The Heart Behind Kushi Yin
My name is Gissel,
Yoga:
My journey with yoga began in my teens. I was fascinated by the postures, the mindfulness, and most of all the peace. Over time, I explored different styles of asana and fell in love with yin yoga. I appreciated its long holds, meditative pace, and the philosophy of yin and yang. I’ve since completed over 300 hours of yoga training, including yin and aerial yoga.
Cannabis:
My relationship with cannabis deepened when I began incorporating it into my yoga practice. It enhanced my body awareness, meditation, and creativity. Naturally, I wanted to understand why these two practices worked so well together. This led me to study the endocannabinoid system (ECS) and the long, complex history of cannabis. Since 2019, I’ve worked across the cannabis industry, from dispensaries, working with licensed producers, and have hosted community education sessions.
Yoga + Cannabis = Kushi Yin
Kushi Yin was born from the synergy between yoga and cannabis. Both activate the body’s ECS, which help regulate mood, pain, and balance within body and mind. Just as the ECS remains widely unknown, so is the true essence of yoga. Many describe yoga as postures and flexibility, but at its core, yoga is a practice of the mind. Its goal is to realize union with all - not about touching your toes (though that can be a bonus).
Kushi Yin acknowledges that both practices have histories of misrepresentation, appropriation, and regulation. Because of this, Kushi Yin aims to honor the roots of yoga and destigmatize cannabis so that we can experience these practices with awareness, respect, and empowerment.
Kushi Yin weaves together cannabis and yin yoga as tools for healing- destigmatizing plant medicine, decolonizing wellness, and reclaiming yoga as a practice of collective liberation.
First, let’s define decolonization:
decolonization is the process of deconstructing colonial ideologies, reforming institutions, and challenging modern Western norms.
To me, decolonizing wellness means recognizing that wellness isn’t achieved through class, income, or individual success. Wellness is symbiotic- it thrives in relationship. To commodify or capitalize on wellness is to miss its true meaning. Wellness is to be whole: whole in mind, body, and spirit; whole within self and community; whole with the Earth.
Placing a price wall around wellness reinforces colonial and capitalist ideals of “deservingness,” wealth, and individualism. It disconnects us from our innate relationship with each other and with nature. Decolonizing wellness means acknowledging the wellness gap, becoming aware of how we might be fueling these systems, redefining what wellness means - both personally and collectively- and using our voices to address injustice and inequality.
Decolonizing yoga means returning to its roots, a philosophy that extends far beyond movement. It’s about breath, awareness, compassion, and how we show up in the world. This approach re-centers yoga’s South Asian lineage and moves away from modern Westernized interpretations, shifting the focus from performance, aesthetics, and ego to embodiment, truth, and peace.
Destigmatizing cannabis and other plant medicines is a vital part of decolonizing wellness. The “war on drugs” and criminalization of cannabis are deeply tied to colonial power structures and systemic racism. Reclaiming cannabis as a tool for healing, reflection, and connection challenges those narratives and restores its role as a sacred plant ally. It also restores our freedom to commune with our plant allies.
At its root, yoga is about liberation. True liberation happens on a collective level because, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, none of us are free until all of us are free.