Sat. Apr 27th, 2024

How to Use Incense Sticks at Home

By Elliot 1 year ago

Burning incense is a way of creating a calming environment in your home, as it gives off a beautiful aroma to rest and restore the mind. It that been used by different cultures over thousands of years for religious and spiritual purposes, and today it is used to enhance many practices, including yoga and meditation.

You may have seen people burning incense in their homes or at a business and wondered if you could do it too. While it is a fairly simple process, there are some important steps to follow for optimal safety and enjoyment.

Let’s learn how to use incense sticks at home.

Start with Your Incense Burner

To safely burn an incense stick, you need a vessel to hold it. As the stick burns, hot ash residue will fall off, and you need to capture that so it doesn’t land on wood or carpet. It can also discolour furniture if it lands on it.

There are several types of incense burners, including:

  • Bowls
  • Boats
  • Backflow burners
  • Vertical burners

The most common types of material used are wood, brass, copper and ceramic, with plain styles to hand-crafted, ornate designs. You can also DIY a holder with a bowl and some fine sand to get you up and run.

Select Your Incense Sticks

You can get many different fragrances, so it comes down to personal preference. You can buy sticks because you like the smell or because you have heard of the therapeutic benefits of certain essential oils, so get a variety of scents and try them all out.

Lighting the Stick

Lighting an incense stick is pretty easy, using a match or lighter, but it takes a bit to get going. Hold the narrow end of the stick or place it in your burner and keep the flame over the tip until it ignites with a small flame. Allow that to burn for 10 -15 seconds, then gently blow it out. It may also taper out on its own.

There should be a glowing ember on the end with smoke releasing out of the tip, but if not, there was too much ash created at the end during lighting. Put a flame on it again until it lights up, and you are ready to enjoy the aroma.

Burning Your Incense

Incense is meant to be enjoyed during specific practices or in the background to enhance your home environment, but you must monitor it while it’s lit. You never want to leave your home while burning incense, but as long as you’re in and out of the room where it is ignited, you will be ok.

Ensure it burns in a well-ventilated area and is safe from pets and children. Household pets have more sensitive noses, and the smell may drive them a little aggravated, so monitor your dog or cat to see if they react. Buy natural or organic incense sticks as an alternative. Be mindful of any breathing disorders other family members or guests have when considering lighting an incense stick while they are around.

Putting Out Incense

Incense sticks typically will burn for around 20 minutes to up to an hour, and the scent may last for 24 hours. This works well to spread the aroma around your home and give you all the benefits you seek. Sometimes you just want to burn your incense for meditation or yoga and save the rest. If you need to put it out early, you can:

  • Snuff it out against a fireproof surface until the ember breaks off
  • Run the end underwater until it is extinguished
  • Snip off the ember with metal scissors

Ensure the unused stick is fully cooled down before putting it on a combustible surface to ensure there is no chance of any damage. Also, ensure adequate ventilation in the room where you light it. Similarly, some sticks may have mind-altering properties because of their herbal content, so pay attention to any reactions you may feel. Most scents are curated for positive energy, and some of the most popular fragrances include:

  • Sandalwood
  • Frankencense
  • Cinnamon
  • White sage
  • Myrrh
  • Red rose
  • Lavender
  • Citrus

Benefits of Incense

You may already know that incense has beneficial properties, or you like how it smells. Benefits range from:

  • Increased focus
  • Stress reduction
  • Reduced anxiety
  • Sleeping aid
  • Room purifying
  • Sense of calmness
  • Enhancement for meditation or yoga practice

Why not make burning incense a part of your daily activity at home? It will tantalize your senses and bring you well-being with this ancient form of aroma therapy. Use this as a guide to use incense sticks at home and make your residence a fragrant delight.