Smoke Therapy-Smudging with White Sage
DID YOU KNOW THAT SMUDGING MAY BE ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL ANTISEPTIC TECHNOLOGIES EVER DISCOVERED?
Ancient civilisations have used fumigation- the burning of herbs as a spiritual practice but also medicinal. It has been used as an offering to the deities, for meditation and ritual, but also to cleanse the energy in a space.
As a spiritual practitioner I honour these ancient practices and I too love using fumigation and smudging for the same purposes. I love using White Sage, Blue Sage, Juniper and Palo Santo sacred woods to name a few.
In my spiritual toolkit I have a number of aromatic tools that allows me to transcend the energy of a space but also my physical and emotional wellbeing.
Our own aboriginal people burn eucalyptus for purification of spirit but also as a ritual to fumigate against sickness. "Heat went out of sick man and into fire' (Lawless,2014)
The Native Americans use the White Sage and the Buddhist Monks loved to use the Incense of sandalwoods and juniper. Fumigation smokes used along with essential oils are also my powerful allies for healing.
In the last couple of days the coronavirus has really dominated the media worldwide. Many of us feel powerless to protect and heal ourselves from sickness. This morning I saw the below post- sorry couldn't find source which I felt shed a new light on the situation.
When I read this I felt it put it all into perspective however the underlying energy of the media and response to media is that many people feel powerless to protect ourselves, heal and prevent illness. Panic ensues and often we become fearful of the fear.
It prompted me to write this blog to encourage you to pull out your White sage and essential oils. Get back to basics and use what mother nature has provided to you for healing. Take your power back.
In 2007 study titled, "Medicinal smoke reduces airborne bacteria," published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, we now know that smudging may be one of the most powerful antiseptic technologies ever discovered.This study represents a comprehensive analysis and scientific validation of our ancient knowledge about the effect of ethnopharmacological aspects of natural products' smoke for therapy
They observed that 1h treatment of medicinal smoke emanated by burning wood caused over 94% reduction of bacterial counts by 60 min and the ability of the smoke to purify or disinfect the air and to make the environment cleaner was maintained up to 24h in the closed room.
They also found the absence of pathogenic bacteria in the open room even after 30 days is indicative of the bactericidal potential of the medicinal smoke treatment.
Your smudge sticks are powerful healing tools not only spiritually but medicinally and supported by research. Maybe take a leaf out of our own aboriginal people's book of wisdom and use the eucalyptus for smudging.
The most important thing to remember is that everything you need to heal you is within reach and has been with us all since ancient times.
Visit our Perfume Apothecary boutique to purchase our essential oils, and smudge sticks for smoke therapy.
SOURCE: MEDICINAL SMOKE REDUCES AIRBORNE BACTERIA.ABSTRACT SOURCE:
J ETHNOPHARMACOL. 2007 DEC 3;114(3):446-51. EPUB 2007 AUG 28. PMID: 17913417ABSTRACT AUTHOR(S):CHANDRA SHEKHAR NAUTIYAL, PUNEET SINGH CHAUHAN, YESHWANT LAXMAN NENE