Incense And Its Meaning In Modern World
In today’s fast paced lifestyle, people constantly keep complaining about being stressed. Either physically, mentally or by both ways, men & women are getting stressed these days. Stress management has become a great, important need of hour for such men & women. There are many effective ways of managing stress at work, life. Meditations, yoga, Aromatherapy are some of the important & popular among them. Meditation has been proved scientifically to combat stress and stress related disorders like high blood pressure, insomnia and heart diseases. Using an Incense Aromatherapy Meditation to Help With Stress & managing it effectively is getting increasingly popular.
Incense, is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term “incense” refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, masking bad odours, and in medicine. It is widely practiced therapy, commonly called as ”Meditation aromatherapy” which is a type of meditation where one uses essential oils or incense in conjunction with meditation to help produce those desired states of well-being and raising consciousness.
Incense is composed of aromatic plant materials, often combined with essential oils. The forms taken by incense have changed with advances in technology, differences in the underlying culture, and diversity in the reasons for burning it. One of the most important reasons why incense is used is that it purifies the air and has an extraordinary soothing effect on the mind. Just like candle brightens up a darkened room, the aromatic effect of incense offers tranquility to the senses.
Incense is said to have several medicinal effects too. Many earlier civilizations used incense as a herbal medicine for treating health disorders. This in fact forms the basis of aromatherapy. Many incense ingredients are used as medicines all over the world.
Aromatherapy – Treatment Using Scents
Having heard Aroma, one becomes positive & suddenly mind starts thinking about pleasing scents. Today human being experience pleasing scents through different products, occasions & environments. According to Science, pleasing scents & specific type of scents have been beneficial in treating different human ailments & diseases. This field of treatment in science is popularly known as “Aromatherapy”.
Simply, Aromatherapy means “treatment using scents”. It is a holistic treatment of caring for the body with pleasant smelling botanical oils such as rose, lemon, lavender and peppermint. The essential oils are added to the bath or massaged into the skin, inhaled directly or diffused to scent an entire room. Aromatherapy is used for the relief of pain, care for the skin, alleviate tension and fatigue and invigorate the entire body. Essential oils can affect the mood, alleviate fatigue, reduce anxiety and promote relaxation. When inhaled, they work on the brain and nervous system through stimulation of the olfactory nerves.
Aromatherapy is one of the fastest growing fields in alternative medicine. It is widely used at home, clinics and hospitals for a variety of applications such as pain relief for women in labor pain, relieving pain caused by the side effects of the chemotherapy undergone by the cancer patients, and rehabilitation of cardiac patients.
The essential oils are aromatic essences extracted from plants, flowers, trees, fruits, bark, grasses and seeds with distinctive therapeutic, psychological, and physiological properties, which improve and prevent illness. Fragrant oils extracted primarily from flowers or delicate plant tissues through solvent or supercritical fluid extraction, hherbal distillates or hydrosols which are the aqueous by-products of the distillation process (e.g. rosewater). There are many herbs that make herbal distillates and they have culinary uses, medicinal uses and skin care uses.
From boosting your immune system to helping you relax, aromatherapy benefits you in many ways.
Aromatherapy Massage Oils
Aromatherapy is defined as an alternative form of medical practice that is different from the commonly accepted mainstream medical practice. In aromatherapy, the use of essential oils to be used to bring about the desired effects is done. These oils are rubbed on the body and they are responsible for causing a relaxed, stress-free feeling. In addition, these aromatherapy massage oils help to alleviate muscle tension problem and improve the body’s circulation.
A Beginner's Guide to Aromatherapy and Essential Oils
Beginning aromatherapy can be a little discouraging. There’s SO many oils to choose from, with an incredible array of effects, and an equally incredible array of safety warnings. Where is one to start? Well, like learning anything new, the important thing is to actually get started – buy a few bottles of inexpensive, yet broadly appealing and effective oils and give them a try. It’s really more simple than you might think to use essential oils for things like stress reduction and minor wound healing. At the same time, you’ll be venturing into an entire branch of natural medicine, one in which European doctors even specialize in for addressing a wide variety of ailments. There are many, many excellent books available to advance your knowledge; just remember that essential oils are potent medicines: start slowly, use essential oils that are considered safe in all applications, and keep learning to expand your area of expertise.
What are the Benefits of Aromatherapy Oils?
A combination of massage therapy and accupressure are commonly use in combination with aromatherapy for a wonderful and therapuetic experience. Many physical conditions and afflictions should not be treated with aromatherapy and massage/accupressure. The reason for this avoidance is due mainly to the many different benefits and effects that one gets from the herbs and botanicals used for most of the aromatherapy massage oil mixtures. Therefore, it is essential that you check with a medical proffessional before trying aromatherapy treatments for specific ailments.
Aromatherapy for Pregnant Women: Locating What's Safe
Any woman who has been reading about the 101 things they need to avoid during pregnancy knows that essential oils is among the many no-nos. This is primarily due to the fact that researchers have linked uterine contractions with the use of some of these natural botanicals.
Aromatherapy Massage
There is no better way then to sensually communicate with your partner then to have a warm bath seeped with your sensual oil blend followed by a gentle massage with your complimenting massage oil.
Aromatherapy’s History of Healing
The use of scent and essential oils as medical treatments have a long history that dates back to the time of Hippocrates, when skin problems were treated with aromatic baths.
Top 10 Benefits of Incense to the Mind and Body
1. Enhances Concentration & Focus. 2. Stimulates Creativity. 3. Increases Motivation. 4. Boosts Confidence. 5. Heightens Sexual Desire. 6. Prevents Infections. 7. Relieves Headaches. 8. Fights Depression. 9. Reduces Anxiety & Tension. 10. Aids Insomnia.
Using Incense In Tantric Yoga Practice
Using an incense is an important part of Tantric Yoga.
The most suitable incense for any tantric practice are Tibetan Incense.
Tibetan Incense is made from a blend of different herbs, spices, plants and minerals from centuries’ old recipes.
All natural ingredients are used such as flowers, leaves, grass, wood, bark, spices, and aromatic herbs found in the high altitude regions of Tibet and Nepal.
The tibetan incense, unlike Indian one, is made from rolled herbs, so there is no wooden stick inside and no chemicals used that could be allergenic or harmful to inhale.
Many tibetan incenses are actually made for inhalation.
The medicinal incense are prepared using strict vedic formulas which are based on ancient medical tantra texts that have remained unchanged for centuries.
In Tibet, tradition of making and using incense exists since the very beginning of human existence.
The art of making and using of incense was flourished in Tibet even before Buddhism, along with a ancient Bon mystic tradition.
Buddhism evolved in Tibet to a great extent in the 7th century AD under the reign of religious kings of Tibet, along with the development of making incense based on the sacred Indian tantric texts.
This way, the art of making and using of incense is a combination of Bon and Indian tantric traditions.
Burning of incense gives you much needed mood and environment that is crucial when you do Tantric Yoga, Tantric Massage and any kind of tantra or mystic practice.
