How To Meditate With Aromatherapy
There are many different ways to meditate, and as long as a
meditation technique provides the opportunity to quiet the mind and relax the
body, meditation has many benefits for health and stress relief. The following
technique combines the benefits of aromatherapy with the simplicity of focused
meditation to create an easy form of meditation even for those who are new to
meditation or find the practice to be challenging.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 5 to 30 Minutes
Here's How:
1. Get into a
comfortable position and light a stick of incense according to the directions.
2. As the trails of smoke curl and waft upwards, just
focus on watching. Let yourself become immersed in the different paths and
patterns the trail of smoke begins to take.
3. If other thoughts come into your head, gently
bring your attention back to the trail of smoke left from the incense. Just
stay in the present moment and enjoy the simple and elegant display.
4. Maintain this process for as long as you’re able
to (taking into account the time you have available and your ability to focus).
You may want to spend only five to ten minutes a few times a week at first, and
as your ability to focus and remain present grows, lengthen your sessions and
try the practice more often.
Tips:
1. One stick of incense (I like Maroma’s lavender
stick incense, which I got from Whole Foods. I highly recommend it, or here’s a
selection of very reasonably priced, qualitiy varieties form PriceGrabber.)
2. While the main idea of this meditation is to stay
in the present moment, your thoughts will wander at first. As this happens,
rather than being critical of yourself for losing focus, congratulate yourself
for noticing that your thoughts have crept in, so you can again redirect your
focus to the present.
3. According to many experts in aromatherapy, the
best scents for relaxation are lavender (for calming properties), sage (for
cleansing abilities), and peppermint (for mental focus), but you can use any
scent that resonates with you.
4. Because the scent from stick incense is
distributed via smoke, be careful not to get the trails of smoke too close to
your face. If you are in a well-ventilated room, there should be no problem
from the incense itself as long as you’re not directly inhaling its smoke.
5. If you have problems with burning incense (due to
respiratory problems, for example), try a different type of meditation.
What You Need:
A few uninterrupted minutes.
Some privacy, preferably.
| 
