We’ve entered a strange time, one where staying at home all day isn’t being lazy—it’s being responsible. Hopefully, we’ll be on the other side of this in a couple weeks, but even in this age of well-written television, weeks of Netflixing will make anyone feel bajiggity and zonked out.
To prevent us all from coming out of this as boring-ass zombies, we’ve compiled a list of activities that are fabulous to enjoy paired with cannabis, as well as capable of helping us to, well, be better.
Between taking up qigong, learning the ancient art of tarot, finally downloading Duolingo to learn a new language, minimalizing your space, and an artillery of creative activities—this list will keep you from being bored during Coronapocalypse, and you might even come out of it as a better human being.
All right, here are at-home activities to engage the body and mind that are also great when combined with weed.
Start learning qigong
The National Qigong Association describes qigong as a “mind-body-spirit practice that improves one’s mental and physical health by integrating posture, movement, breathing technique, self-massage, sound, and focused intent.” But you may come to think of it as “that fun thing that helps me calm the eff down.”
It combines flowing movements with breathing exercises, making for a very chill activity that offers similar benefits as meditation, while also offering the body something to do and the mind something to passively focus on.
Use cannabis to further benefit from this practice by mindfully noting any discomfort that’s relieved by it. Let it help you zero in on the sensations present in your body as you perform fluid motions, and enjoy how good it feels to stretch your bod and feel the tingle of qi energy in your fingertips.
As for where to head for videos, Steven Washington is an amazing teacher who offers lightness of spirit in addition to passion and knowledge—he’s just a freakin’ delight, really.
Download Duolingo (and learn what ‘mota’ means)
Okay, that word’s almost definitely not going to be on this free app, not the fun meaning anyway. But it does offer language lessons in Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, and English. And it’s pretty adorable too, making learning new words feel like a game instead of the rote-memorization monotony you might remember from high school.
Spark up your favorite strain for focus (or being entertained), and learn you some verbs and nouns. Bonus points for ending the night with a subtitled flick, or, you know, a few episodes of Dora.
Tackle the ancient art of tarot
Tarot cards are a great way of tapping into the wisdom of one’s intuition and the energies at hand. It sounds pretty esoteric, but the cards are actually super helpful and surprisingly practical.
To get started, grab yourself a deck (online, or in a sanitized manner at a shop)—and get Googling. You’ll quickly learn that the 78 cards represent aspects of life, from describing major themes (The Hanged Man is applicable here) to day-to-day elements—like falling ill and needing to rest, or working to re-establish routine.
Cannabis is a great match for Tarot because it tends to loosen your mental framework and helps us to see things from another perspective. You might find that it’s helpful to start without cannabis and bring herb in toward the end.
First, draw your reading toke-free, then analyze what it means to you, noting your grounded thoughts. Then, revisit the reading after a great toke session, taking time to sit with each card and muse on how to integrate its advice.
You might be surprised at how your interpretation evolves and how the two perspectives meld together nicely. Tarot’s the “what” of divination cards, so feel free to follow up with an oracle reading for the “how.”
Deep clean your digs/Get minimal
It’s time for that list of things you’ve been meaning to do around the house to vanish. It’s important that you first line up the tasks at hand and any needed supplies before toking, especially if you have a low tolerance.
Once you’re all organized, enjoy your favorite energy-boosting herb, then put on a playlist that gets you dancing—and just add cleaning! (Continuing to dance is very conducive to doing a good job, we promise.)
As you go about spiffing up your home, gather all the stuff that’s stuffing up your digs to donate or toss. If you don’t love it and/or use it regularly, it’s out.
Get creative
Cannabis and making stuff are a dream team, especially when partnered with plenty of time around the house. A rather obvious, but nonetheless very fun, option is coloring—and there’s all kinds of stoney themes out there.
You can also make yourself into a better artist by turning one of those pages upside down and drawing it bit-by-bit—an exercise used in art schools to help train the brain to see details properly. Or you could do a puff ’n’ paint—Bob Ross is always a brilliant choice. (Happy lil’ trees of all kinds welcome here!)
Whatever you do, remember that having a good time is the whole entire point, so don’t get caught up trying to make something perfect.
Self-care to the max
If there ever was an occasion for a THC bath bomb, this is it. If you’re one of the gajillions of us who has been meaning to develop a better self-care regimen but have had trouble prioritizing the time, well, here it is. Perhaps you want to learn how to self-massage, dry brush, or check out baking soda and lemon (shockingly refreshing). Add apt cannabis products for a little more indulgence in the experience, and voilà!
And for you, self-care might have nothing to do with pampering in a traditional way, but doing something like getting high and finally reading all those books you bought last year. It could also be learning to cook a dish that you love, perhaps adding a fun stoney twist or infusing it with cannabis.
Self-care can really be anything that makes you feel nourished—but it definitely doesn’t look like scrolling Twitter for the newest updates on you-know-what. Focus on things that uplift you both while you’re doing them, as well as after they’re done.
Look at us! We’re all becoming so well-rounded already and saving humanity via self-isolation while we do it. Who says cannabis lovers don’t get shit done?
Sending healthy + lifted juju your way.
