Are you planning your yoga studio design and you are considering what type of incense to use? If YES, here are 12 best incense ideas for yoga studios.

Incense and yoga go together as perfect bedfellows. When practicing yoga, incense helps to deepen meditation, clear the senses and induce varying degrees of calmness and clarity. Molded into stick and cones, incense signals the beginning of a significant spiritual ceremony. It is a tradition that has been around for centuries and it is showing no signs of letting up.

When it comes to yoga, the act of lighting an incense stick or cone is also like a ritual. Its lighting creates anticipation and the smell and smoke brings a certain energy into the space. It is a fact that incense comes in different types and fragrance, and they also have different uses. Each type of incense affects a space in a certain way, and so if you are practicing yoga, you must have to go for an incense type that would help you increase coordination and mediation.

Since different types of incense are geared towards different purposes, we are going to help you determine the best types of incense that you can use in your yoga studio so as to achieve the best results.

12 Best Types of Incenses for Yoga Studios

There are thousands of incense types in the market and they usually come in the form of incense sticks, essential oils, incense cones and spirals. Finding the right incense for your yoga practice can be tricky as every type of incense has different characteristics and benefits. Below, we will explore some of the more popular kind of incense that are used for the practice of yoga.

  1. Frankincense

Frankincense stands out as one of the most popular choice of incense when it comes to the practice of yoga. As one of the most calming incenses, Frankincense is a popular choice for meditation. This incense type is available as both incense sticks and essential oils.

Frankincense also can be burnt easily and does not require any special rituals on that regard. This fragrant incense promotes calmness and peace and relieves stress and anxiety. You can also use Frankincense for conflict dissipation and resolution. The calming scent promotes relaxation and peace, while also relieving stress and anxiety.

2. Sage

Sage is yet another popular incense type that is used in meditation and yoga practices. Communities have been burning sage for thousands of years, especially in North America. Shamans consider dried white sage a cleansing property; they believe burning dried white sage cleanses your energy field of conflict, anger, illness and evil.

Spiritually, burning sage can rid a home of evil spirits, too. This is why it is popular with yogis. Traditionally, dried white sage is bunched together and placed in an abalone shell to smolder.

You can also widely purchase sage incense and essential oils, however, both methods are less traditional. Note that if you want to use sage the traditional way, then you have to use it outdoors in case the smoke gets too heavy. But if you are going the refined way, it is safe to use inside your yoga studio.

3. Cinnamon

The use of cinnamon incense in religious rites goes back many millennia. Cinnamon is very easy to find which also led to its widespread use as both an incense and a spice. Cinnamon incense is commonly used today as a way to increase energy in oneself or a ritual.

Cinnamon is a fire associative which means it can be used to deal with fire elements, such as passion and warmth. It is associated with sexual desire and increased energy levels, too. Rather than burning candles during sex, people usually go for cinnamon incense sticks.

But you should note that most cinnamon sold around today is actually Cassia, a close cousin to cinnamon, which is used as a substitute for cinnamon because it is much cheaper to produce. Therefore it is important to research your incense before assuming it is real cinnamon.

4. Myrrh

Traditionally used in funerals, myrrh has a lot of supposed spiritual connections. It is used to promote renewal in life and for purification, and even for exorcism. Myrrh was used as a powerful tool for healing, protection, purification, meditation, and expanding inner wisdom. It was often used as a great complement to frankincense, and it’s thought that combining the two even increases their power.

Commonly used to promote renewal in life and for purification, myrrh has an array of spiritual connections. If you are looking to cleanse your mind, or open it up to the truth, try burning myrrh. That is why it is used in the practice of yoga.

Myrrh comes from trees in the Middle East and North Africa, and was used alongside frankincense in the great ancient civilizations of Egypt, Israel, Europe, and the Middle East. Myrrh is associated with the sun, because its tree thrives in the desert sun, but it’s also associated with the moon, because of its strong feminine history as an herb for ancient goddesses.

5. Amber

Amber has a very temple-like smell, which is likely because its components have all been used in temple settings for millennia. It is great for producing clarity and often associated with truth-seeking. Amber’s components include myrrh, frankincense, styrax, benzoin, sal tree, labdanum, and other aromatic compounds.

Amber is a good incense to use during meditation in a yoga practice. Amber has connections to knowledge and history, which makes it the ideal incense if you’re organizing a self discovery yoga retreat. Similarly, you can burn amber when looking to the past in the hope of finding answers or information.

Popular to burn when experiencing changes in life, amber incense sticks can encourage a journey of awareness. Boasting connections to knowledge and history, amber incense is a perfect choice if you’re attempting to understand a complicated situation.

Other Types of Incense

6. Jasmine

Long been associated with easing depression, the aromatic little white flowers of jasmine aid to uplift the mood and calm the senses. It is also an important herbal remedy, working directly on the nervous system to calm agitated emotions, relieve headaches and relax overworked muscles. Today, jasmine is believed to contain properties that make it an antidepressant, an antiseptic, an aphrodisiac and a sleep aid. That is why this incense has some usefulness in yoga.

7. Lemongrass

Lemongrass is a known muscle pain and stress reliever. It is also commonly used for Aromatherapy, Meditation, and Yoga. Citrus smells are associated with an uplifting energy and feeling alert and lemongrass does this in a revitalizing but soothing way. It has a fresh scent and stress-relieving properties that inspire calm reflection and groundedness.

8. Copal

Copal smoke is said to repel invisible energies that appear like rays of sunlight filtering through an early morning mist. Healers and yoga practitioners make use of it as a diagnostic tool to help them see the deeper dimensions of a subjects energy field.

Copal is a traditional Mexican scent, made from the sap of a Mexican tree and is used for cleansing negative energy and inspiring positive transformation. It has a clean, woody sharp scent that lends itself perfectly to cleansing the yoga space and transforming energy. Burning Copal is used for clearing heavy energies and awakening dormant ones. Copal also encourages love and purity.

9. Lavender

Popular for its relaxing, sleep-promoting effects, lavender is the ideal scent for those wishing to unwind and find some calm in a hectic world. It’s the most typical scent for creating a sense of tranquility, and yoga teachers make good use of it to induce calmness in their students during classes.

10. Patchouli

Patchouli is an incense variety that has a distinct plant-based musty smell that is not to everybody’s taste, however with the right brand, this does not have to be overpowering. It has an exotic, heavy aroma that is said to be an aphrodisiac.

11. Lotus

Lotus is generally associated with mental clarity, increased focus, and heightened intelligence. Because of these properties Lotus is often seen as ideal for meditation. It is also beneficial for yoga practices because it is air associative.

12. Vanilla

Vanilla is air associative, and it’s a good general incense to burn during yoga practice to represent the element of air. Specifically vanilla associates with mental thought, intelligence, and all abilities conferred by these things. The incense is a good choice to burn for deities that are typically looked upon as being concerned with intelligence, like Hermes or Thoth.

How to Choose The Best Incense For Yoga

It is a fact that when shopping for incense, you may get one thing, disguised as something else. So you need to know how you can pick out the best incense in the bunch.

The first thing to do is to look for pure, natural incense sticks that come without perfumes, essential oils or un-aormatic filler. These totally natural incense sticks are made only from aromatic herbs and are the most healthy types of incense on the market.

If you don’t want to deal with a lot of smoke in your yoga studio, then choose Japanese style or Tibetan style incense, which is without a bamboo core and the type that is made with only pure rolled herbs. This style burn more slowly too and produce a subtle elegant ‘cloud’.

Natural incense sticks smell differently when you sniff directly from the pack, so you really need to light one up to get the true fragrance. If you smell a strong scent from the packet, it’s probably perfumed and best avoided. Often natural incense sticks smell of spices or don’t smell at all – but don’t let that put you off, often lighting one up you will experience a surprisingly different scent as the herbs mix together when burning.

Another way is to burn incense is in it’s raw form, but one of its drawbacks is that that it goes out too frequently so you need to keep re-lighting it. If you want to keep incense burning effortlessly whilst meditating or practicing yoga, then natural incense sticks or cones are what you should go for.

Ejike Cynthia