To bring comfort, centeredness and a feeling of making any space your own…
This post comes to us from Natalie Shukur.
I have been traveling a lot this past month — staying in sublets and housesitting friends’ places across Brooklyn, living out of a suitcase, and doing my best to keep some semblance of a normal routine. Cooking my own meals, using my favorite beauty products and incorporating grounding rituals for my space, wherever that may be, all have proven to be a tremendous help. Going beyond the usual Nag Champa joss sticks and bundles of sage, I sought out some new tools to add to my kit. I’ve used various combinations of these, from the airplane to my many landing spots along the way. They have brought me comfort, centeredness and a feeling of making any space my own. These rituals will be escorting me back home to cleanse my work and sleep spaces, and help set positive intentions.
1. Smudging
Palo Santo is one of the most effective ways to clear and deodorize a space. If your place smells a bit funky, or you’ve accumulated cooking odors, these sticks of bark — wild harvested from the Palo Santo tree — will neutralize it pronto. Light a stick and let it burn for a few moments before snuffing it out and trailing the warm, woodsy smoke where it’s needed. Palo Santo, or ‘holy wood’ in Spanish, has its history in shamanic rituals across Central and South America, and is said to clear negativity, bring luck, and chase away evil spirits.
2. Resin
A travel-friendly alternative to incense sticks with a higher concentrated aroma is resin. Usually crafted from amber or pine, resin burns on top of hot coals to help you to connect to the earth and settle into a space in a ceremonious way.
3. Spritzes
Sprays and spritzes are a great space and sensory clearing aid to have on hand when burning isn’t an option. I’ve been trying out a sacred smudge mist, featuring witch hazel, Douglas fir, red cedar, pine, white sage, juniper, desert sage and vetiver to purify the air and help me sleep. Mists are also handy to use as part of your meditation practice to set the mood, and are perfect as a pillow mist on long flights.
I’ve been curious about trying Palo Santo instead of sage one day. I think I’ll have to give it a try this weekend!
Briana
http://www.youngsophisticate.com
This year I finally had my own herb garden and was so happy to make be able to make my own smudge sticks! Working with fresh herbs is so wonderful.
I also love making spritzes, the combination of scents in that one mentioned above sounds amazing!
http://www.TheEquinoxOdyssey.com
I definitely love cleansing sprays, they have a different, lighter feel. Giving a freshness with the cleanse. Palo Santo is also one of my favorites. I find that the aroma is not as strong as sage, which I love. :)
❀Riah
The Wanderful Soul Blog
Please help me find these products !! I live in NYC ! Love all of your suggestions !! Namaste !!
I need to try these!
http://www.thechickmanifesto.com
Hi – this is a wonderful article; however, it is more culturally conscious to use the term “smoke cleansing” instead of “smudging.” Smudging is a tradition of many Native American cultures, and as it is a closed tradition, unless you are part of the culture, you should not use the term. It can be very hard to use new terms especially when smudging is so often used, but in an effort to promote cultural awareness, and avoid appropriation, I believe we should avoid it whenever possible!
Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Sophia! We will definitely consider it when focusing on any smoke cleansing content in the future. <3