Lighting up a candle takes a moment of serenity. I always believed that the decision to have a candle burning in your home is made before in your subconscious before you actually made the conscious one. The moment you light up a candle your stress level decreases significantly. In that moment you decide to spend some quality time, either with yourself or with someone else. Sensing the scent in the room inspires calmness but also the peacefully burning flame.
A candle can never burn in a chaotic place, it needs unperturbed environment for the flame to be calm and burn at a slow pace. Brining that moment into your home it means that you either have or will create the right environment for it to give you the most wonderful experience.
Personally speaking, I always burn a candle at the end of the day when I am ready to leave the work behind and sit back and relax. Before lighting a candle, I sniff it a few times with my eyes closed to let the scent relax me. Scent is known as a natural way to relax either because the scent on its own has that stress relief effect through the oils we use or because it takes you back to a special memory or place or reminds you of someone dear.
Mindfulness is such an important factor in our current world. Taking a few minutes to experience being in the present moment it should be part of our daily routine. I don't always have a proper meditating session but I do take a few minutes where I just look at my candle burning on the coffee table. Looking at the peaceful flame and exploring how it lights up the room and just observing it for a few minutes it is a great way I use to meditate.
Pairing activities like yoga with a candle can give you an outdoorsy experience. When you do yoga, breathing is key and regulating your breath while posing it increases the awareness of your senses. When I do yoga I always have a candle burning. I can experience the scent stronger than at any other moment while roaming around the house. Firstly it is because I am in the present moment and my mind is focused on what I am doing and more aware of the environment. Secondly, is because I am breathing consciously and that increases the intensity with which I experience scent. If you light up a backyard candle while meditating or doing yoga it can make you feel like you are outdoors, especially in these difficult times when leaving your home might not be the best option.