What is Colour Therapy
Colour therapy is a non-intrusive form of vibrational healing which introduces the optimum balance of colour energies into the human organism in order to promote harmony between the body, mind and spirit.
What is Colour and how does it affect us?
Light is the purest healing force in the universe. Pure white sunlight contains all the elements necessary to keep every living thing in perfect health. Just as we need a balanced diet if we are to be healthy, so too do we need a balance of all the colour vibrations in sunlight to nourish us energetically. When there is too much of one colour energy in our system it literally makes us feel ‘off colour’, and we need to redress the balance.
Colour has a profound affect on our moods and emotions, and we find some colours depressing and others uplifting. The way we deal with stress and our feelings are directly affected by our hormones as well as the brain chemicals circulating in our body. Coloured light travels to the pituitary, the master gland of the endocrine system, affecting our entire metabolism. Our mental state is also directly related to the quality of the light we receive through our eyes. Certain colours calm our minds, while other stimulate mental activity. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is now well documented and light treatments are used successfully in alleviating many systems such as depression, nausea, mood swings, lethargy and general exhaustion.
What is Colour Therapy and how can it help me?
Colour therapy is an ancient art with many sophisticated systems existed in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. To-day it is one of the fastest growing areas of natural health with an explosion of scientific development in the use of light to heal. This therapy is now use extensively in Asia Europe and America as a complementary treatment of many physical ailments including: asthma, arthritis, nervous and mental disorders, depression, eating disorders, skin diseases, digestive ailments, blood and circulation problems, fevers, rheumatism, shock, relief of pain as part of the treatment for many serious illnesses such as paralysis, multiple sclerosis, M.E., cancer and Aids.
A Colour therapist helps people understand their needs for certain colours, and show them how to use these colours in their daily lives for healing, health, relaxation inspiration and protection. They will also able to use colour to balance energy, aid creativity and learning, release blocks and alleviate physical, emotional and mental conditions.
Colour Therapy recognises that while you may have the same illness as someone else, we are all unique, and the cause and treatment of an illness will vary from person to person. A colour healer uses colour to find the real cause of a problem, If an illness can be treated at the source this will prevent it re-occurring in the future. It is the aim of a colour therapist to help the patient regain balance in their life, and promote harmonious vibrations to create a state of well-being. When this happens it is surprising how many physical ailments disappear.
What does a colour therapy treatment consist of?
Acourse of Colour Therapy treatment begins with diagnosis in order to establish the underlying causes of any problems you many have. The therapist may use counselling, which asks you to select your favourite colours from a selection of coloured oils or colour cards. Alternatively they may use a spinal chart or reflexology, and possibly art therapy for diagnosis.
Colour Therapy is a complementary therapy for which there is evidence dating back thousands of years to the ancient cultures of Egypt, China and India. Colour is simply light of varying wavelengths, thus each colour has its own particular wavelength and energy.
The energy relating to each of the seven spectrum colours of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, resonates with the energy of each of the seven main chakras/energy centres of the body. If you can imagine the chakras as a set of cogs/wheels, they are rather like the workings of a clock or an engine; each cog/wheel needs to move smoothly for the clock/engine to work properly. Thus good health and wellbeing is achieved by a balance of all these energies. Balance of the energy in each of the body’s chakras is very important for health and wellbeing. Colour therapy can help to re-balance and/or stimulate these energies by applying the appropriate colour to the body and therefore re-balance our chakras.
Red relates to the base chakra, orange the sacral chakra, yellow the solar plexus chakra, green the heart chakra, blue the throat chakra, indigo the brow chakra (sometimes referred to as the third eye) and violet relates to the crown chakra.
Colour is absorbed by the eyes, skin, skull our ‘magnetic energy field’ or aura and the energy of colour affects us on all levels, that is to say, physical, spiritual and emotional. Every cell in the body needs light energy - thus colour energy has widespread effects on the whole body. There are many different ways of giving colour, including; Solarized Water, Light boxes/lamps with colour filters, colour silks and hands on healing using colour.
Colour therapy can be shown to help on a physical level, which is perhaps easier to quantify, however there are deeper issues around the colours on the psychological and spiritual levels. Our wellbeing is not, of course, purely a physical issue. Fortunately, many more practitioners, both orthodox and complementary are now treating patients in an holistic manner. That is to say, we are body, mind and spirit and none of these areas function entirely alone; each has an effect upon the other. This is why Colour Therapy can be so helpful since colour addresses all levels of our being.
As babies we first experience colour in the womb where we are enveloped in a nurturing and comforting pink. Then as a child we associate with colour as part of our first learning processes. These first associations contribute to our consciousness. As we get older we attach many different feelings, memories and meanings to certain colours and this can then become a feature in our subconscious. We can build up prejudices to colours which have happy, sad, or frightening connotations for us.
All life experiences make an impression upon us. Some experiences will be positive and some negative. It is these negative experiences which can manifest themselves physically over time as dis-ease. As an example:- perhaps we have, over the years, been in a situation where we have felt unable, for one reason or another, to speak our mind, or to express our own truth. This can manifest as a problem in the throat chakra. The throat chakra relates in the spiritual aspect to self expression. Thus, if our self expression has been blocked, the energy in this area will not be free flowing and in turn this can lead to a physical manifestation of dis-ease.
Noting strong colour preferences can also be a helpful aid to finding possible problems and working with the appropriate colour/colours to help to dispel negative feelings, free blocks and re-balance the body emotionally, spiritually and, in turn, physically.
Colour Therapy is a totally holistic and non-invasive therapy and, really, colour should be a part of our everyday life, not just something we experience for an hour or two with a therapist. Colour is all around us everywhere. This wonderful planet does not contain all the beautiful colours of the rainbow for no reason. Nothing on this earth is here just by chance; everything in nature is here for a purpose. Colour is no exception. All we need to do is to heighten our awareness of the energy of colour and how it can transform our lives. A professional therapist will help you to do this. The capacity for health and wellbeing is within us all.
Colour therapy is safe to use alone or alongside any other therapy whether orthodox medicine or another complementary therapy and is safe and helpful for adults, children and animals too.
Please be aware that no complementary therapy should be considered as an alternative to professional medical advice where necessary and no properly qualified complementary therapist would suggest that, neither would they suggest that you stop taking your medication etc. If you are taking medication you should consult the prescribing professional before you stop taking it.
Using colour to balance the Chakras of the body
Each of the spectrum colours is simply light of varying wavelengths, thus each colour has its own particular energy.
The energy relating to each of these spectrum colours resonates with the energy of each of the seven main chakras of the body.
If you can imagine the chakras/energy centres as a set of cogs/wheels, they are rather like the workings of a clock or an engine; each cog /wheel needs to move smoothly and at a similar speed for the clock/engine to work properly. Thus good health and well being is achieved by a balance of all these energies (or the smooth running of the cogs/wheels).
Colour therapy can help to re-balance these 'wheels' by applying the appropriate colour to the body and therefore re-balance our chakras. Listed below is each of the spectrum colours and the chakra which it relates to. Violet has the shortest wavelength and red the longest wavelength.
Colours and related Chakras
| Colour | | Chakra |
| Violet |
| Crown |
| Indigo |
| Brow |
| Blue |
| Throat |
| Green |
| Heart |
| Yellow |
| Solar Plexus |
| Orange |
| Sacral |
| Red |
| Base |
Colour Therapy
Since the beginning of recorded time, it has been known that light and certain colours can energize and calm down, make happy and sad, heal and irritate. Historically, every culture have used colour for different customary rituals. But the powerful impact of light and colours on the human body have turned these into a form of healing art and alternative medicine modality of Color Therapy only recently. Today, Colour Therapy is used as a very practical tool in daily living, and can a beautiful addition to enhance your Yoga practice.
Medical Evidence of Colour Therapy
While more research needs to be done in this area to prove the therapy’s effectiveness, some early studies show promise. In a preliminary study in the Journal Headache, 98 percent of patients (49 out of 50) with migraine headaches reported big improvements after being treated with goggles that alternately illuminated the right and left eyes with red light.
In another study, red light was emitted onto the knees of 50 patients with osteoarthritis. Those who received the red light therapy reported that their pain was significantly reduced as compared to the group that had no light emission.
The most clinically supported use of Colour and Light Therapy includes the use of light boxes in the treatment of for stress-related ailments, mood disorders, sleep problems, and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a condition induced by lack of sun light exposure.
Colour Therapy for Yoga Practice
Using Colour Therapy is a wonderful technique you can use in your Yoga practice. Since each colour has a different meaning, try to match these with your current state of being and what you want to achieve from the session of asanas. For example, if you are on the down side, feeling dull and lack the energy to get you going, try to surround yourself in Red and Violet. These colours will envigorate your spirit, re-energize the body and shift your mood in the positive direction. If you feel anxious, restless and can’t seem to find concentration, Blue, Green and Indigo colours will calm your rushing mind, ease form tension in the muscles and joints and bring awareness and focus. Match your Yoga poses, breathing and meditation with any particular colour or combination as complete healing comes from all these attributes.
Be creative. Decorate your Yoga room with coloured lights, mats, other Yoga props, crystals, gems, candles, paintings, plants, table cloths, basically, everything available.
Colours for Chakra Healing
According to the Yogic tradition, there are seven Chakras (meaning “wheels”), or energy centers, which concentrate and distribute life-force energy throughout the body. Located along the spine, each Chakra is not only associated with particular functions within the body, but with specific life issues and the way we handle them, both inside ourselves and in our interactions with the world. At different points of our being, our energies may come out of balance and become either deficient or excessive spinning the “wheels” of energy out of sync. Specific Yoga asanas used for particular Chakras are splendid in bringing the homeostasis back and reconnecting body, mind and spirit.
Colour Therapy - what it can be used for
Colour Therapy can be used for any problem whether, physical, mental, emotional or spiritual for specific problems as well as an over all relaxation therapy.
Colour Therapy can be used safely and effectively - either alone or alnogside any other therapy, whether complementary or orthodox medicine - for adults, children, babies and non-human animals alike. (However, no complementary therapy should ever be considered as an alternative to orthodox medical advice.)
Colour energy can be the catalyst for our healing process and encourages normal and healthy workings of the body.
Colour Therapy should not be something you just go to a therapist to 'have done to you'. Colour is everywhere and should be utilized as part of our everyday life. A professional Colour Therapist can explain and advise you on how you can use colour at home for health and wellbeing.
