The Palo Santo Forest is a 50 acre forest made up of palo santo ("holy wood"), a wild tree that is widely distributed throughout Central and South America. This type of tree has several healing benefits as well as a sweet scent of pine, mint, and lemon. Palo santo is traditionally used to relieve the common cold, flu, stress, asthma, headaches, anxiety, depression, inflammation, emotional pain, and much more. The tree's scent is very uplifting and is great for meditation. Using palo santo can allow one to achieve a more balanced state, permitting a more aligned mind-body experience. Many also say that palo santo trees enhance creativity and bring good fortune to those who are open to its magic.
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| sacredwoodessence.com |
The essential oil of the palo santo trees, which contains limonene and germacrene, is what gives them their unique heavenly scent. In a recent study, the compound of the essential oil inhibited the growth of a certain type of breast cancer, MCF-7. Palo santo essential oil is significantly anti-bacterial, which probably explains its traditional use as an incense wood for dispelling bad energy. Today, palo santo oil may be applied to the body (at the base of the skull or on the spine) to increase relaxation, similar to aromatherapy. The oil is also effective for fighting free radical damage, fighting stress, and reducing pains due to arthritis because it is rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals called terpenes. Palo santo oil is very similar to Frankincense oil, for both have similar health benefits.
Palo santo essential oil benefits include:
- Fighting cancer
- Fighting infections
- Relieving inflammation
- Relieving muscular pains
- Stimulating the immune system
- Supporting a healthy nervous system
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| www.medicinehunter.com |
Like cedar, palo santo wood is burned to create a fragrant smoke. Typically, the wood is burned in a ceremonial setting, where people will smoke themselves and others with this wood, an act that is both fresh and invigorating. This type of ceremony dates back to the time of the Incan empire when palo santo wood was widely used for spiritual purifying, energy cleansing and healing. Lighting the end of a palo santo stick, allowing the flame to burn for a moment, and then blowing out the flame will release the famous mint and citrus aroma of palo santo wood. An aroma that produces a relaxation and calmness like that of palo santo wood is rare. Hundreds of years after shamans ("medicine men") burned the wood in their rituals and ceremonies, people have continued to use it for space clearing in the home and to promote the flow of positive energy. Traditionally, Criollo people have used the smoke of burning palo santo wood, by blowing it into the ears of patients with ear inflammation. Many Latin American cultures believe an illness caused by rapid changes in weather temperature can be cured by inhaling this smoke every nine days. Burning the wood has also proved to be a great mosquito repellent because it possesses aromatic resins and volatile oils. According to mystics, the smell keeps bugs and "bad energy" away.
Do you believe in the magical healing of the palo santo trees? If so, would you recommend this type of remedy as opposed to modern medicine?
No, I don't believe in the magical healing of the palo santo trees. I think the belief that inhaling the smoke of the burning palo santo wood every nine days to cure an illness is just a myth. The fragrant smoke is probably very relaxing, but I doubt that inhaling it every nine days when you are sick will help at all. To me it seems like a form of the placebo effect.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Emmy for the most part. I don't think this smoke will cure cancer or any serious illness of the like. With that said, it doesn't surprise me that this could relieve stress or maybe even a cold because many minor illnesses are caused by anxiety and stress. I would only recommend it as a tool for relaxation.
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