Most of us love color in some form, from the clothes we wear to the food we eat. But color therapy is actually good for our health and wellbeing. As HEALTH examines.
THE BASICS
Color plays a huge part in our lives as we use color every day, in choosing the clothes we wear, the color we paint our walls in our homes, and the furniture we buy. Color therapy is the energy or vibration that is created by color which changes how the mind, body or soul of an individual feels at any given time. Color therapy, explains Shahida Siddique, CEO and Founder of Spadunya creates harmony and balance; it’s this harmony that is felt by those around us and then transmitted on a larger scale by our family, friends, co-workers, and society. “In layman terms, you can call this peacefulness and calm like the waves of the sea – ebbing and flowing,” she says.
HOW IT WORKS
Color therapy works in a unique way to help restore, or maintain balance in the human body system. The ways in which color therapy does this is quite complex as universal energy is absorbed into the human body system through the eyes and the superficial layers of skin and flesh, and adapted in order to incorporate this energy, so that it may be utilized by every cell in the body; for example, when treating children with jaundice by exposing blue light over the entire body. Light energy works through the eyes as messages travel along the optic nerve to the visual cortex at the back of the brain and during this process, the hypothalamus is triggered which acts as the body’s biological clock regulating sleep, eating, water balance, temperature, and other functions.
INDICATIONS
Color therapy may be used to treat ailments such as headaches, insomnia, vertigo and dizziness, digestive disorders, panic attacks, burns, and sore throats. Color therapy is a very adaptable therapy which is why many color therapists work with differing styles and methods. According to Siddique, it’s vital to remember that color therapy is not an alternative to medical treatment, but rather can help enhance a treatment so that side effects can be reduced. “If one can avoid these side effects by living a healthy life, why not just use complimentary
therapies, eat well and exercise?” she asks.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Besides being natural and safe, color therapy gives the advantage that we can be personally responsible to effect change in our lives by the colors we choose for example, introducing feelings of sociability by working with the color orange. However, sometimes if too much of one
color is used, feelings of nausea may be experienced which is why it is important to select a color therapist who has appropriate qualifications.
WHAT THE COLORS MEAN:
• Magnetic/warm colors are red, orange, and yellow. Red is the hottest of the colors followed by warm orange and then yellow. These colors are energizing and get us moving.
• Electrical/cool colors are blue, indigo, and violet. These three colors represent the cool end of the spectrum with violet being the coolest of
the three, they are calming, purifying, and releasing.
• Green sits between the magnetic and electrical color and is neutral. Green is the balancer, regulator and harmonizer.
(www.colourinternational.com)
