Although it is invisible to the naked eye, natural sunlight contains all colours of the spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. It bathes us in a sea of colour, which can be seen when the light is split with a prism or atmospheric water to create a rainbow. Colour therapy is a complementary technique in which the energy of different light waves is used to balance and heal.
Just as all living things - including the cells in our bodies - vibrate at their own frequency, so do colours. As a result, colour can affect your emotions and wellbeing. 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 the release of adrenaline. Red does have a role to play in colour therapy, however, because magenta is the colour of 'letting go' and may be used in small amounts to help free you from negative emotions.
Green is the calming colour of nature and has the ability to reduce anxiety and tension. Hence, if a person is recovering from stress or ill health a natural setting that contains green foliage, the healing process will accelerate.
How colour therapists work
The therapist will pinpoint imbalances in the energy vibrations of your cells and then use colour vibrations to correct those imbalances and restore wellness. Most therapists use a colour together with its complement (the hue that is opposite and balancing in its qualities and effects). He or she may ask you to pick three cards from a selection of eight and the colours you choose will reveal your current emotional and physical state. These colours may then be used along with their complementary shades to help balance your vibrational health. To assist the process, a special device may be used to beam coloured light on to the body.
In addition, the therapist may also encourage you to visualise certain colours, channel colour to you through his or her hands and advise you on which colours to wear - such as putting a base layer of white clothing underneath colours to filter out unwanted colour vibrations - which coloured foods you should eat and sometimes even which coloured drinks you should choose.
Using colour
Certain colours do very specific things, so listen to your intuition, which will often let you 'see' the colours needed to heal your vibrational imbalances.
Use orange to stimulate emotional, physical and sexual energy as well as lift your spirits. Use yellow to promote clear thinking, self-control, optimism, inner strength and to resolve unaddressed emotions and feelings Use green for freshness, regeneration and growth. Use blue to lower high blood pressure, calm over-excitement and to promote restorative sleep. Use turquoise to increase your emotional resistance, boost immunity and to protect you from the influences and demands of others. Use indigo to calm anger, lower stress-related high blood pressure and to help you overcome addictions. Use violet to calm anxiety.
Relax and visualise a healing colour at times of stress – imagine being totally immersed in that colour and breathing it into your body.
