Frankincense (Omani)

As soon as you smell the warm, rich, sweet-woody scent of frankincense, it is easy to understand how special this plant truly is. Both as a resin or essential oil frankincense is opening and relaxing for both the body and mind.

Health benefits: Frankincense and myrrh are from the same plant family (Burseraceae) and grow as small shrub-like trees in dry climates; such as India, Oman, Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The resin of both plants has been used medicinally and for spiritual practices for over 5,000 years, and with good reason.

Uses:

• acts as a natural sedative (wonderful for insomnia), awakens insight, soothes anxiety, anger and stress
• tones and lifts skin, heals and protects skin (against  boils, wounds, acne and other skin maladies), fades and heals scars
• relieves pain associated with rheumatism, arthritis, etc., soothes inflammation
• eliminates germs (either by burning resin or applying oil topically)
• strengthens gums and hair roots, and contracts muscles, intestines and blood vessels (by firming and toning)
• improves digestion and alleviates gas, abnormal sweating, uneasiness, and indigestion
• promotes regeneration of healthy cells and keeps existing cells and tissues healthy.

How to burn resins

The charcoals used to burn resins gets very hot. Use a burner made for resin incense, with a metal screen or with sand or rocks to insulate from the heat.

We often break the charcoals in half because they burn for nearly an hour. Light the charcoal with a lighter or match, and when it starts to spark, put it in the burner.

lt is best to let the whole charcoal begin to glow before adding any resin. Then sprinkle on the resin as desired, a little bit at a time. lf you add too much or cover the charcoal completely, you might put out the charcoal. Also, most natural resin incenses smell better when burned in small amounts at a time.

Keep away from kids and pets. Let the charcoal burn down completely, and make sure it's all ash before throwing out because it could set trash on fire. Ask us how we know!

We don't clean the burner after every use. When there is a collection of ash in the burner, pour contents into strainer over the sink and rinse with water. Let dry, and put rocks back in burner. (If you use sand you'll just have to dump the whole mess and use fresh sand).

Store unused charcoal in a zip-lock bag or in a jar, because they won't burn well if they collect humidity from the air.

Note: These statements have not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration, and this product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. We at eSutras do not recommend internal use of supplements or herbs without prior consultation with your doctor or herbalist.