burning incense

[Godzilla]

Can burning incense spoil your health? As a casual user burning 15 to 30 minutes of sandalwood every now and then, I find the aroma soothing but somewhat smoky. If it bothers me I suppose I should stop, but I was wondering if anyone has heard about poor health as a result of too much incense burning.


Thanks
Godzilla

[pvwingchun]

Never heard that before. Burn it all the time.

The aromatherapy folks will tell you that just what you found out is supposed to happen. It relaxed you.

Smell is a very powerful. Ever smell something and then it reminds of something from the past.

[greendragon]

either buy better quality incense like morning star sandalwood or don't sit so close to it.

[Shadow Dragon]

Be careful.

There is a lot of cheap rip-off/mass-produced incense out there.
Indian will differ from Chinese, to etc.

Go to a good supplier and choose well.

Are you using sticks or cones? Effects will differ.
I use sticks, but never more than 3 together.

Seeya.

[Repulsive Monkey]

One should not try to mask the oxygen in the air we breath, but with incense we can create an influencing factor fragrance-wise by gently perfuming it, and stimulating the olfactory senses. Don't drown out the oxygen just give a hint of aroma to it.

[pvwingchun]

Good points

[greendragon]

Shadow is right. cheap incense uses benzoin as a binder producing benzoic acid when burned.

[Nexus]

I sell Incense at the school I study at. I buy it all from www.wholesaleincense.com which has high quality stuff. I'd recommend it as it doesn't burn the black smoke which makes you choke, yet still has a nice aroma.

Enjoy.

[Godzilla]

>>>either buy better quality incense like morning star sandalwood or don't sit so close to it.

Thanks everyone for responding. I am using Morning Star Sandalwood. I think i was sitting too close - about 2 feet away - and the window was blowing the smoke right into my face. I have since moved the stick about 6 feet away (that's all the room i have) and burn only half a stick in the evening. I simply break the stick in two and burn for 15 minutes or so. This definetely helps me enjoy this interesting ritual.

Many thanks,
Godzilla

[guohuen]

Morningstar musk is very good also. For sandalwood I prefer Viva. Has a touch of plum flower in it.

[Qi dup]

all things in moderation. It has been seen to cause lung cancer but it is rare. Mostly these monks who burn it in there faces 20 sticks at a time. smoke is smoke, afterall.

[BSH]

Couple comments on the last post:

1) Not all smoke is the same. Depends on what is being burnt. Not all smoke is bad or contains carcenogines (sp?). Most would agree that cigarette smoke is worse than incense smoke.

2) No monk would burn 20 sticks at a time.

[dfedorko@mindspring.com]

I burn incense all the time during training. Sets the mood to a degree. Peace.

[Qi dup]

Your probably right about the smoke BSH, I sapose I spoke without full knowledge. My apologizes. However I have seen them burning a whole lot of incense, unless it wasn't actually incense they were burning. It looked just like stick insence, but I could be wrong.

[BSH]

Qi dup:

No problem. Incense burning is a part of traditional training and it can be very harmful if done incorrectly.

There are many people who cause subtle problems in their life because of the way they burn incense.