Since the prehistoric era people have used plant smoke for ritualistic cleansing of the spirit and this use has spread into the modern day and age as well. However, according to latest scientific research this practice can actually have life-saving implications, by pur
Since the prehistoric era people have used plant smoke for ritualistic cleansing of the spirit and this use has spread into the modern day and age as well. However, according to latest scientific research this practice can actually have life-saving implications, by purifying the air of harmful bacteria.
Smudging, or the burning of herbs and plant resins for medicinal and spiritual purposes is a technique used by the indigenous people since ancient time, and the Westerners started adopting it increasingly. Smudging is a technique which should unlock the ‘spirits’ of various plant allies to restore balance and ease to the individual or group. Some even say it’s a sort of ‘spiritual shower,’ which helps you wash away emotional and spiritual negativity that accumulates in your body and the spaces you live.
However, as with everything spiritual, skeptics say that associating the burning of sage and incense with medical healing is close to “magical thinking”. They even say that smudging is actually “a New Age form of cultural imperialism where ‘plastic’ or ‘white’ shamans mimic and co-opt the traditions of indigenous people their predecessors essentially conquered.”
Since this practice has become ever so popular and in light of these contrasted opinions, we decided to explore it further and share with you our conclusions and discoveries.
Digging into the matter we uncovered a 2006 review published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology that examined single and multi-ingredient herbal and non-herbal remedies administered as smoke from 50 countries across 5 continents. The studies revealed overlapping results worldwide which indicate that medicinal smokes are mostly used in the treatment of the following specific organ systems: “pulmonary (23.5%), neurological (21.8%) and dermatological (8.1%).” Moreover, the study found that “ambient smoke,” which is the type of passively inhaled smoke generated by smudging/incense, is traditionally believed to be an effective “air purifier.” The review mentioned that modern medicine should look into the possibility of delivering drug through medicinal smoke because :“The advantages of smoke-based remedies are rapid delivery to the brain, more efficient absorption by the body and lower costs of production.”
As a spiritual ritual, smudging is not used for killing germs and bacteria, or as a way to administer drugs. But since modern biomedicine only acknowle