PEACE & CALM THE MIND WITH AROMATIC RESINS DURING SPRING SEASON

Oh loveliest gems,

spring took us by surprise, as the full bloom of the Spring season. Suddenly she appears and assuring us all that her/our axis is unmovable. There is a sense of excitement and aliveness in the air. Stirring waves of inspiration, creativity and impulsing us with her vitality. Here at the HQ in Sydney we are all about planting in the garden, taking longer bush walks for the joy of our furry love and enjoying the pure bliss of the first petals and buds on our almond trees. It does feel magical. Nourishing our mind, body and soul.

AYURVEDIC PERSPECTIVE

Hopefully we are all resonating with the earthly season. The formidability and groundedness in these early part of spring is that shepherds us into stimulation of ideas, communication, and friendships.

Just as the cosmos and the changing of the winds influences the flora and fauna, this shift in the spring is a watery season of warming temperatures. In Ayurveda we connect our micro and macro cosmos. Like the snow melts making the rivers full and muddy inside out. Warm temperatures encourage tender young sprouts and sweet sap to run in the vasculature of maple trees. Our internal landscape reflects mother nature’s. Spring is a time of cleansing and renewal. Kapha fat melts away from tissues, along with toxins, and into the blood, making the blood sweet. Blood plasma and toxins are our metaphorical maple syrup and muddy river, releasing a flood of mucus in allergy season.  While these qualities may be welcomed for productivity, too much of a good thing can also be overwhelming. If you feel like a busy hummingbird zipping from one flower to the next, and juggling many nectar drops at once…thyme to light your aromatic resins!

ANXIETY AND SPRING

Did you know that anxiety is now the most common mental disorder here in Australia affecting a staggering of 30% of the population?

The truth is, anxiety is a natural part of human existence, but with how many triggers we deal with in our modern times, it’s no wonder this basic stress and fear response has become an epidemic problem. At some point of our lives, almost all of us experience some type of restlessness. 

For some, anxiety symptoms can be fleeting. But in more and more cases, the symptoms are chronic, and can even be debilitating for many.

Many herbs and aromatic plants have the potential to ease stress and anxiety – in fact, incense and aromatherapy have been used to relieve anxiety and stress for ages across many cultures.

This is because aroma has a direct impact and positive affect on our brain and emotional and mental states.

PSYCHOLOGY OF SPRING

Love is in the air. Spring brims with affection and seems to affirm all the promise and hope of new life. Beauty seems to flourish everywhere in the form of flowers, birdsong and spring romance.

 

Spring’s enthusiasm is catching. Children’s laughter fills the air as the kids run outside to play. Hearts are light and friends are excited to reconnect after the long winter. Summer’s almost here! You may notice your social calendar is filling up as summer activities increase.

 

On hot days, or for individuals who are out of balance, you may overheat and experience frustration and aggression. Spring fever may push Pitta individuals into hyperdrive and Vata into excessive enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Kapha individuals may feel psychologically overwhelmed on days when the heat leads to congestive imbalances. Altogether, patience runs thin on hot days.

LOVE OF AROMATIC RESINS 

The use of aromatic resins is a wonderful resource to establish balance for an overactive mind and heightened sense of agitation in the body.

These resins are raw attributes of trees and plants with a thick, sticky dry sap that oozes out of its trunk, particularly when the trunk is scarred and holes are made either from insects, fungal disease or manmade. This thick sap is also the tree’s immune response to a wound, then naturally hardens from the oxidation process and exposure to air. My favourite Frankincense type, Boswellia Rivae has a haunting, rich fragrance with a soft candy-like sweetness reminiscent of its distant cousin Palo Santo (Bursera Graveolens). With a deep amber heart and a light, sweet spiciness, it is my go-to Frank in many of my blends and is a beautiful resin on the coal.

FRANKINCENSE RIVAE & SIAM BENZOIN

Like all others in its family, Frankincense Rivae is ruled by the Sun. Thus it is considered warming and strengthening to the heart and mind, grounding, cleansing and spiritually uplifting.

Frankincense Rivae is an olfactory treat! It has been used traditionally as an incense to cleanse the home, sanctify ceremonies and sacred spaces. The purification of a physical space through resin burning can also help to remind us of bringing our attention into the moment. Finding a pause to reset and calibrate our thoughts and emotions is a crucial ritual nowadays.

Our wild harvested oleoresin come from the frankincense trees in Somali region of Ethiopia from the land of no men; Sambaru Tribe, Siam Benzoin from Sumatra and Laos the precious gem of the  Styrax tree. Siam Benzoin is calming, grounding, uplifting and helps alleviate feelings of anxiety and depression.

From our point of view it is important to mention that Siam Benzoin trees are traditionally cultivated by families and smallholders, not in large corporate plantations which keeps this resin sustainable.

RITUAL THYME

These incredibly aromatic resin based rituals combined with meditation can be truly effective to bring an overall sense of peace and calm to our being.

Burning of resin has been used in ceremonial prayers, worship and ancient medicine since time immemorial. The burning of sacred plant material acts as a spiritual agent to purify the soul of evil spirits, while also cleansing the mind, body, and the physical space. Throughout many cultures and traditions across the globe shamans and medicine healers within the tribe perform rituals with plant materials and understand both the spiritual and medicinal meaning used for healing.

Particularly during reflective practice we like to use the powerful healing qualities of frankincense, benzoin, pinon pine, and sandalwood because they deliver peace, calm, and serenity with their aromatic smoke. Damiana, Lavender and passionflower are complimenting these incredible resin alchemy to bring the healing a notch up a step…

TODAY’S CLIMATE

Of course Big Pharma has all under control with short term solutions.

Dr. Aviva Romm shares that the most prevailing antidote to anxiety and panic attacks is pharmaceuticals, including but not limited to: Ativan, Xanax, Klonopin, and Valium. These prescription medications are not only highly addictive benzodiazepines, they are riddled with potential side effects. Both short- and long-term in nature, Dr. Romm cautions that the “potentially permanent impacts on cognitive function” may “mute” symptoms in the moment, but won’t stop them from returning. Nor do these drugs get to the root causes.

RISE AND SHINE WITH NATURAL STRESS RELIEF

Alternatives to anxiety medications aren’t some passing fad; they’ve been around for centuries.

Dr Joe Dispenza, author of You Are The Placebo, writes:

“ We can turn on anxiety, stress and depression by thought alone. And no organism can tolerate living in emergency mode for extended periods of time. The long-term effects of firing the hormones of stress such as anxiety, fear, dis-regulate and down-regulate genes to create disease and imbalance. That means then your habitual thoughts and feelings can make you sick.

And natural stress relief isn’t just more cost effective, it’s also more widely available than we might think. It may help to curb anxiety and panic attacks. Also provides longer term relief, whereas pharmaceuticals cannot be safely used for an extended time.

The Greek “Bios Pythagorikos” (Pythagorean Way of Life) included “a healthy vegetarian diet, daily rigorous physical exercise, and philosophical group discussions (dialectical discussions) that were meant to help a person better understand their universe and their purpose within that universe,” according to Dr. Nicholas Kardaras.

NATURAL INCENSE TO THE RESCUE

Research by Dr. Karen Schwartz, MD, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins, found that ongoing emotional states can actually weaken your immune system! We talk in-depth about this here in our previous blog by giving practical steps for helping you free yourself from the bondage of negative emotions in your life.

Natural Incense Rituals with their aromatic resins help calm your mind, boost your mood and affiliate a meditative state to support emotional healing process. Keep our incense rituals with you on your emotional detox journey and start to experience the Abundant Celestial Thyme of your own today!