COLOUR THERAPY

Most of us know that psychologically we are very much affected by colour.  We are cheered up by vivid reds and warmed up by the red coals of an open fire (whether they actually give out much heat or not).

Blue is a cold colour, soothing to the eyes and mind alike, whilst green harmonises us.  No wonder a walk in the country soothes and refreshes us.

We have sayings like ‘seeing red’, ‘green with jealousy’, ‘feeling blue’ and ‘black with rage’, and these relate to actual changes which take place in the colours of our own electro-magnetic field due to changes in our emotions.  These colours can be seen with Kirlian photography.

But it’s not only complementary therapists who use colour therapy.  Indeed, colour therapy is regularly used in hospitals to treat jaundiced babies.  Most jaundiced newborns’ livers don’t work well, giving them a yellow colour.  To treat the condition, hospitals often now bathe the child in bright blue light or blue-green light, which helps clear the jaundice by breaking down the chemical which makes them yellow.  Eye pads, an eye shield or an orange head-shield are used to protect the baby’s eyes.

Red is the element of fire.  It stimulates and excites the nerves and blood, releases adrenalin, activates the circulation of the blood and vitalizes the physical body.  Red helps overcome tiredness and inertia, as well as chronic chills or colds.  It stimulates will-power and courage.  Wounds can heal faster if you surround yourself with red while healing.   It can help get rid of headaches (try putting a red towel over your eyes). 

Too much red can raise blood pressure, however, so everything in moderation.

Eat Red Foods:  Beets, black cherries, red berries, damsons, plums, radishes, red peppers, etc.

Orange strengthens the lungs, pancreas and spleen.  It warms the emotions and creates a feeling of well-being.  Orange is a stimulating, warming colour and can be used for lack of vitality, as well as muscle spasms or cramps.  Use it for asthma and bronchitis, as well as during colon cleansing.  Orange can also help boost the appetite.

Eat Orange Foods:

Orange vegetables and fruits, such as apricots, mangoes, peaches, cantaloupe melons, carrots, swedes, butternut squash, pumpkin, oranges, tangerines, orange peppers, etc.

Pink soothes violent or anxious adults for a few hours and is sometimes used on walls in prisons or hospitals for mental illness.  In children it stimulates creativity and strength.  It could help with insomnia if you sleep between pink sheets.

Eat Pink Foods: pomegranates, strawberries, water melon.

Yellow Yellow is a positive colour which acts on the nervous system.  It stimulates the intellect and so is good for school rooms, studies and anywhere where good conversation is desirable.  Our spirits are raised by looking at yellow and orange, as they most resemble golden sunshine which our bodies crave.  Yellow helps the liver with elimination and purifies the intestines.  It’s good for skin too.  Yellow can be used for nervous exhaustion, for depression, indigestion, skin problems, liver problems and constipation. 

Eat Yellow Foods:

Yellow skinned fruits and vegetables, such as lemons, bananas, grapefruit, pineapples and sweetcorn. 

Green

Instinctively we know that the green we find in nature will calm us and leave us feeling peaceful and harmonious.  Green in springtime brings a feeling of renewal, of new life, freshness and brightness.  It has a calming effect on blood pressure and the heart, and can also alleviate headaches and flu.  Too much green can leave you too relaxed, however.

Eat Green Foods:

Eat your greens! In the form of cabbage, spring greens, spinach, broccoli, brussels, etc.

Blue

The opposite of red.  Whilst red expands and stimulates, blue contracts and restricts.  It slows things down so that it can combat infectious diseases where there is a rise in temperature.  Blue is antiseptic, cooling and astringent.  Psychologically, blue can bring peace of mind, particularly after excessive mental stress.  Too much blue, however, can give you ‘the blues’, in which case it needs to be balanced with some red.  Blue can be helpful with throat troubles, fevers and children’s ailments such as mumps and measles, inflammation, spasms, stings, itching and headaches.  Also use it for shock and insomnia. 

Eat Blue Foods:

Blueberries, bilberries, blue plums, blackberries, grapes etc.

Violet

Violet has a soothing and tranquillizing effect on frayed nerves and so is especially useful for those who are nervous and highly-strung by nature.  Violet can also be used to help develop the spiritual, intuitive faculty and can be used before and during meditation, perhaps by visualising or concentrating on a violet colour cloth.  Violet can be used for all mental and nervous disease, as well as for rheumatism, concussion and kidney and bladder diseases.

Eat Violet Foods:

Aubergines, purple grapes, blackberries, purple broccoli.