INTEGRATING INCENSE INTO YOUR WELLBEING PRACTICE
Do you want to integrate incense into your herbal/ wellbeing practice but don’t know where to start?
If you’re coming from an herbalist background, it can be easy to get hung up on choosing the best plants for your aromatic creations.
Many of us who are new to the aromatic incenses naturally gravitate towards using certain herbs in their blends that don’t necessarily translate in the same way in the aromatic medicine world.
For instance, Echinacea is an herbalist’s favourite for boosting immunity, but burned in an incense blend will not have the same effects, and will ruin a good smelling incense!
Incense as medicine has been utilised for ages in cultures around the world, but has unfortunately been forgotten by most modern herbalists. In our earlier blog we’ve explored my favorite ways to include aromatic healing smoke by Ayurvedic practice and how incense can become an integral part of your herbal toolkit.
THE TALE OF NOW – EMOTIONAL STATES AND PERCEPTIONS OF FEAR
First, and most importantly, we must remember that incense isn’t always going to be the right medicine and that’s okay! Every herbal preparation has its own area to shine and a multifaceted approach is usually the most successful.
We’ve found that periods of grief, depression, stress, anxiety and panic attacks are the most common opportunities to incorporate incense for healing. These troubles of the heart and mind are something each of us experience at one point or another, and incense can be an incredible support during times of emotional need.
THE 3 BEST FOR EMOTIONAL SUPPORT – AROMATIC RESINS AND BOTANICALS
Jasmine, Myrrh and Copal.
Jasmine
The great soother, Jasmine is used to address nervous disorders such as anxiety, nervous tension, restlessness, depression, and stress. A favorite among Tibetan physicians, this floral and slightly fruity aromatic is a calming herb that helps quiet the mind and nervous system allowing for deep rest when it’s most needed.
Myrrh
One traditional use of Myrrh is to aid in working through grief and reducing sorrow. Myrrh has a strong effect on the nervous system, imparting a feeling of inner peace and calm when included in an incense blend. This earthy, balsamic resin is commonly used for anxiety, overthinking, worry, and is considered a very grounding remedy.
One of the most precious commodities in the ancient world, this aromatic oleoresin still keeps its value as a component in perfumes and incense. Healing wise, it is unsurpassed as a “heal-all” for oral care.
The name Myrrh is rooted in The Aramaic word for bitter. It lives up to its name with a wonderfully rich, sweet, stimulating bitterness. Some associate this with the names Mary, Miriam, Mariam, and believe it to mean the bitter of the sea, the froth of the sea? (Sometimes associated with the Goddess Astarte, Ashtoreth). Either way, Myrrh is considered to be of a feminine nature, which is appropriate since Myrrh is ruled astrologically by the Moon and has an affinity with the fluid systems of our body. ( Frankincense is ruled by the Sun).
Copal Oro
When burns with a pleasant uplifting fragrance reminiscent of Sandarac and Mastic. Dammar has the same high vibration energy as these two resins and works in much the same way to break up and dispel yuchy energy and cleanse a space.The lemony aroma of Copal Oro incense has long been sought to relieve emotional distress. Its uplifting fragrance soothes troubled thoughts and quiets an overactive mind, resulting in feelings of rejuvenation and invigoration of the spirit.
Though often called Dammar Gum, Dammar is not a gum at all but a pure oleoresin since it contains no water-soluble gum.
Dammar is collected from a wide variety of trees in the Dipterocarpaceae family.
In Sumatra, where this resin is sourced, it is gathered from trees of the Shorea genera.
AROMATHERAPY OF INCENSE FOR RESPIRATORY SUPPORT
Another common area we can turn to incense for healing is in the case of respiratory illness. When I think of respiratory complaints, my botanist mind often wanders to plants like Mullein, Elecampane, and Horehound – all of which are beautiful qualities in other forms like tea and tinctures, but they’re not often used in incense.
A natural treatment protocol which includes multiple modalities, like ingesting herbs and using topical herbal preparations in addition to incense, can be a powerful combination.
Poplar – The warming, vanilla-like scent of resinous Poplar buds can soothe, disinfect, and astringe the mucous membranes of the throat and lungs and is considered specifically for laryngitis that is accompanied by loss of voice.
Benzoin Gum – Benzoin yields a dense Vanilla-sweet smoke when burned. From an aromatherapeutic perspective, Benzoin is calming, grounding, uplifting and helps alleviate feelings of anxiety and depression. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Benzoin has been used for different respiratory ailments that result from cold and damp states in the lungs due to its warming and drying effects. The sweet, balsamic aroma of Benzoin is an excellent addition to any respiratory incense blend.
Eucalyptus – The fresh, camphoraceous medicine of Terra Australis; aka Eucalyptus has been used medicinally for millennia. It’s strongly antiseptic and astringent, making it an ideal incense plant for many respiratory ailments. Eucalyptus acts as a decongestant and expectorant that can help relax mucous membranes, “open the chest”, clear the sinuses, and curb various infections in the lungs.
WHY AROMATIC NATURAL INCENSE MATTERS
When first learning about aromatic medicine, especially coming from a background in botanics, it’s easy to get hung up on wanting to use the same plants we’d use in other common herbal preparations as smoke medicine. This is where we have to remind ourselves of the importance of a pleasant aromatic experience.
As an example, Motherwort is one of my very favourite plants to work with in times of grief. Saying so would never suggest it on its own as a tea – it’s horribly bitter and the taste would likely ruin the experience. If an herbal remedy doesn’t taste or smell pleasant, it could result in it never even being utilised.
A good approach to avoid this pitfall is to regard the energetics of the plant you’d like to include, and determine an aromatic plant with similar effects.
Like in the case of Peace and Calm Natural Incense Ritual, we have blended the base incense with Rose, Jasmine and Frankincense. A much more enjoyable aromatic combination that can facilitate the same energetic release and feeling of being held, that we experience when working with Motherwort.
You can certainly use non-aromatic plants in your incense blends in small amounts for their energetic properties, like we added to the base here damiana, vervain, violet leaves, passionflower, meadowsweet, juniper berry and skullcap, however the primary components of your blend should always be pleasantly aromatic. We have accomplished this beauty with a top note from Musk Root Absolute. (it is worth a whole blog post next time..), but worth to say we have searched far and wide for many years trying to source this classic ingredient. Also called Sumbul, Sumbal and Ferula Sumbul, Musk root was used in the 1800’s by the Russians as a botanical replacement for Deer Musk.
INCENSE AS MEDICINE, IS THAT POSSIBLE?
When utilising incense for any reason, it helps to remember that the magic of botanical medicine isn’t just the plant you’re working with, but how you’re working with it. The physical act of sitting with incense can be prescribed in the same way that you might instruct a client to create a ritual around drinking tea for the purpose of quieting the mind and settling the nervous system.
We know that sitting in reflection, listening to what comes up in the mind, and feeling where the medicine goes in the body are all critical elements of healing – incense is beautifully suited to this experience.
Next time you’re considering including the medicine of incense in your herbal recommendations, we hope you’ll remember these tips and share your aromatic herbal successes with us here!
The magic of plant medicine isn’t just about the herbs you choose – it’s important how you work with them, as well as how and where they sourced from.
