Incense plant materials are burned to release their ambrosial aromas. They come packaged in sticks, cones, and powders in fragrances from sandalwood to jasmine to palo santo. Incense has been around for a millennium and it still has a place in numerous spiritual and religious rituals in cultures around the world.
While an exploration of their health benefits is limited, there is still plenty of reasons to use incense. Twelve easy ways to incorporate the smell-good tool into your routine.
12 reasons to use incense in your daily routine:
- Clear Negative Energy: Anytime you’re going to start a project, perform a ritual, or even do some yoga, burning incense beforehand can set the tone. “Burning sage or lobhan can be a ritual of purification, clearing out negative energy”.
- To heighten concentration while meditating: There are several scents considered to help enhance concentration and focus, like Aqua and Amber. “Frankincense is great for meditation”.
- To connect to your memories: Have a smell that makes you feel especially sentimental or thoughtful? Burn that incense for a trip back in time. “Of all our senses, our sense of smell is the only one to go directly to the brain”. Therefore, it also can evoke memories of the past.”
- To open your heart center: If you feel like your heart chakra is a little closed off, certain smells can do the trick to help you open up. Jasmine and rose, are two that are great for connecting to love.
- To help you relax and unwind: Studies have shown that certain scents, particularly scents like Lavender, can have a calming effect on our nervous systems. “Use lavender or sandalwood to evoke a state of meditation and peace”.
- To incorporate the fire element into your rituals: In many traditions like Ayurveda (India’s ancient system of medicine) and traditional Chinese medicine, the natural elements need to be balanced before true healing can begin. Using incense as a source of fire alongside the other elements (water, earth, air, and space) during things like meditation can deepen and balance your practice.
- To connect to your sense of spirituality or religion: It’s become pretty standard to see incense in religious and spiritual settings all over the world, from rituals to ceremonies. “Many indigenous cultures believe that burning incense sends our prayers directly up to Spirit”.
- To start a new routine: If you’re the kind of person who thrives on a sense of routine, lighting incense as you wind down for bed in the evening or as you get ready in the morning can help start or end your day on the right note.
- Set a timer: Stick incense typically takes about 30 minutes to an hour to burn down completely. Light them as you start working, meditating, or journaling, and continue until they burn out. The fragrance is a much more gentle timekeeper than a clock or phone.
- To practice mindfulness: Stimulating the senses is a great way to engage in the present moment. Simply find a scent you enjoy and tune into the smell fully.
- To boost your sex drive: Yep, certain scents, like rose or jasmine, have a reputation for being natural aphrodisiacs. Try those out in your incense burner the next time you want to get in the mood.
- To get grounded. And lastly, Tulsi and Kapoor are excellent scents for grounding: Feeling overwhelmed or anxious? Light either of those scents and take some deep breaths for a greater sense of calm at the moment.
Safety do’s & don’ts.
Of course, anytime you’re using incense, it’s important to keep safety in mind. Here are some dos and don’ts.
Do:
- Open a window during or after burning.
- Burn one stick at a time. (“Too much smoke can be detrimental to your lungs, especially if you have asthma or any other lung condition.”)
- Go for all-natural incense that was sustainably cultivated.
Don’t:
- Leave incense burning unattended.
- Burn incense if you have pre-existing respiratory conditions.
- Use incense with synthetic properties.
Incense can be a great addition to any yoga or meditation practice, and burning them is a soothing ritual in itself. So, find an aroma (or four or five) that you love, and burn away.
At Aparna Groups, we make all our incense with pure essential oils and natural resins. We believe in keeping clean, and that starts with cleaning the air we breathe. Our agarbatti sticks made with bamboo-derived charcoal and wood powders clean the air as it burns by pulling impurities and germs out of the air. A wide range of agarbatti sticks from Aparna Groups are Masala Incense, Scented Agarbatti, Perfumed Agarbatti, Dhoop sticks, Dhoop Cones, and Incense Cones available at the lowest prices. We manufacture high-quality incense sticks in pune and supply them.
