Press
"I found Rachael of Ganjasana to be a true steward of the medicine. She shared her knowledge and wisdom from her own journey with the plant from seed to consumption, and led us through a deep and intentional practice. The space she created allowed me to have new insights and revelations about myself and my body. It was really fun to practice this way within a group of new friends and I recommend Ganjasana to beginner and advanced yoga practitioners alike and even to those new to cannabis altogether.”
- Sensi Magazine
Financial Times
“Rachael Carlevale, the Yoga and Mindfulness teacher who instructed me to speak to the plant in my hand certainly knows her weed. She has a degree in soil and plant sciences from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and, in spite of my skepticism, is striking a good balance between spirituality and science.”
Rachael Carlevale is the founder of Colorado-based Ganjasana. (Photo by Jeff Skeirik / Rawtographer; makeup by Monica Alvarez; image provided by @CosmicSister)
The Denver Post | The Cannabist
Yoga and cannabis: Ganjasana melds plant science and an ancient tradition
Carlevale describes her system as a blending as well; what she calls a “conscious pairing of regenerative cannabis plant medicine with the practices of yoga, meditation and mindfulness.... Ganjasana, she says, became part of a mission: "to help people build a relationship with the plant medicine."
Photo by Tracey Eller for Cosmic Sister.
Direct Cannabis Network
Entrepreneur of the Week: Rachael Carlevale
“What is the best piece of advice you can give to others looking to launch a business in the cannabis industry?
RC: Patients over profits! Think about why exactly you want to get into the industry and how you can positively impact the ‘greater good.’ With every business decision you make, ensure you are respecting the three main ethics of permaculture- earth care, people care, fair share. How do your decisions impact the environment, the people and how can you ensure everyone gets their fair share? We are all in this together for the plant! Look at mother nature, see how she works all her living organisms into one harmonious ecosystem. We must model nature to regenerate and thrive!”
Photo by Tracey Eller (ellerimages.com), courtesy @CosmicSister
LA Yoga Magazine
Why Women Are Leading the Charge to (Re)unite Cannabis and Yoga
“We are quiet, no talking when consuming; it is a sacred time to turn inward and quiet the mind,” Carlevale says. “Our ceremonies are designed to model #nature, to align with her natural rhythms, to connect with cannabis plant spirit medicine.”
Carlevale is a Boulder, Colorado-based yoga teacher and cannabis advocate who, through the feminist cannabis and psychedelics education and advocacy network Cosmic Sister, has worked with plant medicines over several years under the guidance of ayahuasca shamans in the Amazon. Ganjasana pairs yoga with the ancient plant ceremony traditions of the Shipibo indigenous people of the Amazon to tap into the lessons of the cannabis plant.”
DOPE Magazine
Ganjasana: An Authentic Relationship With Cannabis Blooms Through Yoga
“I do not see the use of cannabis enhancing the practice of yoga,” muses Rachael, “rather, the inverse—the practice of yoga, meditation and mindfulness enhances our ability to connect with the cannabis plant medicine. When we attune our awareness to the present moment, use tools and techniques to adjust our nervous systems into the parasympathetic mode, our heart rate slows, our blood pressure decreases, and we make ourselves available to the divine cannabis spirit—and that is where the healing lies. Plants have a high level of intelligence, and through opening to the vibration of the ganja plants, we are able to remember the wisdom that is inherent in the plant kingdom.”
Green Flower Media
The use of cannabis is an ancient ritual that has been a part of humanity for at least 10,000 years. Throughout the millennia, cannabis has found a place alongside many other practices due to its medicinal and spiritual benefits.
Now that the plant is legal in some form in over half of the states, there is more room to explore its unique properties. One practice making waves for people from all backgrounds is cannabis yoga.
Yogi Approved
Yoga + Marijuana: An Interview With Ganjasana Founder, Rachael Carlevale
Rachael also speaks on how plants can be extraordinary teachers in our lives, and a great accompaniment to a mindful yoga practice. She touches on the ancient of practice of women coming together during their menstrual cycle to use the plant medicine, part of what inspired Rachael to hold ongoing events called “The Green Tent: A Women’s Cannabis Yoga Circle.”
Wikileaf
Ganjasana: The Relationship Between Cannabis and Yoga
More than just an exercise, Ganjasana is a movement that celebrates the cultivation of the plant along with the transformative experiences it can provide when paired with the spiritually and physically powerful practice of yoga. According to the movement’s founder, Rachel Carlevale, this isn’t a new relationship.
The Herb Walk Podcast
I’m super stoked about this podcast episode because it is with a successful stoner sister, Rachael Carlevale. Rachael is the founder of Ganjasana, a ganja infused training that incorporates permaculture, plant medicine, and yoga. It is truly a unique concept for a yoga teacher training.
Yoganonymist
Lighting Up the Ganjasana: 10 Questions for Rachael Carlevale
Q: IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR STYLE OF YOGA THAT BEST FITS WITH A GANJASANA PRACTICE? (IE. YIN? HATHA?)
A: Ganjasana was founded under the principals of modeling nature to build authentic plant relationships—from seed to soil to spirit. It's based off of the Shipibo Shaman plant teachings, and draws from many practices of yoga including pranayama, hatha, nidra, yin, meditation, and mindfulness.
The International Church of Cannabis
Special thanks to Rachael Carlevale @ganjasana for an especially thought-provoking presentation on Cannabis Plant Spirit Medicine!
Civilized.Life
New Ganjasana School Will Teach Yogis How To 'Develop A Relationship' With Cannabis
“Ganjasana uses only its own cannabis, which is grown in organic soil via regenerative agricultural practices. In doing this, says Carlevale, “you’re not only growing your plants in the safest way possible, but it’s the safest way for the environment as you have no pesticide run-off and it regenerates the soil.”
Green Love Denver
GANJASANA CANNABIS YOGA TEACHER TRAINING
It is important to always take into account how one’s actions will affect the Earth, those around them, and ensuring that everyone receives a fair share.
Having a general sense of social learning is also an important aspect of being able to hold space for others. The first step is having self awareness as a result being able to manage oneself. Once you are able to fully show up for yourself you can move into social awareness and then being able to have responsible relationships with others.
Weedvoice
Yoga and cannabis: Ganjasana melds plant science and an ancient tradition - Cannabis News
But the tradition of cannabis and yoga actually goes back centuries, according to Rachael Carlevale, founder of the Colorado-based Ganjasana yoga system.
“If we look at the roots of yoga practice you can see that ganja was a part of that,” she says during a telephone interview with The Cannabist. “In India you see the Sadhus (Hindu holy men) sitting in meditation; they are smoking ganja.
Yellow Scene Magazine
Another field blazing offering derives from Rachael Carlevale, founder of Ganjasana. Her entry into the cannabis realm was natural following the concept of plant medicine that harkens back to ancient times. She states that she simply reinvigorated this concept and is assisting bringing back this indigenous philosophy to modern times.
The Hemp Connoisseur
The Sixth Annual Mother’s High Tea: Tea Along The Silk Road
Events like Mother’s High Tea “let everyone know how important it is to have cannabis education for all ages,” added Rachael Carlevale, Ganjasana Founder and member of the Mother’s High Tea Leadership Committee
AlterNet
4 Ways Yoga’s History Is Fundamentally Linked with Cannabis
Colorado yoga teacher and cannabis advocate Rachael Carlevale recently opened a yoga business called Ganjasana that uses yoga to tap into what she says are innate connections humans share with the cannabis plant. (Carlevale is a founding member of the feminist cannabis and psychedelics education and advocacy network Cosmic Sister, started by activist Zoe Helene.)
Ahimsa By Nature
100 Hour Yoga Alliance Certified Ganjasana Teacher Training
Ganjasana announced the first ever Ganjasana teacher training program, giving students 100 hours of cannabis plant medicine yoga training. I made up my mind that I would attend, not knowing how I would acquire the cash for it. I considered magnifying my credit card debt but reconsidered. I sat with this far-out idea of attending the training while meeting many wonderful people. I studied the Ganjasana website almost every day. I requested off work more than a month in advance, still remarkably so unsure about how this was going to unfold.
Jane Street
Ganjasana Yoga School Teaches Yogis About Cannabis
Carlevale calls her Colorado-based cannabis yoga classes “ceremonies” and asks that yogis show up sober. She provides the cannabis, including a heavy indica called “The White” and a hybrid called “Holy Headband.” She starts the ceremony with breathwork and then everyone consumes the cannabis before they start the physical asanas.
Ganjasana yoga school also has a greenhouse, so people can see the plants at every phase during their growth cycle. “It’s so important to understand how the plant grows before you lead a class where you are responsible for people who are under the influence of this powerful, sacred plant,” says Carlevale.