Natural sunlight contains all colours of the spectrum: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. It bathes us in a sea of colour, although this is only obvious when light is split to create a rainbow. Colour therapy, which dates back thousands of years to ancient Egypt, India and China, uses the energy of different light waves to create balance and promote healing.
Every colour vibrates at its own frequency, as does every living thing – including all the cells in your body. As a result, colour can affect your emotions and well-being. Shades of blue, for example, are restful and can be used to help lower blood pressure, improve sleep and to reduce pain perception. In contrast, exposure to red light tends to have the opposite effect and can cause raised blood pressure and feelings of stress as it triggers release of adrenaline. Red does have a role to play in colour therapy, however, as it is strengthening and vitalising, while magenta – the colour of ‘letting go’ – can help free you from harmful emotions. Green is the calming colour of nature and can reduce anxiety and tension so that recovery from stress and ill health is quicker in natural settings – one reason why green foliage plants are used in clinic waiting rooms.
A colour therapist uses colour vibrations to restore wellness during times of stress or ill health. Most therapists use a colour together with its complement (the colour that is opposite and balancing in its qualities and effects). You may be asked, for example, to choose three out of eight coloured cards to reveal your current emotional and physical state. These colours may be used along with their complementary colours to help balance your vibrational health. A colour therapy device may be used to beam coloured light onto your body. A therapist may also encourage visualisation of colour, channel colour to you through their hands and advise you on which colours to wear and which coloured foods to eat. Coloured drinks can also be used as part of colour therapy. White should be worn underneath therapeutically coloured clothes to filter out unwanted colour vibrations. Colour therapy may also be combined with other holistic therapies such as reflexology, aromatherapy and acupuncture.
Red is grounding, and promotes strength, vitality and passion.
Orange is uplifting and stimulates emotional, physical and sexual energy.
Yellow is energising and promotes clear thinking, self-control, optimism and inner strength to resolve unaddressed emotions and feelings.
Green is balancing for freshness, regeneration and growth.
Turquoise increases emotional resistance, boosts immunity and protects against the influences and demands of others.
Blue is clearing and calming, helping to reduce over-excitement and promote restorative sleep.
Purple (indigo, violet) is relaxing, calms anxiety, anger and stress and helps in overcoming addictions.
Pink is soothing and promotes compassion and nurturing love.
Listen to your intuition, which may help you recognise the colours needed to heal your vibrational imbalances, so you are naturally drawn to them. Close your eyes, relax and visualise your healing colour – imagine being totally immersed in that colour and breathing it into your body.