Hi everybody,
My name is Anna-Marie Bivias.
Welcome to my channel.
Today I'm going to be talking about burning incense and palo santo wood safely around your pets.
This is so important,
Especially if you love cleansing your space with incense,
Sage or palo santo,
But you also have animals in your home.
How do you do it safely?
Before we light anything,
We need to remember something.
Animals experience scent completely differently to humans.
Dogs,
Cats and birds have far more sensitive respiratory systems and what feels calm to us can be overwhelming or even harmful to them.
So let's break this down properly.
What is palo santo?
It's a sacred wood traditionally used for spiritual cleansing,
Grounding and energy clearing.
It produces a sweet woody smoke that many people find calming,
But smoke is smoke even if it's natural.
Dogs and incense.
Dogs have an extremely strong sense of smell.
They have smaller airways too,
Especially the smaller breeds and can be sensitive to smoke particles.
What the do list says.
Burn near an open window.
Keep your smoke white and minimal.
Allow dogs to leave the room.
Observe for coughing,
Sneezing or pacing.
The don'ts.
Burn in a closed room.
Waft smoke directly towards them or burn heavily for long periods.
And please don't ignore signs of stress.
As I said,
Smaller breeds are especially sensitive.
Cats and incense.
Cats are more sensitive than dogs.
Why?
Cats lack certain liver enzymes that help process toxins.
Essential oils and strong smoke therefore affect them more intensely.
Do ensure strong ventilation.
Keep the sessions short and use very minimal smoke.
Don'ts.
Please don't burn essential oils or incense.
Use synthetic fragrance sticks or burn in a room that your cat cannot leave.
Cats should always have an exit route.
Birds and incense.
Very important.
Birds have extremely delicate respiratory systems.
Their lungs are far more sensitive than those of mammals.
For birds,
Smoke is not recommended at all.
Incense,
Sage,
Palo santo and essential oil diffusers can all be harmful to your birds.
If you have birds in your home,
It is safest to avoid smoke cleansing completely.
Use sound,
Intention,
Prayer or mist sprays instead.
Pet friendly versus non-pet friendly incense are always a more pet conscious option.
Burning small amounts of natural,
Untreated palo santo near ventilation.
Pure resin incense,
For example frankincense,
In very small quantities.
Herbal bundles without added fragrance and then hydrosol sprays instead of smoke.
Please avoid synthetic fragrance sprays and cheap perfume sticks.
Also avoid essential oil heavy incense,
Charcoal discs burnt in closed rooms and any smoke around your bird.
Look for a hundred percent natural,
No artificial fragrance,
No chemical binders and always burn very lightly.
The golden rule,
If you have pets,
Ventilate,
Minimize,
Observe and always give them the choice.
They do know this when it comes to their health.
If they leave the room,
Respect that and remember you do not need thick smoke for effective cleansing.
Your intention carries the power.
Alternate cleansing methods that are 100% pet safe.
If you're unsure,
Use sound bowls,
Bells,
Flapping,
Prayer,
Reiki,
Salt bowls,
Florida water spray or palo santo hydrosol mist.
Energy does not require smoke to shift.
My final message,
As healers,
As unconscious humans,
We must protect not just our energy but the well-being of every living being in our space.
Cleansing should never become at the expense of our animal's health.
Beautiful energy and animal safety can absolutely coexist.
Thank you for sharing this space with me.
Namaste.
Have a beautiful day.
