In Cambridge, a cannabis yoga class gives a toke of what’s to come

Massachusetts could see a lot more of these marijuana-infused activities starting later this year, when the state plans to open applications for “social consumption” licenses, allowing lounges, cafes, and events to serve pot products in gathering spots.

Ortega’s class, called Bhang Yoga — bhang refers to a cannabis edible preparation dating back thousands of years in India — operates in something of a legal gray area. Participants’ class registration grants them membership to a private cannabis club, Diaspora. A dispensary, The Boston Garden, cosponsored the class by providing the cannabis.

As instructors guided the class through yoga poses, breathing techniques, and deep stretches, some yogis paused for toke breaks, sending rings of smoke into the air. The class’s energy was lighthearted. As some lost their balance on trickier poses, many laughed through it together.

Businesses like Bhang Yoga have worked to find ways to offer experiences for Massachusetts residents to consume cannabis outside their homes, the only place consumption has been explicitly legal in the state since voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2016.

In December, the state Cannabis Control Commission announced it hoped to open applications for three types of social consumption licenses sometime after voting on final regulations in mid-2025.

One of the three proposed license types would provide non-pot-related businesses, such as yoga studios, gyms, cafes, and theaters, with the ability to hold on-site consumption events in partnership with qualifying marijuana businesses. The other licenses would allow existing marijuana businesses to open spaces for on-site consumption, and event organizers to create temporary permits for consumption during one-time events.

“It will open up a lot of opportunities for anybody who’s in the industry that involves the cannabis plant, and that’s what we’ve been looking for,” said Ortega. “We’ve been looking for spaces that we can bring our business to that will allow us to fully function the way we want to.”

The commission has said that the new licenses will be exclusively available for five years to entrepreneurs who are members of the state’s social equity and economic empowerment programs, both aimed at benefiting communities targeted by the war on drugs.

Ortega, a Roxbury native, said she would love to apply for a license to open her own cannabis yoga studio, but she won’t be able to because she was not accepted into the social equity program. She said she was told she did not qualify because her current Boston address was not classified as an area disproportionately affected by marijuana criminalization, a requirement for the program. Ortega said she intends to keep teaching at private spaces for now, and hopefully apply for a license when she can.

“I never imagined it would be so hard for a cannabis yoga class,” said Ortega.

Commission leaders have looked to other states that have permitted social consumption, including visiting Colorado and California, to inform the regulations, said Commissioner Nurys Camargo.

Social consumption regulations have been in the works for years, she said. The commission first started drafting social consumption rules in 2018, but with regulators more focused on opening the state’s first pot stores at the time, the commission put the topic on hold.

“We were told to crawl before we walked and to walk before we ran,” Camargo said.

Leaders for cities and towns such as Cambridge, Chelsea, Holyoke, Northampton, Provincetown, and Somerville have already expressed interest in welcoming social consumption businesses into their communities, said Camargo.

Licensed businesses and spaces would not be permitted to serve alcohol or tobacco alongside cannabis products, as the commission described at a Dec. 5 presentation. All marijuana establishments would also be required to offer food and follow regulations aimed at maintaining air quality.

Some cannabis advocates feel the regulations are overly limiting. Ethan Vogt, manager of Home Grown Boston, a cannabis education and event business, said small businesses may be set up to fail if they can’t also serve alcohol, must give 120 days notice for events, and can’t hold events in public spaces.

“I’m concerned that the regulations will be too restrictive and too expensive to implement, and not flexible enough to support entrepreneurs that are not backed by very big companies,” said Vogt.

The commission is working to release new regulations around March with changes based on community feedback, said Camargo.

For people like Ortega, the move to bring cannabis more mainstream is welcome. Ortega first turned to yoga to manage pain from an autoimmune disease while also juggling working full-time as a preschool teacher, being a single parent, and building a jewelry small business.

“My body felt like it was falling apart,” she said. “My mind felt like chaos.”

After finding solace in yoga, Ortega finished her teacher training in 2015 and held her first cannabis yoga class two days after voters approved marijuana legalization in 2016. Since then, Massachusetts’ tight restrictions have limited Bhang Yoga from running in the ways she first envisioned.

“It’s not exactly easy, but because I love it so much and it’s already part of my lifestyle, there is no way that I would give it up,” she said. “Regardless if I’m making money or not, I’m still going to be doing this.”

Alanka Gurley, who has been attending cannabis yoga classes for about two years, said classes such as Bhang Yoga’s make it easier to do what people are doing anyway. Previously, she would smoke before getting to a yoga class and after, so having the option to consume throughout the class made the evening feel less rushed and stressful. Cannabis, she added, has deepened her yoga practice.

“I can just feel the weight of the day lifted off of me,” Gurley said, adding: ”I’m excited for what’s in store with more opportunities like this.”

Maren Halpin can be reached at maren.halpin@globe.com.