The New Age Healers: Colors

Color therapy or chromotherapy is the use of color to balance energy wherever it is lacking in our bodies, be it physical, emotional, spiritual, or mental. It is based on the underlying principle that each organ and body system has its own characteristic vibrational energy.

Disorders can be healed by applying the color of the corresponding vibrational energy, either to the whole body or to the specific organ. Each color found in the visible light spectrum has its own wavelength and frequency, which produces a specific energy and has a nutritive effect.

The crux of the treatment lies in the different properties that the three primary colors are believed to exhibit. Red is known as a physical color that is a stimulant, blue is a spiritual color that cleanses, and yellow is a mental shade that effectively combines red and blue. All the other colors are set to exhibit properties that are a derivative of these primary colors.

Black is a protective color. It is generally used in combination with white or any other color. It activates and strengthens the feminine energies of the body. White is the only color that contains the entire light spectrum. Thus, it influences all systems of the body.

Many therapists begin and end healing sessions with White. Ultra-violet, green and indigo are used to treat heart diseases, dehydration and dandruff respectively.

Use of color as an aid in therapeutic treatment dates back to ancient times in Chinese and Indian practices. Color temples were built in Egypt having seven different compartments, each one containing one of the seven color rays. People were brought to these temples for both physical healing and spiritual uplifting.

The therapy entails the usage of various tools such as gemstones, candles, wands, prisms, colored fabrics, bath treatments, and colored eye wear. Color therapists use techniques such as "color puncture" which combines the concept of color and acupuncture as a way to clear blockages and restore healthy energy.

Kirlian photographs can track improvements. Light Therapy is a technique, which attempts to restore well-being and has been successful in treating various types of depression.

An extremely popular technique with therapists is the Solarized Water Technique. Water is poured into a colored vessel and exposed to sunlight for an hour. The irradiated water then takes on some of the vibrational energy of that particular color. This is called Solarized water. The water is then consumed by the patient throughout the day.

However there are simpler techniques for the layman to follow if he chooses to practice basic color therapy. Practicing color therapy can be as simple as choosing the color clothing one wears to what color one paints his/her bathroom. Since yellow helps improve memory, studying by writing notes on a yellow legal pad could help in retention of information.

Total relaxation at the end of a long day can be achieved by taking a long soak in the tub, in your green bathroom. If you have a busy day coming up and you need to feel energized, wear orange. If you desire to give off an air of power and strength, wear black.

Contemporary usage of color therapy involves the conscious and sub-conscious usage of colors. Vibrant and bright colors used in a child's play room not only make the room pretty but it also sets a vibrational tone (sound) that affects the sensory system of a human form.

But nowadays colors are being consciously used by health centers; a patient who is constantly in pain is kept in a blue room because of the soothing effect of the color.

Therapy rooms in some hospitals are painted in red and yellow to achieve a dynamic environment for the patients to move and exercise. It is no coincidence that colors such as red, orange and yellow are used in a fast food restaurant as bright colors stimulate the nervous system and increase appetite. Another example of this is seen in prisons where the color pink, with its calming effects is used.

The efficacy of color therapy has always been a controversial issue among allopathic and conventional medical practitioners. Opponents of the therapy mention the "placebo effect" that is responsible for curing the patient and that the colors themselves do not have any healing properties.

The therapy is perceived to be an invention of the Orient and it will be a while before mainstream Western medicos acknowledge it.