u/yeeahitsethan

Back in 2019 I became a bit of a partier and started experimenting with all kinds of substances. One of them was Kratom, which I liked how genuinely happy and loving it made me feel (mind you, I'm saying this as someone who felt virtually nothing when prescribed opioid medications for pain relief when I would have surgeries). Eventually, it got to a point where I was taking it about twice a week. When anxiety kicked in, I bumped it up to daily...something I told myself I'd never do.

Fast forward 5 years. I've been damn near celibate the last several years (due entirely to there being virtually no libido). I'd be lucky to have one or two hookups a year. I tried telling myself I'd only do it occasionally, like on my days off. Telling myself I was doing it twice a week when it would be more like 4x if I went out on weekends.

At this point, I'm throwing this shit away for good. Kratom was intended traditionally to be used ceremonially, not habitually or even twice a week...you can't call it a ritual if the occasion is just a day ending in Y.

Do I think my way is the only way to approach kratom use? No. Are there people who have benefited from daily use? I'm sure there are. But I am tired of chasing the dragon and blowing money on something that I have become so used to, especially given that it's not required. It's taken away my libido, reduced my drive, and has just made me okay with being passive in life as the days go by because I get the internal reward that it gives with nothing to show for. Sadly, I believe that because of kratom, my brain has learned to stop working toward what I want. I guarantee you it has also done other damage to my body that I don't even realize.

Will I ever go back to the rare and once in a blue moon use of it for extra special occasions? Who knows, but given how slippery of a slope that is to fall back into old habits, I am telling myself that the answer to that is no. I've walked away from most other substances since the chapter of excessive partying that I was in when I started taking it (even though I wasn't taking those regularly), and I have decided that this substance is just sapping life of its quality.

Five days sober. Here's to many more.

TL;DR at the end. Also, talk to your doctor before following my advice.

Whenever I go to the gym and do weightlifting followed by the sauna ***prior*** to taking meds (I'll touch on why I think doing these prior is crucial in a second) seems to make an a world of difference when I am taking my meds. I've been researching exercise's impact on the brain since 2017, and back then, the research was scared on weightlifting and was. more focused on aerobic exercise. However, in my personal experience, weightlifting and saunas combined seems to completely revolutionize my positive experiences with the meds (though, I definitely think that if your preferred exercise is aerobic, go for it). I'm glad that we are in an era where there is more research on how weightlifting seems to benefit the brain, because my anecdotal experiences seem to align with what the new research is showing. Additionally, Saunas reduce all-cause mortality significantly the more days per week that you go, and they enhance dopamine and norepinephrine activity through complex mechanisms, one of them being the increase in dynorphin (the opposite of endorphins), thus sensitizing the endorphin receptors post-sauna. I feel like a million bucks after a good gym/sauna sesh, and my meds feel like they work ten-fold afterwards

That said, in my opinion, it is crucial to either use exercise/sauns *prior* to using meds, or once the meds have worn off. The reason I say this is because I know that in many cases, working out while taking Vyvanse can significantly increase heart rate to a point where it might be dangerous...especially if you are doing more intense weightlifting. Taking stimulants prior to a sauna is asking for trouble regarding cardiovascular health. Please do NOT taking stimulant medications before the sauna, as this can be fatal.

Overall, I encourage anyone to give this a shot. You may be pleased with the results. I'm curious if anyone else has had positive experiences with this as well?

TL;DR: weightlifting and saunas benefit our brains in ways that enhance the mechanisms that vyvanse works on. However, doing this prior to meds (instead of doing so while medicated) is crucial, since doing so while medicated can lead to serious impacts on cardiovascular health, which can very realistically be fatal.

Over the years of meditating and (relatively) recently adding the Asana limb to my practice, I was curious to know more about the Ishvara Pranidhana limb of yoga, and what that looks like in practice.

Context behind this question is, I grew up devoutly Christian, and when I read about Devotion being part of the Eight Limbs, I always thought it meant reading Sacred Scripture, because in the church when something is referred to as a "devotional", it's usually about reading insights on scripture alongside prayer. However, I did a quick search on this and realized I might have actually misinterpreted the word "devotion", where instead of it surrounding reading, it might actually be related to a practice and ritual related to one of the gods. I had also read Passage Meditation by Eknath Easwaran where he used various Limbs of Yoga (based on my understanding) where when I read "devotional", I might have been viewing it through this lens. I assume a Sadhana might be involved in this part of the Eight Limbs, but I am wildly under-educated on this topic, so please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

What does practicing this look like in real life?