Overview

Using the seven colours of the spectrum, Colour Therapy aims to balance and enhance our body's energy centres / Chakras and also to help stimulate our body's own healing process. Colour Therapy uses colour to re-balance the Chakras (our energy centres) that have become depleted of energy.

Each of the seven colours of the spectrum, resonates with one of the main seven chakras of the body. These chakras are like spirals of energy, each one relating to the others.

Chakra (pronounced sha-kra) is the Sanskrit word for ' wheel '.

Colour has a profound effect on us on all levels, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. If our energy centres become blocked or depleted, then our body cannot function properly and this, in turn, can lead to a variety of problems on any level.

History

Colour has been investigated and used for more than 2000 years. Throughout the centuries, different civilisations have experimented and learned more about colour. We are still learning today about how colour affects us and its importance in our lives.

The ancient Egyptians have been recorded to have been using colour for cures and ailments.They worshipped the sun, knowing that without light there can be no life. They looked at nature and copied it in many aspects of their lives. The floors of their temples were often green - as the grass which then grew alongside their river, the Nile. Blue was a very important colour to the Egyptians too; the colour of the sky. They built temples for healing and used gems (crystals) through which the sunlight shone. They would have different rooms for different colours. We could perhaps relate our present methods of colour/light therapy to this ancient practice.

There are lists on papyrus dating back to 1550 BC of colour "cures". Their deep knowledge and understanding of the healing powers of the colour rays was so nearly lost when, later on in history, the Greeks considered colour only as a science. Hippocrates, amongst others, abandoned the metaphysical side of colour, concentrating only on the scientific aspect. Fortunately, despite this, the knowledge and philosophy of colour was handed down through the ages by a few.

The Chinese also apparently practiced Colour Healing. The Nei/ching, 2000 years old, records colour diagnoses.

Benefits

Colour therapy can be shown to help on a physical level, which is perhaps easier to quantify, however there are deeper issues around the colours on the psychological and spiritual levels.

Our well-being is not, of course, purely a physical issue. Fortunately, many more practitioners, both orthodox and complementary are now treating patients in an holistic manner. That is to say, we are body, mind and spirit and none of these areas function entirely alone; each has an effect upon the other. This is why Colour Therapy can be so helpful since colour addresses all levels of our being.

As babies we first experience colour in the womb where we are enveloped in a nurturing and comforting pink. Then as a child we associate with colour as part of our first learning processes. These first associations contribute to our consciousness. As we get older we attach many different feelings, memories and meanings to certain colours and this can then become a feature in our subconscious. We can build up prejudices to colours which have happy, sad, or frightening connotations for us.

All life experiences have an affect upon us. Some experiences will be positive and some negative. It is these negative experiences which can manifest themselves physically over time as dis-ease. As an example:- perhaps we have, over the years, been in a situation where we have felt unable, for one reason or another, to speak our mind, or to express our needs and feelings. This can manifest as a problem in the throat chakra. The throat chakra relates in the spiritual aspect to self-expression. Thus, if our self-expression has been blocked, the energy in this area will not be free flowing.

Working with the appropriate colour/colours can help to dispel negative feelings, free blocks and re-balance the body.

Procedure

Colour in colour therapy treatment can be used and applied in many ways. A qualified Colour therapist though, will know what colour to use by way of a consultation. Colour therapy can be helpful for any problem whether, physical, mental, emotional or spiritual and as a relaxation therapy. However, it should always be remembered that no complementary therapy should be considered as an alternative to professional medical advice. Colour treatment can be given in a number of different ways and, as with any therapy, each therapist may have his or her own 'style'.

A Colour therapist will help you to understand your need for a certain colour or colours and also show how you can use these colours in every day life.

The first consultation with a qualified Colour Therapist will normally be longer than subsequent visits since time has to be allowed for taking patient details, for the purposes of proper records, and for full discussion of the reason for the visit. The practitioner can then assess the appropriate course of the treatment and discuss the different methods available.

Source of information: www.colourtherapyhealing.com