Did you know that candles have been used as a source of light and illumination for more than 5,000 years? The Ancient Egyptians are often attributed with the earliest use of candle when making rushlights or torches by soaking the pithy care of reeds in melted animal fat. These candles did not necessarily have a wick like a true candle, but this is often known as the beginning of candles.
Wicked candles came around when ancient Romans began dipping rolled papyrus repeatedly in melted tallow or beeswax. These candles were used to light their homes, to aid travelers at night, and in religious ceremonies. Early Chinese candles were molded in paper tubes, using rolled rice paper for the wick, and wax from an indigenous insect that was combined with seeds. The Japanese made candles from wax extracted from tree nuts, while those in India made them by boiling the fruit of cinnamon trees.
Today’s candles have come a long way since their initial use. While no longer used as a primary source of light, they are still popular and have common use. Often, today’s candles are used to symbolize a celebration, ignite romance, soothe the senses, honor a ceremony, or serve as home decor.
For this post, we wanted to focus on ways that burning candles can be beneficial to your health. Living a healthy lifestyle includes self-care and taking care of your mind. Candles can assist in providing the best atmosphere to create calmness and a sense of well-being. During anxious times, candles help you not be enveloped by fear. We have put together a list of six activities that are already beneficial to your health and can be even more so with the addition of burning a candle.
Read a Book
For many book lovers, it’s fairly apparent how important that spending time reading is to our well-being. Reading is a time for physical rest and relaxation. It’s a time for our minds to enter imaginative places. Be sure to incorporate reading into your daily life. Pair this time with a candle. The candle can help set the mood during your reading time. Choose a candle based on your reading location, the genre you are reading, the book stories you are reading, or even the specific book.
Burning a scented candle can invoke the senses and add to the experience of reading. While reading, try burning our Leather Books candle. Woodsy oakmoss, sweet amber and musky leather combine to bring a mysterious and magical atmosphere. We also have many scents inspired by specific books.
Join a Book Club
An important part of self-care is building meaningful connections and relationships with others. Joining a book club is a great way to find others with common interests, especially a love of reading. While we often think of book clubs as happening in bookstores or libraries, with today’s current technologies, it’s easy to participate in group chats and video calls online. No matter the method, the goal is to connect with others.
Not only can burning a candle be paired to match the group’s current book. It can also be used as an organizational device. Make it a standard group practice to use lighting the candle to signify that the book club meeting has started. Blow the candle out to signify that the meeting has ended. This will quickly become a part of your meeting book club ritual. Our Time Well Spent candle celebrates times spent with others. Enjoy the aroma of freshly baked blueberry muffins combined with subtle hints of rich coffee and cream.
Meditation
The list of different types of meditation spans long distances. To keep it simple, meditation is the practice of resting the mind. Today’s busy world means that we are constantly being exposed to information and distraction. If not monitored, our minds don’t get a chance for rest and relaxation. Every self-care routine should include some form of meditation, even if for only a few minutes each day.
Find something that’s already a part of your daily routine to turn into meditation. For example, light a candle at your desk right before you start the work day. Spend a few minutes observing the flames and letting your mind rest. Then, begin your day. The Books to the Ceiling candle, with a base of sandalwood, create a nice grounding environment for meditation.
Take a Soak in the Tub
When you really need to unwind, take a soak in the tub. Even something as simple as spending extra time soaking can provide a huge amount of benefit to your well-being. Adding a candle to this time creates tranquility. Get creative by blending different bath products scents with different candles.
Our Night Court candle blends sea salt and jasmine making it perfect to burn during an extra long soak in the tub.
Yoga
Getting physical exercise is one of the top forms of self-care. Yoga, particularly, provides a great way to ease into a physical routine. While helping you be more flexible, increasing muscle strength, improving muscle tone, yoga also provides many health benefits. Many use yoga to reduce anxiety and stress, improve sleep quality, and even improve health conditions.
Rainy Day Reading can invoke calmness allowing you to deeply breath the scent of rainwater and honeysuckle. If you are looking for a more invigorating candle for your yoga session, try Giggle Water, a blend of berries, champagne, and citrus.
Declutter your Living Space
Some strongly dislike cleaning and don’t easily see it as a way of taking care of yourself. Yet, getting rid of extra things in your space gives you fewer things to keep clean, giving you more time for other things that you love, such as reading. Burning a candle while cleaning can help make it a more positive experience. It can also help you create clean, lovely smells while you clean.
When decluttering, we recommend focusing on a small space at one time. Have fun by choosing a particular scent for each room. Kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms are great with fresh or fruity scents. Earthy scents are great for home library and bedrooms. While living rooms and dining rooms tend to have food inspired-scents. Our Reading Under Covers candle smells like a fresh load of laundry combining the scent of linen and pomegranate. We think it would do well in every room while cleaning.
Why candles help reduce stress
Candles really do relieve stress. Put one, some, or all of the above ideas into a regular self-care routine. It’s not difficult to get started. Taking this step improves the way that you love yourself and will positively impact your health. The flickering flame of a candle emits a gentle rhythmic dance. It pulls your focus with its dancing and colors. Using scented candles takes this a step further by incorporating your sense of smell, bringing you further into calmness. We offer a wide variety of natural soy candles, especially for nerdy book lovers.
Remember that not all candles are the same. Depending on a candle’s composition, it can actually be harmful. This is the main reason why we use soy wax to avoid the harmful health effects of paraffin wax. If you plan to burn candles frequently, be sure to educated yourself on how to choose a quality candle.
Sources:
National Candle Association