Chromotherapy (often misspelled as "chromatherapy") is a centuries method of treating disease with color. Color therapy isn’t far fetched at all. If you are inclined to scoff at such healing, just remember that the most famous and applicable scientific discovery of the 20th century was Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. In it, he proved that matter and energy are just different forms of the same ‘substance’. If this is so – and we know it is, or you wouldn’t be reading this on a computer – then of course colors have effects on our entire being. They are nothing more or less than rays of energy and ALL energy has effects on us.
According to practitioners of color healing – or colour healing , as our British and Canadian friends would spell it – the cause of any disease can be traced to the lack of a specific color in the human system. Color healing therapy is a technique for restoring this imbalance by means of applying colored light to the human system.
The History Of Chromotherapy
Chromotherapy was a popular technique of curative even in ancient times. 2,500 years ago the famous Pythagoras applied color light therapeutically and ‘color halls’ were common healing spots in ancient Egypt, China and India.
The pioneer of contemporary color therapy was Niels Finsen of Denmark. Following the discovery, in 1877, of the bactericidal action of solar ultra-violet energy, Finsen studied how to heal wounds with visible light. He subsequently used red light to inhibit the development of smallpox marks and, in 1896, founded a Light Institute ( now the Finsen Institute of Copenhagen) for the phototreatment of tuberculosis.
In 1932, Gerrard and Hessay, two Californian psychologists, scientifically established that blue light had a calming effect and red a stimulating power on human beings.
How Color Healing Therapy Works
Color healing works on a ‘scale’, with blue and red colors at the two extremes and yellow representing the midpoint.
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These are the three principal colors in a rainbow.
A patient is first examined so as to figure out which color he lacks. This diagnosis is achieved by observing the color of the eyeballs, nails, urine and excrement.
If there’s a deficiency of red, the eyes and nails will be bluish, and the urine and excrement white or bluish.
If there’s a deficiency of blue, the eyes and nails will be reddish and urine and excrement yellowish or red.
Every substance on earth incorporates color. Even the rays cast on earth by celestial bodies contain color in the form of white light. The rays of the sun contain seven different colors – violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red – and they are natural colors which are highly beneficial to the maintenance of health and for healing diseases.
Color & Sunlight
According to Dr. Babbit, a familiar authority on chromotherapy, sunlight is the principal curative agent in nature’s laboratory and where light cannot enter, disease does. Here are just a few of the diseases that can result from insufficient sunlight:
iron-deficiency anemia
anemia
leukemia
emaciation
muscular weakness
degeneration of heart and liver
softening of bones
nervous excitability
physical deformity
stunted growth
The rays of the sun improve digestion and nutrition, quicken blood and lymph circulation and increase the elimination of impurities through the skin and help with almost every disease in existence. Even cancer patients have been helped or even healed with sunlight.
Color Healing With Specific Colors
The action and effect of various colors on the body and their healing qualities are as follows:
RED:
Symbolic of heat, fire and anger. It is a stimulating and energizing color. It stimulates arterial blood and brings warmth to cool extremities. Used as a general tonic, it is very valuable in the treatment of diseases like low blood pressure, rheumatism, paralysis, anemia and advanced cases of tuberculosis.
ORANGE:
Symbolic of prosperity and pride, orange is handy for stimulating blood flow and energizing the nervous system. It is beneficial in the treatment of kidney and gall stones, hernia and appendicitis. It is also employed to stimulate milk production after childbirth.
VIOLET:
Violet is a prescription for nervous and emotional disturbances, arthritis, acute instances of consumption and insomnia.
YELLOW:
Yellow is cleansing, acting as a laxative and diuretic. It is a stimulant to the brain, the liver and the spleen. It is effective in the treatment of diabetes, indigestion, kidney and liver disorders, constipation, eye and throat infections, syphilis and impotence.
PURPLE or INDIGO:
Purple or indigo combines the blood-warming of red and the cooling antiseptic of blue. It is a superb stimulant without being an irritant. It is beneficial for therapy for advanced stages of constipation, many disorders of the stomach and womb , cataract, migraine and skin disorders. It exerts a soothing effect on the eyes, ears and the central nervous system.
GREEN:
Green is considered a color of harmony. It is a mild sedative. It is useful in the treatment of nervous conditions, hay fever, ulcers, influenza, malaria , common colds, sexual disorders and cancer. It beefs up and fortifies vision and is of great help with inflammation.
BLUE:
Cool, soothing and sedative, blue alleviates pain, reducing bleeding and heals burns. It is beneficial in the treatment of dysentery, colic, asthma, respiratory disorders, hypertension, high blood pressure and skin problems. In a study at the New England State Hospital in the US, 25 members of staff with normal blood pressure were bathed in blue light for 30-60 minutes. The result: a universal fall in blood pressure. The staff blood pressure rose when red light was applied.
The Two Ways To Use Color Healing
There are two methods for color healing therapy:
Focusing light through different colored glasses …
Internal or external use of color-charged water …
In the first method, sheets of colored glass, are placed at the windows or any other place in such a way that the sun’s rays can move through them and fall directly on the patient’s body. Most times a pane of glass can be placed in front of the diseased part so that the light passing through the glass falls on the afflicted area.
A popular alternative is to use colored eye glasses which are easily available. In this case, the light won’t be on an injured or ailing spot, but it will enter the body through the eyes and affect the entire body for the better.
In the second method, colored bottles are involved. These bottles should be cleaned and filled up to three-fourths level with fresh well water, distilled water or rain water. The bottles should be corked and then placed in bright sunlight for three to four hours. After this exposure, the water is said to acquire medicinal qualities and this color-charged water can be used both internally and for exterior applications. Wounds and ulcers can be washed with this water and it can likewise be employed to massage the affected areas or applied as compress on them. For internal use, an adult can take 30 ml. of
color-charged water as a single dose. The dose can be repeated as required.
Increasing The Power Of Chromatherapy With Diet
Obviously, if you need more of a color in your body, you can eat that color and thus increase its availability. Here are some of the foods that are best for color healing.
RED: Beets, radish, red cabbage, tomatoes, watercress, most red-skinned fruits, red berries, water melon
ORANGE: Orange-skinned vegetables and fruits like carrot, orange, apricot, mango, peach, papaya
VIOLET: Eggplant, jet carrot, purple grapes.
YELLOW: Lime and lemon, melon, banana, mango, yellow apple, guava.
PURPLE or INDIGO: Foods having both blue and violet coloring like purple grapes
GREEN: Green vegetables and fruits like gourds, spinach, plantain, lettuce, pea, green mango, gooseberry, pears
BLUE: Blue plum, blueberries, blue grapes
Is Chromatherapy For Real?
You don’t need someone to help you figure out what colors you need for effective color healing therapy. The blues, greens and violets are soothing colors and are needed when a problem is one of ‘too much’, or excitability, like inflammations, rashes, etc. The reds, yellows and oranges are stimulating and should be used for color therapy when energy is needed. Simple common sense can make dramatic differences so don’t dismiss chromatherapy as a valuable and non-invasive healing technique.
Debra Carey says
What an amazing and thorough article on colour therapy and it’s uses. I’ve often wondered about the effects of colour and how to use to improve health and moods. You’ve really set it all out for me here and it’s very much appreciated.
I think there’s no doubt about the healing effects of the sun as I can certainly confirm right now. I’m in the UK and at this time of year the number of hours of sunlight we get is at it’s lowest. It’s also the most dangerous time of year as people suffer much more from depression and serious illnesses. Just a few minutes a day in the sunlight can make such a difference to everything from mood to physical health.
Your comments about Einstein and his theories about energy is spot on. I run a business helping people to achieve happier lives, mainly through understanding this very principle. So yes, colour is also energy and can have a profound effect on our lives.
Well done for a great article.
Debra Carey
http://www.awonderfullifeblog.com