Colour Therapy

INTRODUCTION

We are swamped with colour from the moment we are born.  Colour is an aspect of everything we eat, drink, touch and are surrounded by.  We use colours to describe our physical health, attitudes, emotions and even our spiritual or psychic experiences.  Colour is an intimate part of our being, even though most of the time we take it for granted.

However, it is impossible to be indifferent to colour.  It affects every home environment, as well as those of factories, offices, schools and hospitals.  Even the colours of your clothes reflect your personality and influence your mood, assuming that you are not restricted to wearing a particular uniform during working hours. 

From light come all the colours, each as you will see with its own impact upon our systems.

Many of our healing needs can be met by the use of colour to bring about harmony and balance within the psyche and the body.  The invisible vibrations of colour can either relax or stimulate us according to which colour is used.  Apparently studies have shown that even blind people can develop a sense of colour, by allowing their fingers to pick up the vibrational energy of different colours.

Colour therapy is when colour is used in healing treatments.  In this method all the colours of the crystal spectrum are utilized.  They are marginally different to the colours of the chakras due to the fact the colour therapy uses eight colours and not the seven colours of the rainbow.  The colours used in colour therapy are as follows:  red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, indigo, violet and magenta being the eighth colour.

Every colour is believed to vibrate with its own energy and to have specific effects on individuals.  When colour is absorbed through the eyes and the skin, it has the power to heal imbalances in the body – physically, mentally and emotionally.  All the cells in the body also have a frequency that resonates strongly and positively when we are healthy; when we are unhealthy this frequency becomes distorted.

A colour therapist will choose a colour that vibrates at a frequency that will bring about healing and restore your diseased cells to balance.  The therapist’s skill is needed to administer the correct colour and quantities, as each colour has both positive and negative attributes.

  

Clinical research into colour therapy has shown that it can help treat disease.  For example, it has been proven that red will raise blood pressure whilst blue will lower it.  In the 1970s and 1980s it was shown that coloured light triggers biochemical reactions in the body.  Later research confirmed that blues and greens have a soothing effect and help lower stress.  Warm colours such as orange and red have been shown to have a stimulating effect.  Pink has been shown to have a relaxing effect in the short term, although in the longer term it can trigger irritability.

Healing with colour has a long tradition, dating back to ancient times.  The Pythagoreans believed that white light, the Spirit Head contains all sound and colour and that the seven colours of the spectrum correspond to the seven planets and the eight notes of musical scale (both the first and the eight notes are a form of red). 

In 1^st century Rome, the physician Aulus Cornelius Celsus wrote about the therapeutic use of colour but with the coming of Christianity such ancient wisdom came to be associated with pagan beliefs and was disallowed by the Church.

In the 9^th century the Arab physician Avicenna systematized the teachings of Hippocrates.  He wrote about colour as a symptom of disease and also as a treatment, suggested for example, that red would act as a stimulant on blood flow whilst yellow could reduce pain and inflammation.  However, by the 18^th century philosophers and scientists were more concerned with the material world, and insisted on visible proof of scientific theories.

Despite the fact that colour healing has been in use for centuries, it was not until the late 19^th century that it began to receive attention in the Western World.    In 1878 Edwain Babbitt published The Principles of Light and Colour, reaffirming the Pythagorean corresponces of music, colour and sound.

In the 1930s Dinshah Ghadiali proposed that imbalances are created by too much or too little of particular colours, and that balance can be restored with the use of coloured lights.

Today modern colour therapy or healing uses several techniques, which involve the use of coloured lamps as well as coloured foods, and drinks in coloured containers. 

Many colour therapists also work with the aura and its seven main energy centres, the chakras.  If that colour therapist is also blessed with physic abilities they are often able to see deficiencies in the aura’s colours.  Since the chakras are all linked to a specific colour, when someone is unwell – either emotionally or physically – this will show in the colour of the affected chakra.

How the Colour Therapist does Treatment

On your first visit a colour therapist will take details of your medical history and any current health problems.  For diagnosis, therapists may use several different methods.  They can use the Luscher Test, Kinesiology, Dowsing or a Colour Diagnostic Chart.

  

Different Treatment Methods

Luscher Test

This entails being the patient being shown eight coloured cards and then they are asked to choose three that appeal to them.  These colours relate to the patient’s emotional, mental and physical health and may reveal imbalances that need to be corrected.

Kinesiology

Kinesiology involves muscle-testing techniques to identify any bodily weakness.  To find out which colour is needed, a therapist will normally ask the patient to hold up each colour in their left hand, while holding their right arm horizontally across their body.  As the patient look at each colour, the therapist will gently push the right arm.  When no resistance is felt in that arm, it means that the patient needs the colour they are holding.

Dowsing

Dowsing is a technique to assist in diagnosing any colours that the patient is lacking.  A pendulum hanging from either a cord or chain is used ad normally swings clockwise or counterclockwise in response to each question ask with a “yes or no” response. The therapist works through the eight spectrum colours searching for a “yes” response to show the colour required for this patient.

Colour Diagnostic Chart

This is a method based on the 32 vertebrae of the spine.  The spine is divided into four sections, each containing eight vertebrae, relating to one of the colours of the spectrum.  From the trop of the spine downward, the first eight vertebrae make up mental health, the second eight emotional wellbeing, the third eight metabolism and the last eight to physical health.  When therapists use this system, they ask the patient to sign the back of the chart along the spine.  The patient’s signature contains their vibration and acts as a “witness” (showing the patient’s energy or lack of thereof).  The therapist then dowses down the spine to see which vertebrae need attention.

Lets Take a Look at which colour does what.

Reds - Blood pressure, respiration, and muscle tension all increase on initial exposure to red.  This jazzy hue also boosts spirits and stimulates creativity, conversation, and the appetite (which is why it is used in many restaurants). Red is also a popular color in casinos—people are more likely to gamble in a red environment than in, say, a blue one. Rooms with a lot of red feel warmer, heavier, and time seems to pass more slowly in them. Red may increase passion, but also aggression, anger, and restlessness.  In clothing red conveys energy, power, and leadership, but can also signal romance and sensuality, depending on the garment.

An interesting note: when you have two objects of identical shape and weight, one red and one blue, most people will think the red one is heavier.  (Might be one reason to rethink that red wardrobe!   On the other hand, red accents could perk up your image.)

 Orange - the colour of self-reliance and practical knowledge.  Its role is of the assimilator in your intestines. Orange is also the good of genial optimistic, tolerance, benign, warm-hearted.  It is friendship, the life and soul of the party.  It breaks down barriers.  Orange can eradicate.  It brings up the energy of the past evens that needs to be assimilated.  Orange’s strength is subtle not loud like red but it stimulates gently.  This is also the colour of courage.

Yellows -Vibrant yellow, bright and easily visible, is a great color to wear on dull, dark, or rainy days to add a little sunshine to your life.  (It's also a good color to wear after dark if you're walking along busy streets.)  The color projects love, light, warmth, and wealth, enhances communication, learning, mood, and energy level.

 Generally, yellow combats gloom and fatigue.  It opens up or brightens rooms, and pale tones are good choices for classrooms; warm tones are good for play areas and living rooms.  It's the most visible choice of background color for signs (with black lettering). People who wear yellow are perceived as sunny, intelligent, warm, and compatible.  So wear gold (also in jewelry) or yellow when you're asking for a raise.

Greens are the color of American dollars, but also the idea of balance, harmony, and control, green exudes prosperity and well-being.  It increases the ability to concentrate, while reducing muscular tension and stress.  Refreshing and restorative, green is an ideal room color for sedentary or monotonous tasks—a good color for learning and doing.  Rooms feel cooler and fresher.

Turquoise and light green are good choices for kitchens, since they make room temperatures feel cooler and time and tasks seem to pass more quickly.  Wear green to give the impression that you feel in control.  It's a good color to wear if you're trying to keep the peace, mediate, or generate team spirit.

Blue hues lower blood pressure, respiration, and pulse and convey a sense of peace, serenity, and tranquility.  Blue objects tend to feel lighter than they are.  A pale blue bedroom creates a light, airy atmosphere and is likely to create a peaceful, restful environment that helps lull you to sleep.  Rooms feel cooler, and time passes more quickly.  Blue is also a good formal color for living rooms.  However, choose the hue wisely, because it can also be depressing in bathrooms or dining areas, making people's complexions look gray.  Wear blue to inspire trust and loyalty, encourage communication, and convey a sense that you belong.