Photons of Healing with Color Therapy

When we hear a reference to a “colorful life” it brings up images of a plethora of bright colors and feelings of vibrancy, liveliness, joyfulness, happiness, spontaneity, and so on.  During fall and spring times when the trees change color, it evokes the same feelings in us.  Colors have an impact on how we feel and therefore how we function. There is an intricate relationship between us and colors.  Our aura has colors. Aura is a field of light and energy that surrounds everything – people, animals and things. Even though the aura of a person is multicolored, every person’s aura exudes specific colors strongly. The more radiant the person’s aura is, the more presence the person exudes, as it signifies a certain purity of the mind, body and energy.  The mental, physical and energy status  of a person is represented by the aura. Research has shown that a blindfolded person will experience physiological reactions under different colored light rays. In other words, the skin responds differently to different colors of light.  Prominent neuropsychologist, Kurt Goldstein, in his modern classic, The Organism, confirms that stimulation of the skin by different colors leads to different effects.

The aura is associated with the energy centers or chakras and each energy center is associated with a specific color. 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. When the energy is in balance and in full flow, it brings overall health and well being. However the flow of energy is also connected to how we think and feel. Negative thoughts and feelings block and dissipate the flow of energy and the aura recedes or becomes smaller.

Color is light of different wavelengths and each color has its own wavelength, energy and feel. Color is absorbed by our whole being – eyes, skin, and our aura.   The energy of the color affects us on all levels – physical, spiritual and emotional. Every cell in the body needs light energy – thus color energy has widespread effects on the whole body.

For example, the media screens emit blue light that is known to cause retinal damage. Therefore along with minimizing usage of devices, it is recommended that we takes our eyes off the screen frequently and look at green color like that of trees, as it has a calming effect. Similarly when we are feeling low, looking at yellow makes us feel happy, energetic and cheerful. Yellow is often used for children’s toys and clothes. While feeling low, it is better to not be in dark spaces because it depresses the mood even further. Being in a bright room can help change the mood, so every color creates a certain mood. While painting a home, choosing colors that are warm, calming and peaceful brings that kind of feeling into the home.

Color therapists consider how we respond to light when developing treatments. Color therapy is based on the idea that color creates electrical impulses in the brain that can calm or stimulate us.  Color therapy when done by trained therapists can be used to re-balance or stimulate energies by applying appropriate measures of color.  This therapy is a practice that dates back to ancient cultures of India, China and Egypt. Even though color therapy may help on a physical level, there might be issues at the psychological and spiritual levels.  We can say we are in wellbeing only when we attend to our body, mind, emotions and energy. Only then any therapy will be holistic.