managed, reduced in intensity, and relief increased when working with a mental health provider. There are various forms of care, and you can find the right fit for you such as talk based therapy in-person or online, activity-based therapy, and collaboration with medical providers for mediation as needed.

If you are ready to take the next step, then there are multiple resources available to help you find the right provider. In emergency situations such as thoughts of harming yourself or someone else as well as severe mental illness, then calling 9-1-1, going to a local emergency room, or contacting the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) or using live chat on Suicide Prevention Lifeline  may be the best routes.

In non-emergency situations there are options such as contacting a primary care provider for a referral, reaching out to loved ones, connecting to your religious or spiritual community, or finding a professional provider. Below is a list of resources for locating a provider in your area:

Mental health is just like it sounds….health. It can be scary or there can be a stigma to seek out care. However, removing the stigma, overcoming fear, seeking care, and taking steps to improving life takes courage. But you are worth it, and you deserve a better tomorrow.

Michelle Perepiczka, PhD, LPC (CO), LMHC (NY), RPT-S, NCC

Core Faculty

University of Phoenix

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Popcorn illustration by Heather Skovlund for 360 Magazine

Entertainment at Home: How to Spend Lockdown with Benefits?

The lockdown has ended up becoming a blessing in disguise. It is the perfect opportunity for you to be able to pick up a new skill. However, that is just the tip of the iceberg. If you are able to use the lockdown wisely, then you can surely benefit from it a lot. Use this to your advantage and spend a little more time with yourself. Who knows? By the end of this lockdown, you might evolve into an even better version of who you are now. Read on to find out all the various ways to spend your time productively during the lockdown.

Spending Time Productively in Lockdown

Learn to Cook

This is the time when you find yourself in close proximity to the kitchen the whole day. Ordering in might be a risky bet considering that it might provoke the spread of COVID. So, instead of ordering food from a delivery app, cook it yourself. Start with the simpler things at first like making tea, boiling eggs, etc. As you learn more every day, you can eventually take up cooking initiatives that you never imagined before.

Try New Things

This lockdown, try something that you normally wouldn’t. Spend your time picking up a new skill. There is an endless world out there. Take online gambling for instance. You can get 100 free spins no deposit in UK if you visit online casinos. In this pandemic, as people spend more time at homes, the popularity of online casinos has skyrocketed. More and more people are exploring the world of online gambling because it is thrilling and fun. So, go ahead and explore.

Read More Books

This is the ideal time to read a book. If you are not an avid reader, you might be depriving yourself of one of the most beautiful experiences in life. We all receive books as gifts on our birthdays. On most occasions, those books end up getting dragged to one corner of our shelf and keep collecting dust. Now is the time to get those books out and experience the beautiful stories they tell.

Bond with Family

We live in an age of preoccupations. Everyone is preoccupied with something or the other. Children are busy studying; parents are busy working. We are hardly able to make time for each other. However, the lockdown has changed it, even though temporarily. In the lockdown, a unique phenomenon has taken place. Every member of the family is under one roof. Children are getting to attend online classes and parents are getting to work from home. So, start spending more time with each other. Begin with the simpler things like eating at the dinner table together or watching a movie.

Exercise

You don’t necessarily have to go to a gym to work on your fitness. A free hand workout is the best form of fitness routine. The best thing about it is that it can simply be done at home. So, this lockdown, use the opportunity to work, on your fitness, from home. Go to the terrace, do some stretching. Do some crunches and push-ups. Use the extra time you get at home to improve your health because it will not only help you physically, but also mentally.

Meditate

A lot of people turn out to be rather skeptical when it comes to meditation. However, experts certify meditation to be a genuinely helpful habit. It can result in profound improvement of your mental health and stability. Even more so, in the stressful situation of the global pandemic, you need to calm yourself down. So, practice meditating. It can do wonders.

Watch TV

In the age of Netflix and Amazon Prime, we have gained access to a seemingly endless plethora of interesting shows on TV or computers. Some of the shows have thousands of episodes, each having a running time of at least an hour. Normally, you don’t get the scope to fully watch your favorite shows in the middle of work. Also, by the time you return home, you get too tired. Nevertheless, this is your chance. Switch on the television and watch something with your family.

Do Chores

Use the free time in your hand to perform household chores. Usually, we see the mothers and daughters of the house taking up this crucial responsibility, but why should the men be left out? Pick up the mop and duster. Go ahead and clean your place up. Get into all those remote corners of the room that you have never even looked at before. Reorganize the furniture. Give your humble abode a refreshing new look.

Make a Garden

Gardening can be an extraordinarily soothing way of passing the time. Plants take time to grow and flourish, but when they do, they teach you so much about how delicate life is. Gardening has proven to have hugely positive effects on mental health. An added benefit of doing this is not having to shop for fruits and vegetables outside. After all, you are locked down. You can’t visit the marketplace for buying your cooking ingredients. So, rather grow them at home.

Plan for Future

Since you have more time in your hand, you can concentrate on drafting a course of action for your future. Our lives revolve around various aspects. We have a family to take care of. We have careers to build. We have our own dreams to fulfil. This is the perfect chance of working them all out through meticulous planning.

Try Art

Have you ever explored the artistic side of your personality before? This is the ideal occasion for that. Pick up a paint brush and go ahead. It is also a highly beneficial mental exercise because it helps you work on your precision and focus. There are so many things to take inspiration from. Maybe, try your hand at some glass painting too while you’re at it.

Detox

Enough of indulging in vices, let this lockdown be a detox phase. Rid your body of all the toxins. No smoking and no drinking because, after all, you can’t even if you want to. All the stores are closed. So, might as well use this as a way of benefiting yourself. Use this lockdown to quit your bad habits.

Conclusion

So, we told you about many different ways of using your time productively in the lockdown. However, we saved the best for last. Here it is. As we said earlier, this lockdown offers you the chance to spend some time with yourself. That is very important. So, use this time to write a letter to your future self. When you spend time with yourself, there are thoughts and ideas that you stumble upon which you would normally never even comprehend. Before you end up forgetting them, write them down as a letter for reminding yourself in the future. Make yourself promises. Make your memories immortal. Get a pen and a piece of paper. Then, write your heart out. You will cherish it when the time comes.

Book illustration by Heather Skovlund for 360 Magazine

Education Tips For Children

7 Ways to Ensure Your Child Gets a Good Education

The Oxford Method, a tutoring community, offers tips to help your child be successful in school

Over the last year, during the pandemic, there have been many kids who have struggled academically. This is in part due to the millions who have had to do online learning and find the setup difficult. Whether children are learning online, in person, via classroom, or through a combination of the three, there are things that parents can do to help them be more successful. Knowing what to do can help make a world a difference and reduce the struggling.

“Many parents are aware of the way their kids are struggling with school over this school year,” explains David Florence, professor and founder of The Oxford Method, a community that offers tutoring services around the country. “Rather than let them fall behind, it’s a good idea to take action and do what you can to help them keep up and even pull ahead.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 93% of households with school-age children report that their kids have engaged in some sort of distance learning during the pandemic. They also report that the vast shift in the way kids are learning has also caused digital inequality because some kids don’t have access to computers and/or the Internet. Whether students are learning online or in class, there are things parents can do to help them get a good education.

Here 7 ways to help ensure your child gets a good education:

  1. Sleep. It’s crucial for a child to get enough sleep each night, which will help them to be more focused, as well as improve their behavior, quality of life, and mental and physical health. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that children ages 6-12 should get 9-12 hours of sleep per night, and teens ages 13-18 should get 8-10 hours of sleep per night.
  2. Teach value. It usually starts at home whether or not a child values an education. Parents who want their kids to get a good education should instill a love of learning in their children and teach them to value the education they are getting.
  3. Get them help. If your child is struggling, you may be able to help them, but there also comes a time when kids need a tutor to step in. A good tutor can make a world of difference in ensuring that a child gets a good education. They can help ensure that students will not fall behind and that they will get the foundation they need to move on in a subject.
  4. Show them how. Oftentimes, kids don’t know how to effectively study for a test or to take notes when they are in class. Take the time to show them how to do it effectively, as well as how to stay organized with their schooling. When students are organized, they are more likely to succeed.
  5. Ask them questions. Be sure to ask your kids how it is going, if they got their homework done, if they need any help, or if there’s anything they need to be more successful. They like to know that you are interested in how they are doing, so it’s good to show an active interest.
  6. Get involved. It’s always a good idea if you can get involved with the school and have good communication with the teacher. That way you will be aware of what is going on and know how to help your child more. Teachers love it when parents take an active interest in their child’s education.
  7. Praise your kids. Help kids to know what they are doing is right or what they are doing is wrong. Praising and encouraging the kids builds their confidence and helps them to succeed as they grow.

“Just about every parent has the ability to help kids succeed with their academics, even if it’s ensuring they have the tools they need to succeed,” added Florence. “We help parents be successful, even those who don’t have the funds to pay for a tutor. Our mission is to help as many students to achieve as we can.”

The Oxford Method has over 100 tutors around the country, covering all subject areas. They offer online tutoring, as well as in-person and in-classroom options. Their tutoring services are available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Instructors have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, with many of them having a master’s degree, Ph.D., and at least four years of teaching experience. The Oxford Method works with their nonprofit, Social Actualization, Inc., by giving them 10% of all profits. The funds are used to provide free computers, high-speed internet, and instruction to underprivileged families in urban and rural America. Plus, 40% of their instructors are PhDs, 40% have a master’s degree, and 20% have only a bachelor’s degree.

The Oxford Method believes that education is the great equalizer and the best gift you can give the next generation. Subject areas include science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), as well as business, social studies, psychology, English, history, public speaking, study methods, test-taking, and more. To get more information about The Oxford Method, visit the website.

Marijuana illustration by Heather Skovlund for 360 Magazine

Honest Marijuana Company

In the old days of illegal weed, the price you paid for your weekend toke depended mostly on who was selling it to you. These were behind-the-scenes transactions, with no recourse for a deal gone bad and no way to price compare with a competitor. You paid the price asked or you went without.

Now, as state legalization grows and the chatter about federal legalization becomes less talk and more reality, the game has changed forever for the buyer. So, it’s a good time to be clear on what you’re paying for before you go to your local cannabis boutique, or even the corner store, if you should be so lucky to have marijuana available for sale there!

First off, price comparing starts with quantity

If you want to look at what your weed is going to cost you, and even compare different strains, it’s best to pick a quantity. From state to state, the price of quantity X will vary, based on factors we’ll discuss later, but for now, it’s important to understand what quantities you can order in. 

The most common quantities you can buy cannabis in are a gram, eighth of an ounce, quarter of an ounce, half an ounce, and a full ounce. Notice how the common quantities mix metric and Imperial measuring units? A gram is 1/1000th of a kilogram and an ounce is 1/16th of a pound. Typically, you’ll find that dispensaries will use ounces for larger quantities, and grams for a smaller purchase.

What does a gram look like? It’s about the size of a bottle cap, which gives you a visual point of reference to figure out what you’re getting for what price. The average joint is about 0.7 grams of weed so a gram will give you about 1.5 joints. Here are the other measurements, to give you a rough idea of what you’re getting:

  • An eighth of an ounce (which is roughly 3.5 grams) will give you just about 5 joints.
  • A quarter of an ounce (7 grams) will net about 10 joints.
  • A half an ounce (14 grams) will give you about 20 joints.
  • A full ounce (28 grams) is just about equal to 40 joints.

From Alaska to West Virginia, that price per ounce of medium quality weed can run anywhere from $6 to $12.

Quality is the next factor

If you look at average prices of weed across the country, they’re pretty stable and typically refer to medium quality cannabis. When you want to compare a gram of cannabis from one shop to another, a major increase in price could be because of the quality of the product. 

For example, an organic and locally indoor grown variety might be more expensive than a mass produced, imported one. You really do have to compare apples to apples, if you want to be sure you’re getting the right picture.

Other factors that will influence the price of weed

Your state’s legal stance toward cannabis

If you live in a state where cannabis isn’t legal in any form, obviously you’re still operating in the old ways of quiet deals made with people who don’t really care to negotiate the prices they feel like charging. After all, they risk going to jail for providing you with your ‘chill’ so there’s a premium attached to that.

In the states that have legalized recreational marijuana (Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington), you’ll find competition higher and prices that reflect that.

The remaining twenty-one states that have legalized medical marijuana require a doctor’s note to obtain it, which isn’t a particularly challenging hurdle in most places, so this doesn’t affect the prices too significantly.

One place where cannabis is particularly expensive? Washington D.C. Despite legalization of medical and recreational use, they didn’t legalize the purchase of cannabis. That little detail is reflected in prices that are almost twice the national average for legalized / decriminalized states!

The physical geography of where you live

Cannabis isn’t an overly fussy plant to cultivate but it does prefer warm, stable temperatures, averaging in the daytime around 80 degrees. Places that have daytime temperatures that run hotter than 88 degrees or colder than 60 degrees have a harder time growing—it’s a slower process—and can end up with plants that have lower THC content and therefore lower overall quality.

So, if you live in Alaska or New Hampshire, for example, your weed has most likely been brought in from elsewhere, which means added costs in transportation and labor, to package and ship.

How your weed is grown

How your preferred brand is grown makes a difference on quality. 

  • Are they grown outdoors where light, water, soil, and ambient daytime temperatures are all free for the asking and therefore don’t add to the cost of production? 
  • Are they grown indoors, where special electrical lighting, watering and feed systems, and climate control are all required and add to the cost of production? 

Outdoor grown weed can be lower quality in that there aren’t many ways to control Mother Nature. Being able to control elements through technology can yield a higher quality product. From pest and humidity control to very specific watering schedules, as well as the use of light waves to maximize growth and intensity, indoor growers have the keys to control quality in ways that outdoor growers really cannot.

Factor in also whether the grower is using organic production methods, as this will definitely yield a higher quality product. No toxins from pesticides means a cleaner experience for you.

Where you buy your marijuana

Are you buying from a boutique dispensary or a corner store? Are you buying from a chain of cannabis stores or from a one-man dealer? Which way you go will affect the price you pay.

Dispensaries have overhead and staff to pay, which adds to the cost. However, they also have guidelines to follow in terms of packaging and labeling, as well as a vested interest in pleasing their customer, so they’re a good bet. You will know exactly what you’re getting, including the sourcing, THC content, whether it’s organic or not and so on. If you buy from a dealer, who is claiming to sell high quality products, you have no guarantees whatsoever that they are telling the truth.

Competitors drive the price down

Supply and demand is an easy equation. If there are several dispensaries with similar offerings in your area, the price per gram will be lower than in an area with no competition for your one dispensary. There is less supply for potentially similar demand, which can easily affect the price. The key as a consumer is to know your average pricing so you can tell whether or not you are getting a good deal.

Taxation and legalization go hand in hand

The states that have legalized marijuana have also clued in that it is an important revenue source. Sales tax, if the state has one, is applied to cannabis too. The rate can be higher for weed than for other products, as it is in Colorado. They have a state sales tax rate of 2.9% but the rate for weed? 10%.

In addition to sales tax, legal sellers are faced with taxes in production, purchasing, packing and transportation, costs that are typically downloaded to the end consumer.

The timing of your purchases

Time of year can impact the price of weed. Like most cultivated crops, the largest amounts are harvested in and around the month of September. Result? The supply is up, and prices should go down a little. 

As legalization continues to expand, state to state and even federally, the pricing will become more standard and easier to predict. At that point, the quality of the weed will be the big differentiator and as the end consumer, that’s not a small factor to consider. Buy with care and enjoy yourself!

Bio:

Anthony Franciosi, also known as Ant, is an honest to goodness farmer whose fingers are as green as the organic cannabis he grows. He is the proud founder of Honest Marijuana– an all-natural, completely organic marijuana growery in Colorado.

Oprah Winfrey illustration by Kaelen Felix for 360 Magazine

Creating A Limitless Life

Creating A Limitless Life”

Register for free on their website.

Chopra Global, the leading whole health company founded by Dr. Deepak Chopra, today announced the final release of the wildly popular 21-Day Meditation Experience titled “Getting Unstuck: Creating a Limitless Life,” led by Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey. March 2021 marks one year since the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed daily life, with many people remaining “stuck” at home. The free, 21-Day program begins today and will help participants cultivate presence, tap into potential and unlock creativity to release stagnation and improve mental health.

Registration also includes access to an exclusive talk with Deepak Chopra reflecting on these challenging times and offering meditation and tools for cultivating mindful awareness. The program and talk are designed to help people tune into the power of the present and find joy and fulfillment in the everyday.

“Getting Unstuck: Creating a Limitless Life,” offers a 20-minute audio meditation each day and a series of thought-provoking reflection questions designed to anchor the teachings with a centering thought and mantra. The meditations are easily accessible from a tablet, computer, or Chopra Global’s new Meditation and Well-being App available in the Apple App Store and on Android.

“For the past eight years, Oprah Winfrey and I have joined forces to offer the 21-Day Meditation Experience programs. Now, we invite you to join us one last time to develops tools to guide you through these challenging times and create a limitless life in mindful awareness,” said Deepak Chopra.

“Getting Unstuck: Creating a Limitless Life” follows “Creating Peace from the Inside Out, which was re-released in November 2020. The 21-Day Meditation Experience series featuring Deepak and Oprah Winfrey first launched in 2013, and has since become a global phenomenon, with millions of participants and meditation groups around the world. The franchise currently features a catalogue of 18 different programs and features beautiful soundscapes, mantra-based meditations, and centering thoughts. For a limited time, the full library is still available for purchase at chopra.com/oprah.

Below is an overview of what participants can expect throughout this experience:

Week One: Creative Living is Here and Now

Week One will focus on expanding awareness of living in the present moment, which, in itself, is a renewal that brings new possibilities to the surface. By actualizing the present moment, the eternal “now,” we see ourselves in the limitless place where thought, feeling, and action can emerge in unique creation.

Week Two: Activating Your Creative Potential

Week Two is about expanding our participation in being alive by expanding our daily awareness of our own existence. The expansion of awareness holds the key to living from the creative source. Instead of struggling to change your life, you allow a growing awareness to create the change you want to see.

Week Three: Living the Complete Spirit of Creativity

The third week focuses on allowing newly awakened creativity to impact our lives at every level. Then, having awakened our fuller potential, we share the spirit of creative awareness – and spread the energy of “getting unstuck” to the people around us. The key is closing the gap between the self we see in the mirror and the true self. When those two are merged, anything becomes possible.

About Chopra Global

Chopra Global is a leading whole health company that is empowering personal transformation for millions of people globally to expand our collective well-being. Anchored by the life’s practice and research of Dr. Deepak Chopra, a pioneer in integrative medicine, Chopra Global’s signature programs have been proven to improve overall well-being through a focus on physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Chopra Global has been at the forefront of health and wellness for more than two decades with a portfolio that includes an editorial archive with more than 2,000 health articles, meditations, masterclasses, teacher certifications, live events and personalized retreats. By providing tools, guidance and community, Chopra aims to advance a culture of well-being and make a healthy, peaceful and joyful life accessible to all. For more information, interact with the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

About Deepak Chopra, M.D.

DEEPAK CHOPRA™ MD, FACP, is founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism, and of Chopra Global, a modern-day health company at the intersection of science and spirituality, is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation. Chopra is a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego and serves as a senior scientist with Gallup Organization. He is the author of over 90 books translated into over forty-three languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. For the last thirty years, Chopra has been at the forefront of the meditation revolution and his latest (and 91st) book, Total Meditation (Harmony Book) helps to achieve new dimensions of stress-free living and joyful living. TIME magazine has described Dr. Chopra as “one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century.” To learn more, visit his website.