Incense can be used to trigger a number of responses, from relaxation to being used as a sleep aid, to increase motivation, or to heighten sexual desire. Above secular responses, incense is believed to carry with it religious and philosophical power. There’s a number of benefits when burning incense.
Spirituality
A lot of people who use incense regularly believe it is a doorway to spirituality. It can be used secularly and spirituality and has been for thousands of years. It’s worth noting religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity heavily believe in the power of incense in connecting to spirituality.
You can relax
Incense alight, you can sit down on the sofa after a day’s work with a meal or a cup of tea and unwind. Listen to some music, read a book, or watch some calm TV. You can also use incense while taking a bath or lying in bed. Frankincense, sandalwood, and cedarwood are excellent incense choices.
Creativity simulator
The right incense fragrance can stimulate creativity and artfulness. A lot of artists and musicians over the years have used incense to write songs and create pieces of art, believing it improves performance mentally and helping them to find their ideas. The most common creativity-favourited incense types include lemongrass, citrus scents, geranium, ylang-ylang, and aloeswood.
Concentration
If you work from a home office or are just struggling to stay awake and focused, a little bit of incense can prove to be uplifting in enhancing your concentration. Fragrances subtly impact mind and body, which can make them a very effective partner in studying, keeping focused on a given task, or working from home.
Reduces anxiety
Incense will reduce stress and anxiety, helping to calm down one’s breathing and heart rate. If you’re someone prone to worrying about things, a pure high-quality incense may help slow things down. A scent like a sandalwood is best for this although lavender and rosemary are also scents coming with a lot of anxiety-reducing power.
Helps meditation
Incense is common in various meditation-driven religious practices to help focus attention, heighten senses, and connect. Incense sticks burning can also be used as a sort of timer when meditating, to keep your session limited to a certain period of time. For meditation, sandalwood incense works well as well as the lotus variety.
Mindfulness
Taking an incense stick and lighting it creates an environment of mindfulness, whether it’s in a secular, religious, or aesthetic manner. Incense allows you to let go and focus on yourself. While taking time in preparing incense, it can become a sort of pattern or routine that precludes mindfulness. In a sense, you train your mind to be more mindful.