Colours that heal!
AAKANKSHA NAVAL-SHETYE
Colours are known to alter our moods and are therapeutic too. We explore...
‘He’s feeling blue today...’, ‘I turned green with envy...’, or ‘She saw red...’ We often use colours to describe our moods and it’s interesting to note that colours play an integral part in enhancing or altering our moods. Little wonder then, that experts claim that there’s more to the link between colours and emotions. According to them, not only do colours affect and alter our emotions, but have healing powers, too.
In fact, Chromotherapy or colour therapy is not a new therapy at all. It was an accepted form of cure practiced as long back as the ancient Egyptian and Greek civilisations, when people were kept in halls with specifically coloured windows that filtered light. Even in India, since ancient ages, colours are also linked to our seven body chakras and applying the corresponding light to the chakra helps to regain balance.
Colour therapist Amisha Mehta, who sees patients of all ages ranging from seven to 70, explains, “We all experience colours in our day to day life and there’s no denying how it can sway our mood. In colour therapy, we isolate colours to enhance and alter energies. Often it is a combination of several things like — what colours to wear to what coloured foods to eat and painting using a special colour or sitting under light that passes through a certain colour of window pane. It’s a therapy that includes all senses.”
Health experts agree that being holistic in nature, colour therapy can work wonders in dealing with stress and other psychological issues, but in itself it may not cure several illnesses that need medical intervention.
They point out that though colour therapy is a science, there are no hard and fast rules that apply. And unlike modern medicine, there’s no one cure for all people suffering from the same ailment. “The therapy differs from person to person. Age, illness, and psychological conditions all need to be considered before starting off with colour therapy. Colours that work
for one person need not be as effective for another person,” says another colour therapist Ishita Patel.
How does it work:
Colour therapy works on the mantra that every colour in the light spectrum vibrates at a different frequency. Based on the frequency, this colour is used to restore the energy balance in the body.
What the therapists do:
- Colour therapists may use coloured light bulbs and coloured glass windows as part of the therapy.
- Some experts suggest eating foods of a particular colour.
- Finger painting is also therapeutic.
- Filling coloured bottles with water, leaving them in sun for a particular time and then consuming the water is also one way.
Word of caution:
Colour therapy if not administered right is also known to have side-effects, so it is important that one go to an experienced and well-trained colour therapist.
