Meditative or meditation candles are quite a popular ritual in today’s fast-paced world. They have numerous benefits for both the body and mind, helping you to stay grounded and focused. Lighting a candle can help you relax faster and more effectively, even when you don’t have much time available for it. If used correctly, they can help you achieve peace of mind, quell negative thoughts, and become one with yourself again. However, there are some safety considerations you need to take into account before lighting them up.
What is Candle Meditation?
Meditative candles are designed to help you relax and achieve a meditative state. They are usually used during meditation but can also be used during a yoga session or any other practice that involves you sitting still, calming your thoughts, and focusing on your breathing.
These candles are often unscented (for the purpose of keeping your mind on your practice), but a candle fragrance may help you to stay focused. While we find the scent to be helpful, when meditating in a room with a scented candle, it may be hard to focus on your breath and stay relaxed as the scented candle can intensify your thoughts. On the other hand, unscented candles may not be stimulating enough to help you focus on your breath.
Meditative candles are ideal if you find that it is difficult to sit still or calm your mind. They provide a visual element that can be helpful if you are struggling to let go of your thoughts and focus on your breathing. They are also useful for people who may be uncomfortable sitting still for long periods of time.
Pro-tip: Make sure you meditate at a time when you don’t feel rushed. To maximize the benefits of meditation and your cognitive performance, you have to have enough time to truly relax and in turn, more effectively let go of any thoughts and hone in.
How does Candle Gazing Meditation Work?
These candles are designed to help you focus on your breathing and achieve a meditative state. During meditation, your attention will most likely wander. This is normal, but you shouldn’t let your thoughts take over and interrupt your practice. The best way to combat this is to give your wandering thoughts a “quiet” sign and redirect your attention back to your breath. A great way to do this is by using a candle. By focusing on the flame burning through the wax and letting go of your thoughts, you can create a symbol of “quiet” and bring your attention back to your breathing.
Do I Need A Natural Soy Wax Blend Candle?
Many people become preoccupied with their candle's composition. While you shouldn't involve a candle that has any attribute that may make focusing on your meditation harder (because you are concerned about something in the candle), there are many different candle types that will work well for your meditation practice.
Soy wax is certainly a great option as a base for an unscented or aromatherapy candle but coconut wax, palm wax, paraffin wax, and beeswax candles are also suitable. Paraffin wax comes in different forms and the fully refined version is generally regarded as safe. With more concern about hormone disruptors in soy wax (sorry!), soy wax might not be as pure and clean as previously thought. We tend to think coconut wax is a great option, but again, choose what you are comfortable with.
The best meditation candles are whatever candles work best for your meditation practices. For many, a candle meditation is about the candle flame more than any other aspect of the candle. For others, it is ensuring that their scented candles use essential oils and cotton wicks. While no one wants to be exposed to toxic chemicals, these days, a non-toxic candle is easy to find as most new brands have adopted stringent safety standards in their candle development.
Aromatherapy Candle Options
We love a meditation candle with a meditative scent. The candle light from the flickering flame is a must, but for us, candle scents matter too. Finding the right candles to set the mood for your meditation practice is vital. Essential oils are great and bring with them a holistic sensibility which in and of itself can ease some anxiety and provide some stress relief before the meditation session has even begun. Lavender is a popular essential oil and lavender-scented candles are some of the best-scented candles for a meditation candle for your meditation space. Remember the focal point should not be the fragrance per se, instead, the best candles for meditation will have a fragrance that disappears into the background, yet makes the meditation practice all the more effective.
Benefits of Using A Meditation Candle
There are numerous benefits of using meditative candles for your meditation practice:
They help you focus on your breathing - Meditation is about letting go of thoughts. And the best way to let go of your thoughts is to focus on your breath. When you focus on your breath, your mind will be less noisy. You will be able to stay in the present moment instead of being dragged back to the past or future. And, as a result, you will let go of a lot of anxiety, worry, and negative thoughts.
They help you relax faster - When you are using meditative candles, you are creating a soothing and relaxing vibe. The light from the candle will create a softer and more soothing mood, while the smell of the candle can help you to calm your mind and feel more relaxed. Combining all these elements together can help you to relax faster and with less effort.
They help you stay grounded - When you are in a calm and relaxed state, you are more likely to be open to the messages of the Universe and your intuition. You will be in a better position to receive insights and inspiration. When you are grounded and relaxed, it is easier to let go of any worries or fears and let your creativity among other things flow freely.
They can help you improve your mood - If you struggle with bouts of anxiety or depression, using meditative candles can help you improve your mood. A few minutes of quiet time with a candle can help you reduce stress and release any pent-up emotions that need release.
They can help you sleep better - If you have trouble sleeping, using meditative candles can be an effective way to help you overcome insomnia. They are a great way to de-stress and quiet your mind, which can help to promote a restful sleep.
They can be helpful for managing your emotions - When you are feeling negative emotions such as fear, anger, or sadness, you are energetically connected to them. You can’t fully let go of these emotions until you are detached from them. Meditative candles can help you detach from your emotions and let go of them so you can move on to a better and brighter phase.
They can help you feel more connected - When you spend a few minutes each day with a candle, you can feel more connected. The soft and gentle light of a candle can create a sense of calm and a safe space where you can let go of your worries and feel more connected to yourself and others.
They can help you improve your creativity - The more you practice meditation, the more creative you can become. The more time you spend connecting with your higher self and the universe, the more open you can be to receiving creative inspiration and ideas.
Safety Tips for Using Meditative Candles
Candles are very helpful in meditation, but we would be remiss if we didn't mention the importance of being mindful of the potential safety risks. Obviously you do not want this to interfere with your practice, but as they say, safety first.
Be sure to place the candle where it won't be easily knocked over whether that's by you, a pet a child, or something/someone else.
While some will choose to burn multiple candles at a time, this does increase the risk of something going wrong. From a meditation standpoint, it can also create a chaotic vibe in your space when you should be focusing. So instead of many candles, we suggest a meditation experience with just one candle.
Make sure to keep an eye on the candle and don’t let it burn for too long. And certainly, remember to blow it out when you are done with your meditation practice.
Conclusion
Meditative candles are designed to help you relax and achieve a meditative state. These candles are often unscented, but can also be scented to help you stay focused. The composition of the candle is up to you, just be sure to get something you feel good about so it doesn't distract from your meditation experience. When it comes to candle scents, there are plenty that will enhance your meditation practice, so find what works best for you. (You can give our candle gift set a try and find your perfect meditative match.) Meditative candles are ideal if you find it difficult to sit still or calm your mind. These candles can help you focus on your breathing and achieve a meditative state. They can help you relax faster and stay grounded. They also have numerous benefits for your mental health, including helping you improve your mood, managing your emotions, and feeling more connected. When used correctly, meditative candles can help you achieve peace of mind, quell negative thoughts, and become one with yourself again.
