by Stephanie B Bucklin, HHP
For me, self-care isn’t something I save for the occasional spa day. It is something I practice every day. Living with chronic pain and insomnia has taught me to pay attention to the small choices that help me care for my body, calm my mind and create an environment where I can rest.
My rituals have evolved over the years. They include gentle movement and yoga, meditation, breathwork, nourishing plant-based foods, massage, heat, nervous-system regulation, intentional rest and learning to listen to my body instead of constantly pushing through what it is telling me.
Cannabis and CBD have also been part of that wellness toolkit for years.
I’ve long been an advocate for responsible cannabis use and education. I believe this plant deserves a thoughtful place in conversations about holistic wellness – without exaggerating what it can do or treating it as a cure-all.
That’s one reason becoming an affiliate for Pure Canna Organics felt like such a natural extension of the work I already do.
Three products in particular represent the different ways I incorporate cannabinoid wellness into my self-care philosophy: Sleepy Time CBD + CBN Gummies, Full Spectrum CBD Oil Tinctures, and Muscle & Recovery CBD Cream.
Sleepy Time CBD + CBN Gummies: Creating a Ritual Around Rest
Sleep isn’t simply the absence of activity. It’s part of how we restore ourselves. When you’ve experienced insomnia, however, bedtime can sometimes become something you anticipate rather than welcome. You can be physically exhausted while your mind and body haven’t quite gotten the message that the day is over.
I’ve learned that I can’t force myself to sleep. What I can do is create conditions that encourage rest. My nighttime ritual might include dimming the lights, putting away electronics, gentle stretching, breathing exercises, meditation or prayer, and intentionally allowing the stimulation of the day to fade.
The Pure Canna Organics Sleepy Time Gummies fit beautifully into that philosophy. Each gummy contains 40mg CBD and 5mg CBN, with less than 0.3% THC. CBN is another naturally occurring cannabinoid that has become increasingly popular in nighttime wellness products.
Rather than thinking of a gummy as something that “makes me sleep,” I think about it as one component of a larger evening ritual.
The ritual itself matters. It’s my way of telling myself: The work is finished. You don’t need to solve anything else tonight. It’s time to rest.… That shift from trying to force sleep toward intentionally creating space for rest has become an important part of my self-care philosophy.
Full Spectrum CBD Oil: Whole-Plant Wellness
CBD tinctures offer another way to incorporate hemp-derived cannabinoids into an intentional wellness routine. Pure Canna Organics offers a 4800mg Full Spectrum CBD Oil Tincture, a concentrated option for people who prefer a full-spectrum hemp product. “Full spectrum” means the extract contains CBD alongside other naturally occurring components of the hemp plant, including additional cannabinoids and terpenes. Full-spectrum hemp products can also contain legally permitted trace amounts of THC.
This is sometimes described as the entourage effect — the hypothesis that multiple cannabis compounds may interact differently when consumed together than isolated CBD alone. Research into these interactions continues, so I prefer to view the entourage effect as an interesting area of cannabinoid science rather than a guaranteed outcome.
What I appreciate most about tinctures is how easily they can become part of an intentional daily ritual. Wellness isn’t always about doing something dramatic. Sometimes it’s simply pausing, checking in, breathing…
Asking: What does my body need from me today?
That moment of awareness is valuable regardless of which wellness tools I ultimately choose.
Muscle & Recovery CBD Cream: Caring for the Places That Hurt
This is probably the most personal of these three products for me. I’ve used CBD salves, creams and lotions for years as part of how I care for areas where I experience chronic discomfort, particularly my neck, lower back and knees.
When your body hurts regularly, it’s easy for your relationship with your body to become adversarial.
- “Why are you doing this to me?”
- “Why can’t you just cooperate?”
- “Why can’t I do what I used to do?”
I’ve been learning another way. Instead of fighting my body, I try to care for it.
The Pure Canna Organics Muscle & Recovery CBD Cream contains 1000mg CBD in a 5-ounce topical cream and can be applied directly to areas where you want to incorporate massage and topical self-care.
For me, applying a topical isn’t merely about the product. It’s also about touch. When I gently massage my neck, back, knees or another tired area, I’m giving that part of my body attention rather than judgment. That might happen alongside ice or heat, stretching, massage, somatic movement, Yoga Nidra classes, or simply lying down and allowing myself to recover.
The message becomes: I hear you. I’m paying attention. I’m going to take care of you. That is self-care.
My Holistic Wellness Toolbox
One reason I’m comfortable talking about CBD is that I don’t believe any single product creates wellness. I believe in whole person healing. Every day, I consume nourishing food, drink lots of water, and incorporate movement with walking the dog, swimming, and yoga.
I value my sleep. I still struggle with insomnia from time to time, usually due to neck pain. The sleep gummies help with this, when i am unable to relax.
I value connection. As such, I frequently reach out to friends to meet for lunch or to go see a movie. For me, I see that social connection is one of our requirements for true whole person wellness.
Mindfulness became a moment by moment practice over 10 years ago. I experienced a traumatic brain injury in 2013 that set me back mentally and emotionally. After the injury, I lost access to my short term memory. My emotional reactions went haywire, and the daily headaches were almost unbearable. My relationships suffered. At the time, through meditation, I found a door out of my physical awareness to ESP and higher consciousness. I found God and I sat with the Angels. I found that spending time in the 5th dimension allowed me to experience relief from the constant pain of that injury.
Spirit brought me back to my three dimensional awareness, and taught me how to be present. Mindfulness became a moment by moment practice. If I wasn’t being present in the NOW, I was getting lost in my day-to-day challenges due to my limited brain capacities. It was with a mindfulness practice, I found my way back to myself.
Stress management became an important practice following the traumatic brain injury. After a decade of practicing these tools, I wrote a book about them.
In time, I started to unravel my past traumas. The physical traumas are still in my body – injuries, falls, auto accidents, and the assault. Everything left its mark in my body. I have explored many somatic movement practices, and have learned self-massage and deep breathing have their merits in managing my stress as well as healing. Nothing has been as powerful at managing my emotions as nervous-system regulation. The tools I shared in my most recent book became my savior.
Time in nature brings calm to my body. When I walk my dog, I look at the trees and grass, I interact with the animals (hummingbirds, community cats, neighbor’s dogs). And I connect with the older trees, sometimes touching their trunk to acknowledge them. I don’t have to go to the mountains to be with nature. I am always with nature, through the crystals I wear on my skin to my deep connection with Gaia energy in my meditations.
Spiritual practices are very much a part of my wellness lifestyle. I meditate daily, often listening to a Reiki Healing or Divine Light Meditation playing on YouTube while I sit. Years ago, I signed up for YouTube Premium for the benefit of my meditation practice. I enjoy using Youtube without the commercials.
Of course, along this wellness journey, I have relied on professional healthcare when we need it. My doctors have been helping me with the disability journey. I visit with my primary doc most often, but specialists are also part of my healthcare team. I have a spine doc, a neurologist, and a gastroenterologist who I see as needed.
Learning how to respond compassionately to my own body has been the most tender aspect of my healing journey. Because chronic pain has been a part of my journey for most of my adult life, not to mention that I’ve always been an early adopter – I have explored many, many holistic modalities and therapies that have promised relief.
I’ve learned that self-care is of paramount concern. When we acknowledge our own needs in any given moment, we can learn how to access inner peace.
Tools like tinctures, salves and gummies have been a part of this healing journey for a long time. CBD is simply another tool that can exist within the larger picture of my Holistic Wellness Toolbox.
A Word About CBD
Cannabinoids also affect people differently. They can interact with medications, and full-spectrum hemp products may contain THC. Anyone who is pregnant or breastfeeding, takes medications, has a medical condition, needs to avoid THC, or is uncertain whether CBD is appropriate for them should speak with an appropriate healthcare professional before using cannabinoid products.
Quality and transparency matter too. I encourage consumers to look at ingredients, potency and independent laboratory testing rather than assuming all CBD products are created equally.
Self-Care Is an Act of Relationship
Perhaps the greatest lesson chronic pain and sleepless nights have taught me is that self-care isn’t really about products. It’s about relationship.
How do I relate to myself when I’m hurting?
- Do I criticize my body because it can’t keep going?
- Or do I listen?
- Do I treat rest like something I have to earn?
- Or do I recognize that rest is part of being human?
- Do I override my body’s signals?
- Or can I become curious about what they’re asking me to notice?
My self-care rituals are ultimately ways of practicing that relationship. Sometimes it’s yoga or meditation. Sometimes it’s heat and a CBD cream. Sometimes it’s creating a peaceful nighttime routine and taking a CBD + CBN gummy.
Sometimes it’s simply lying down and saying, “Enough for today.” And that counts too. 💜
I am gentle with myself now. This has made all the difference.
Explore Pure Canna Organics
If CBD or cannabinoid wellness has been something you’ve wanted to explore, I invite you to learn more about Pure Canna Organics and decide whether any of their products might have a place in your personal wellness rituals.
You can explore their Sleepy Time CBD + CBN Gummies, Full Spectrum CBD Oil Tinctures, Muscle & Recovery CBD Cream, and their other hemp-derived products through my affiliate link:
When you order through my affiliate link, you are also supporting my small business and the work I do to share holistic wellness education with our community. Thank you. 💚
Remember: self-care doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes it begins with one simple question:
What would it look like to lovingly care for myself today?
~S
Affiliate Disclosure: I am a Pure Canna Organics affiliate and may receive a commission when you make a purchase through my affiliate link, at no additional cost to you. I only share products and wellness practices that align with my personal philosophy and experience.
The information in this article is educational and reflects personal experience. It is not medical advice. Individual experiences with cannabinoid products vary. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. Consult an appropriate healthcare professional regarding CBD, CBN, THC, medications, medical conditions, pregnancy or breastfeeding, and other individual health considerations.
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