WHAT IS CHROMOTHERAPY?
Chromotherapy is also called color therapy which is the use of color and light to gently bring about homeostasis. Examples of homeostasis include the regulation of temperature and the balance between acidity and alkalinity (pH). It is a process that maintains the stability of the human body’s internal environment in response to changes in external conditions. In this therapy color along with light is applied to specific areas and accupoints on the body. This is an alternative therapy which means any treatment that is not considered of as part of conventional medicine. Health professionals working in cancer care are becoming more aware of the alternative therapies.
Chromotherapy practitioners believe that color can be used to correct energy imbalances which are the cause of a disease. A chromotherapist applies specific colors or lights to specific points in the body called “chakras.” Different colors have different effects.
Color and light have been used for healing since the very beginning of recorded time. Ancient Egyptians had built solarium-type rooms with colored panes of glass. The sun would shine through the glass and flood the patient with color. They used color therapy to the fullest potential. And, it is said that many patients had cured because of the therapy.
Some practitioners use colored silk cloths which are placed on the body and then flooded with sunlight. Some practitioners use color infused water and color meditations to send healing rays to the person. Today, there are many therapists who use color and light in fascinating ways. Some therapists have a box with a mechanism that flickers light into the eyes. They report success in speeding the recovery of stroke victims and those persons who experience chronic depression.
Scientists, who have studied color and light extensively, recognize that colors bring about emotional reactions in individuals. Our reactions and attitudes to colors differ from person to person, which makes an interesting study in itself. Our attraction to certain colors may very well signal areas where the body energies are imbalanced. Understanding why certain colors effect us positively while others bring about negative feelings helps us a lot in our healing journeys. If you have observed some colors might motivate positive feeling while uplifting your mood while some might simply put you off. Wearing the wrong color can make you feel out of sorts with yourself. Colors are certain wavelengths of electro-magnetic energy – Chi energy seen through our eyes. The color we see is the part of the visible spectrum that is reflected back by a certain object.
Color therapy is often facilitated in the healing rooms of alternative health practitioners. It is classified as a vibrational healing modality. And, it is interesting to note that vibrational healing technique incorporates the use of chi energies within all living organisms such as plants, water, sunlight, and sound. Everything in the universal creation is made up of electromagnetic energy vibrating at different frequencies that matches to sound, light and color. The existing electromagnetic field around every object is known as ‘Aura.’ The Chinese refer to this aura as ‘Chi.’ Color is simply a form of visible light, of electromagnetic energy. All the primary colors are reflected in the rainbow; they carry their own unique healing properties. The sun alone is a wonderful healer! Just imagine what life would be like without sunshine. It has been proven that lack of sunlight contributes to depression for some people.
Friends, color is one of the languages of the soul, look at any meditative paintings; they are beautifully colored. An infant also gets inspired looking at colorful objects. They influence our moods and emotions. They impact our sense of well-being and uneasiness both. Using and avoiding certain colors is a way of self-expression; it sheds light on our personality. Each individual carries certain shades of colors very well; we should spare some time and study which color makes us happy. Colors affect our sensitivities. Light colors make a space look big; a high ceiling looks less high when painted in a dark color. Colors have a symbolic meaning which is immediately recognized by our sub consciousness. It is a universal fact that not all colors mean the same to all persons and all cultures. They influence the flow and amount of energy in our bodies; each chakra strengthens our body. I have written a lot about chakras on my blog. Please read to know more.
Before examining color and its healing capacity on a person, the cause must be known. True healing comes about when the cause of the condition or illness is addressed from the root. If healing goes no further than a mere relief or masking of the symptoms, then, eventually that which brought about the need for healing, in the first place will re-emerge and manifest it within the body in one or some another form. Please remember that body is an outward expression of that which is taking place within the mind, the soul – the subconscious. Thus, any healing technique which deals only with the physical body and the energy field of the individual tends to accomplish one thing; it simply boosts his energy. That energy boost in turn allows that person’s own internal healing mechanism to become mobilized into greater activity.
In color therapy when a person has too much of one color, which is also not good for the body, the patient is treated with opposite of the color to lessen the excess color effect. Using color as a tool to feel better is therefore a very effective way to improve our overall wellbeing. We choose foods for their colors; we wear certain colored clothes and jewelry; we buy interior décor, cutlery, bed sheets, furniture, our wall colors so much so even the tiles in the bathrooms and wash rooms for the colorfulness. Blue is relaxing, while white cleanses the mind and purifies the spirit. Red ignites spirits and green sooths the mind. These are just some of the examples on how you can use colors. Color therapy has no contraindications (In medicine, contraindication is a condition or factor that serves as a reason to withhold a certain medical treatment) and it can safely be used on infants, children, older people, as well as on people suffering from serious illnesses or patients recovering from post-surgical trauma.
Red is called “The Great Energizer” and “The Father of Vitality.” Red is warm, vital, heating. It loosens, opens up clogs, releases stiffness and constrictions. Orange has a freeing action upon the body and mind, relieving repressions. Because orange is a blend of red and yellow. Yellow helps strengthen the nerves and the mind. It helps awaken mental inspiration and stimulates higher mentality. Thus, it is an excellent color for nervous or nerve-related conditions or ailments. Green is the universal healing color. The ancient Egyptians and Chinese used green as the primary color of healing, as green is midway in the color spectrum; therefore, it contains both a physical nature and a spiritual nature, in equal balance and in equal harmony. Blue is cooling, electric, astringent. It helps bleeding, decreases fevers, and cures sore throats. Blue can have a sedative effect, as expressed in the remark of “feeling blue.” Indigo is a great purifier of the bloodstream and also benefits mental problems. It is a freeing and purifying agent. Indigo combines the deep blue of devotion with a trace of stabilizing and objective red. Indigo is cooling, electric, and astringent. Violet is truly the color of the divine Spirit. Violet works only on the levels of the Spirit. It is generally not used for physical conditions; however, some color experts believe that it does provide nourishment to the cells in the upper brain and does have a link with the crown chakra. And, last but the least, white is the perfect color, because it is all color, in perfect balance and harmony. It is the color of the awakened spirit; the light of perfection; the light of the divine and cosmic consciousness.
