Colour healing was part of the ancient wisdom practised in Egypt, Greece, China, India and Tibet. It was also part of the Mayan culture and the shamanic wisdom of the North American Indians. By rebalancing and revitalising the body's energies, treatments with colour can support other therapies. Colour therapy is also especially useful in the treatment of stress-related disorders, such as eczema and psoriasis, and of depression, including S. A. D.

The spectrum of energies that shine from the sun includes the range we see as light. No one sees colours in quite the same way, we tend to think of colour as physical phenomenon which is experienced by our sense of sight alone, but colour is active at all levels of our being; mental, emotional, physical and spiritual, as a form of energy. People with restricted vision are equally receptive to these energies. Each colour of the rainbow has its own individual characteristics and effects.

Messages in colour

We make non-verbal statements about ourselves, or our mood, with the colours we choose to wear, and the colours all around us can affect our feelings and emotions. By describing people as ‘green with envy’, ‘purple with rage’, ‘yellow’ (with cowardice), ‘white with fright’ or ‘seeing red’, we are using very common colour associations.

The physical responses to colours

Although there are always exceptions, as a general rule the red end of the spectrum tends to make us tense, while the blue end of the spectrum tends to relax us. While we are in a red environment blood pressure increases, while blue places relax us and so help to lower blood pressure.

The mental responses to colours

Colour effects our perceptions. A red room can seem smaller than a blue one, for example.

The emotional responses to colour

In general, red and orange excite us, while blue and green makes us feel calmer.

Colour and physiology

Colour penetrates deep into our bodies on every level of our being. Experiments on plants, which need light in order to make carbohydrates, show that exposing them only to red or green light, for example, radically alters the quality of their growth. When mustard and cress seeds were exposed to only red light, the developing plants were stunted with small foliage, and had a bitter taste. Exposure to only green light produced weak plants. In contrast, under blue light the seeds produced well developed plants, which grew quite slowly, and had a sweet flavour.

Of all the colours, red and blue light have the most marked effect on the physiology of the human body. Red light increases muscular activity, blood pressure, respiratory and heart rate. Blue has the opposite effect, relaxing the body, and can help insomnia sufferers.

In Chinese medicine colour is used for diagnosis and is also helpful in face reading. Wood = Green, Fire = Red, Earth = Yellow, Metal = White and Water = Dark Blue.

The chakras also have traditional colours associated with them, the base chakra = red, the sacral = orange, the solar plexus = yellow, the heart = green, the throat = blue, the forehead = indigo and the crown = violet or white.

Colour and wavelengths

The narrow band of energy that our eyes can see fits roughly into the middle of the electromagnetic spectrum. Reds have the longest wavelengths, violets have the shortest wavelengths. People who spend a great deal of their time in artificial lighting, which does not emit the same balance of colour as sunlight, are depriving themselves of the healthy wavelengths they need for their wellbeing. Although they can see sufficiently well they may soon start to suffer from a deficiency of natural light. At its worst people can suffer from a conditioned known as S. A. D. - Seasonal Affective Disorder - which is a depression possibly brought on by lack of sunlight during winter. An excess of inadequate artificial lighting can bring on similar symptoms. This, unfortunately, is the situation in many office buildings and places of work.

During childhood, colour associations contribute to our understanding of the world around us. As we grow we attach feelings, memories, and meanings to our experiences of colour. The association of particular colours with a sad, happy or other emotional response builds up our colour preferences. This means that we may be avoiding colours which have unhappy associations for us and in doing so we are missing out on the valuable energies they supply.

Colour breathing – a visualisation exercise.
Settle down, relax and imagine or visualise breathing in a colour and breathing out its complementary.

Red
Breathe in red for vitality. It brings energy and will power. Breathe out turquoise.

Orange
Breathe in orange for joy. Breathe out blue

Yellow
Breathe in yellow to increase your objectivity and intellectual powers. Breathe out violet

Green
Breathe in green to cleanse and to feel more balanced. Breathe out magenta.

Turquoise
Breathe in turquoise to counteract inflammations and fever, or to strengthen the immune system. Breathe out red

Blue
Breathe in blue for relaxation and peace, and in cases of sleeplessness. Breathe out orange

Violet
Breathe in violet to increase self-esteem, and for feelings of dignity and beauty. Breathe out yellow

Magenta
Breathe in magenta to let go of any obsessional images, thoughts, and memories. Breathe out green.

Colour therapists use colour personality assessment, with coloured lamps or colour-puncture to treat their clients.

Colour therapy is a skilled method of healing which enhances health and encourages renewed balance and harmony.