Meditation helps train the mind to focus and achieve clarity, while promoting relaxation.
There are many ways to practice the art of meditation, including guided exercises and special breathing techniques, but part of the experience often includes the burning of incense.
The burning of incense has always been used in ceremonies, rituals, and meditation,the smoke cleanses and clears the environment of any negative energy.
The word “incense” originated from the Latin word “incendere” which means to burn. The composition is of gum resins from aromatic trees which are imported from the Arabian and Somali coats.
Below are popular insence scents and their properties.
Sandalwood (Santalum Album) is number one according to most Buddhists. The aroma of sandalwood is warm, rich, sweet, and woody. The scent of sandalwood promotes relaxation, openness, and grounding. Its special calming effect has been used to treat anxiety and depression, and it acts as a mild sedative. It can aid with opening the Third Eye and is considered by some to have qualities of an aphrodisiac. It’s also a disinfectant. Sandalwood is one of the classic aromas that have been burned in monasteries and temples for centuries.
Aloeswood (Aquillaria spp.) is the most highly prized of the fragrant woods. The finest aloeswood, Kyara, is reputed to instantly produce the calmness achieved by a thirty-minute meditation.
Frankincense (Boswellia) is one of the most common incense ingredients and one that most people are familiar with. But there’s a reason Frankincense is so popular—it has a calming effect on the nervous system. Frankincense contains certain phytochemicals that affect the cerebral cortex and limbic systems—these have been known to expand consciousness and even induce mystical visions.
If you do decide to burn it while meditating, be sure the room is well-ventilated or that the smoke isn’t drifting directly into your face
