Well, well, well. I bet you thought incense might smell good, it might contribute to a feeling of well-being partly through its symbolic ritual use, and partly through some kind of behavioural training, where the smell triggers previously experienced relaxation.
It transpires, however, that frankincense contains some psychoactive chemicals. The resin from the Boswellia plant “activates poorly understood ion channels in the brain to alleviate anxiety or depression”. OK, so this is one of those strange pieces of research conducted on mice, but the researchers claim they may have identified a whole new class of antidepressant and anxiolytic drugs.
I always find myself a bit torn over these kinds of findings. First of all, it’s certainly interesting to read about new discoveries which may help ameliorate human suffering, and it’s also interesting to hear scientists describe potential mechanisms which explain known phenomena, but there’s something a little disturbing too. It’s that reduction of something to its component parts that always makes me uneasy. Even if the incense contains chemicals which can be shown to act on specific parts of the brain, to extract that component not just from the incense but from the whole experience of which incense burning is just a part, and turn it into a marketable product, feels somewhat diminishing.
Oh well, I suppose there’s no need to do an either/or with this one. If ritual and meditative practice involving the burning of incense increases well-being and a new drug or two can be developed to treat patients who are suffering from anxiety and depression, then who says someone can’t avail themselves of both solutions together?
Heroes Not Zombies 
I’m with you – it’s the slicing and dicing that I’m not happy about.
I don’t use scent in my yoga classes, though I’m considering starting. The inclusion of scent and the relaxation that people might associate with it seems worth the extra effort (and expense – the good essential oils are expensive).