I love burning incense when I do yoga. It creates an atmosphere of relaxation and meditation for me. Turning on some super hippy-type music like Trevor Hall and going through a sunrise salutation-- sandalwood swirling curls of smoke all around me-- it's one of my favorite forms of self love :)
Incense have been used for thousands of years all around the world. Evidence of resin balls and incense burners have been found in tombs of ancient Egyptian, Indus, Babylonian and Chinese cultures. The use for incense throughout history has been largely religious or spiritual, but also for the simple purpose of obscuring unpleasant smells. There is something very satisfying about the experience of incense that makes you feel like you've stepped into a different time.
Today, I'll share two different types of incense with you.
Raw incense material is made from dried plants such as eucalyptus or lavender, which alone is not very combustable. You have to use a separate heat source to burn it. This is indirect burning. A popular heat source for indirect burning is a charcoal disc.
Resin is a sticky, flammable plant product that can be combined with raw incense matter to make it burn and burn longer. Raw incense mixed and formed with resin is know as direct burning.
This form of incense is a mixture of resin and aromatic material that will burn longer than the loose material I showed above. The sandalwood core allows to stick to stay lit as it burns, much like a candle.
As you can see, this is much less hands-on than the indirect burning method. It gives off less smoke than the raw incense material too, which some people may prefer. I use them both :)
