Medical mavens: Yoga instuctors teach holistic healing at medical marijuana dispensary

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - In yoga, it is said that breath is the link between mind and body.

Instructors Erica Kelly and Sarina will tell you it's the key to life.

"The yoga: inhale and exhale, sit with your breath, feel your breath, and know it's going to be ok as long as you breathe," said Kelly.

The women are both accomplished yogis, and strive to teach how vital yoga is to others simply out of necessity and experience.

"Personally myself, I am an insomniac, I deal with a lot of things to where I was turning to pharmaceuticals and not liking the way that it felt within my body. The next day, during the day, causing more problems than than really alleviating problems," said Kelly.

The yoga, meditation, essential oils, diet, and medical marijuana replaced the pills.

And just a few months ago, the Medicated Mavens teamed up with the Giving Tree Wellness Center, a medical cannabis dispensary. There, they hold classes three days a week.

"I think most dispensaries, they come in, and they pick up their medicine and they leave. What we are trying to create here with Medicated Mavens is an environment of healing of health, and so it's not just about the medicine, it's about an entire gammet of holistic healing," said a manager of Giving Tree Wellness Center.

The use of cannabis is not allowed in the dispensary or in the class. The yoga is taught as an alternative way to heal both the mind and the body.

"When I found other avenues, essential oils, and my diet and just sitting with my breath naturally, I found a lot more release and I just want to provide that for other people," said Kelly. "I love the space - it's healthy, it's happy, and it's welcoming. That's what patients need."

Anyone can participate in the yoga class; participants do not need a medical marijuana card.