Each colour has its own wavelength and energy. The energy relating to each of the seven spectrum colours—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet—resonates with the energy of each of the seven main energy centres/chakras of the body. The use of colour energy for health and wellbeing can be traced back thousands of years to the ancient cultures of Egypt, China and India.

Multidimensional effect

Colour is absorbed by the eyes, skin and our ‘magnetic energy field’ or aura.

Visually, we pick up colours with the sensors in the retina of the eye called rods and cones. The message is passed to the optic nerve and then to the brain. The pituitary and pineal glands in the brain respond to messages from cells all over the body about quantity and colour quality of light shining on to the body and produce hormones that stimulate other glands in the body.

If we cannot see or are ‘colour blind’, the colour rays will be received through the skin and, powerfully, through our energy field. It has been shown that those who cannot see, can differentiate between various colours using touch or simply being open to the energies around them.

The energy of colour affects us on all levels, that is to say, physical, psychological and emotional.

There are deeper issues around the colours on the psychological and emotional levels and thus our moods are affected by colour. Our wellbeing is not purely a physical issue; our moods and psychological issues play a large part in our health and wellbeing.

Using colour

We can easily utilise colour in our everyday life. After all, colour is all around us. We only have to look at nature to see the wonderful free resource of colour at our disposal. All we need to do is to heighten our awareness of the energy of colour and how it can make a difference to our lives. A professional therapist will help you to do this, but there are ways to help ourselves and using appropriate colours in the home can be a great start.

Our moods and psychological issues play a large part in our health and wellbeing

Let’s look at the qualities of the individual colours of the spectrum

Red

Red is the most warming and energising of the colours. It is associated with the fight or flight reaction, as it stimulates the adrenal glands. It also increases blood flow and blood pressure. This colour relates to basic survival issues, security, inner strength and courage.

This colour is generally recommended for activity areas. But, it needs to be used wisely as it makes a space look smaller and can be claustrophobic or oppressive. However, if used well, red and its variations can make a space feel warm and cosy. This colour is not recommended for rooms where there may be a level of stress – i.e. offices.

Orange

Orange is the next most warming colour and is associated with creativity and relates to the abdominal area including the reproductive organs and large intestine. It is used to alleviate depression as it is uplifting and encourages independence, sociability and joy.

Just like the colour red, orange is also recommended for activity areas. Play rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, etc can have a dash or orange. Orange has the ability to stimulate creativity and is therefore used in studios to increase energy, fun and sociability.

Yellow

Yellow is associated with the ego and self confidence; it relates to the solar plexus area including the stomach and liver. It is helps promote logical thought and can be a useful aid to concentration and study. Often thought of as “the sunshine colour” it is also warming and uplifting.

Since yellow is a warm and mentally activating colour, it is suitable for a sunny welcome in entrance halls. Using shades of yellow in the study room helps one in their studies as it aids concentration. This colour is not ideal for bedrooms as it stimulates the mind and can keep your mind active at night.

Green

Green is associated with love and self love and relates to the heart area and thymus gland, which is important for the immune system. It is a balancing colour as it helps to encourage our body’s normal processes like breathing, blood flow and cell behaviour. Psychologically, it helps us to open our hearts to love and empathy.

Green can be used in any room as it balances and harmonises the energy. However, it does not stimulate activity. This colour is ideal for a garden room as it brings the outside in.

Blue

Blue is associated with self expression, communication and truth, relating to the throat area and the thyroid gland. It is calming and cooling and helps to promote tranquillity. It also helps to slow down over-activity in the body as well as the mind.

This colour can be used for any room where we want to promote peace and calm. Since this is a cooling colour, a north facing room will feel colder if decorated predominantly in blue. It is a good colour for a bedroom, but if the room is facing north, think about bringing in warmer colours with art work or curtains etc.

Indigo

Indigo is associated with the brow, forehead area relating to the head and the eyes, ears and sinuses and the pituitary gland. It relates to self responsibility—acknowledging that we are responsible for our own life. Indigo helps us to see the bigger picture and to trust our intuition. It is very cooling and calming.

Like blue, indigo is also a cooling colour and must be used for areas of calm like bedrooms or areas of contemplation. This colour can also be used for study rooms as it helps to focus the mind and help intuition.

Violet

Violet is associated with the top of the head, the crown, and relates to the pineal gland. It helps us to acknowledge that we are more than just a body, by connecting to our higher self/soul/spirit and heightens our sensitivity to energies. It is the most calming of all colours and helps to soothe the nervous system.

Since violet calms and soothes the nervous system, this is the classic colour to use in bedrooms of insomniacs, meditation rooms and therapy rooms.

Since yellow is a warm and mentally activating colour, it is suitable for a sunny welcome in entrance halls

A few more tips

• Using red socks and gloves during winters will keep your feet and hands warmer than any other colour.
• If you suffer from insomnia, use violet coloured bedding or pillow. You could cover the pillow with a violet silk or cotton scarf. You could also place something violet on your bedside table to concentrate on for a few minutes before turning out the light.
• Yellow is an energising colour which helps to stimulate the mind and to encourage logical thought. It helps to promotes creation of ideas. Place something yellow on your desk like a flower, small lamp with a yellow shade or wear yellow if you wish to enhance these abilities.
• Green is calming and comforting; it is helpful for relieving trauma. Shades of green wrapped around the body can be a useful aid to for shock. Green is generally a helpful colour to aid the body’s own healing processes.

This was first published in the July 2015 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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Can colours really heal us? Can they create harmony and calm the nerves? Absolutely. Colours heal in more ways than one. They have the ability to create perfect harmony in our mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.

They affect us in both subtle and obvious ways throughout our lives. We react differently to various colours. Colours around us affect everything—from our mood to our energy levels. You can feel the impact of colours almost everywhere; the clothes you wear, the food you eat and the décor you live in.

A lot of people suffer from medical conditions such as arthritis, depression, anxiety, headaches, insomnia, migraines, digestive disorders, skin ailments and allergies.

While colour therapy is not a substitute for urgent medical treatment, many have experienced visible improvement in behaviour and attitude on account of this therapy.

A study conducted by scientist Robert Gerard in 1958 found that exposure to red light can increase your blood pressure while that to a blue light can reduce it. Years later other studies too endorsed this theory.

Dyslexia and autism sufferers are advised to wear tinted glasses because normal or dark glasses are uncomfortable. Similarly, sunlight is highly recommended for people suffering from vitamin D deficiency.

The rays of light emit powerful vibrations, which are essential for these individuals. Ultraviolet rays, which emit red light, are used in treating back and leg pain. Basically, irrespective of the form, colours help maintain equilibrium in health and wellbeing.

Colours have a connection with the seven chakras in our body. Every colour in the rainbow has a specific energy, which relates to the energy represented by a chakra.

Each chakra is related to a specific gland. To treat a specific ailment, you need to identify the chakra it represents and use the colour accordingly. For instance, red is used to treat liver disorders, blue for the pineal gland.

To maintain complete wellbeing, it is essential that all the energies are in balance. By using the right colour, you can stimulate these energies and create a balance.

Red

The colour red enhances warmth. It increases stimulation, removes negativity, enhances aggression and improves your confidence levels. It helps increase low blood pressure and is useful in haemoglobin deficiencies such as anaemia.

If you are passive by nature but seek to be an extrovert, using red will help increase your vibrations and therefore energy. This will, in turn, be reflected in your nature.

You can also use red to up your energy levels; sip a glass of water stored in a red bottle in the morning to feel energised through the day and avoid sluggishness.

Orange

Orange stimulates creative thinking and helps in generating new ideas. The colour is also useful in combating melancholy and depression. It creates a sense of confidence if used in limits. An overdose of the colour, however, can lead to complications such as developing addictions.

Yellow

Yellow is highly effective in treating the nerves and mind. It increases your concentration span and alertness. It is also helpful in battling anxieties such as fear and restlessness. In addition, using this colour instils a sense of confidence and empowerment.

Green

The colour green has a calming and soothing effect on the mind and body. It is the colour that creates balance and harmony. It strengthens the immune system and stimulates inner peace. It helps reduce stress and relax the nerves. Using green in excess, however, makes a person lazy and lethargic.

Blue

Blue has an astringent-like cooling effect. It reduces inflammation in conditions such as arthritis, brings relief in back and throat pain, fever, high blood pressure, and headaches. Sleeping on a blue bed sheet or lighting a blue lamp at night induces sleep and hence is a good cure for insomnia.

For curing inflammation, drink water stored in a blue coloured bottle. Going overboard with blue however, makes a person cold-hearted.

Indigo

Indigo has a purifying effect. It calms and tranquillises. It is often associated with spirituality. It helps treat ailments of the eyes and ears. It is a balancing colour and helps reduce irritation and restlessness. Overusing indigo, though, leads to developing depression and feelings of insecurity.

Violet

Violet heals melancholy, hysteria, delusions and alcohol addiction. It leads to spiritual insight. This colour slows down an over-active heart and stimulates sleep. It can help those suffering from migraines. By concentrating on violet colour for about three minutes just before putting out the lights at night, sleep comes easier than usual.

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