Color and healing – what a fun topic! Most people look right past the idea of using color for healing. Let me be the first to tell you that maybe you should give it a second glance.
For starters, though, if you don’t already have the book “The Secret Language of Your Body” by Inna Segal, I highly recommend it. A lot of what I learned came from this book.
I am relatively new to the color healing topic but jumped right in because it fascinated me. Let’s start at the beginning.
Everything in this world has a vibration or a frequency. Everything. Your cells, the table, water, words. Everything.
Colors, therefore, also have a specific frequency. Following are the frequencies for a few basic colors[1]:
| Color | Wavelength (nm) | Frequency (THz) |
| Violet | 380-450 | 670-790 |
| Blue | 450-485 | 620-670 |
| Green | 550-565 | 530-600 |
| Yellow | 656-590 | 510-530 |
| Orange | 590-625 | 480-510 |
| Red | 625-740 | 405-480 |
nm = nanometers
THz = terahertz
Just as a side note, the visible wavelength range for humans is roughly 380-780 nm.
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Chromotherapy
While some people think color therapy (or chromotherapy) is a new age practice, it is actually quite old and was practiced as early as 2000 B.C, if not earlier. The Greeks used both exposure to the sunlight as well as using stones for healing long, long ago.
I read this really interesting article called “A Critical Analysis of Chromotherapy and Its Scientific Evolution” because if you don’t know by now, I’m a complete science geek. According to this paper, there is a stream of energy through our organs and color either sedates or stimulates this energy. And therefore knowing which one a particular color does, then the appropriate color can be applied to the appropriate organ for the sought after outcome. You can think of it as restoring balance in the body.
Pretty cool, right?
As you may or may not know, chakras are energy centers within the body. There are 7 Chakras and each of them and each one has a color associated to it. What was found is that certain areas of the body respond to certain colors which directly relate to the colors of the chakras. Makes perfect sense to me.
I’d probably say the coolest thing I read in this article was that “Color is a quantum state of matter”. I’m also a quantum physics geek so this resonated with me on a whole other level.
Now, I’m not going to bore you with any more scientific details like the frequencies of each of the organs. If you all want to know that, let me know and we can dive into that. Instead, we are going to looking into what the specific colors are used for.
Chakras and Colors
Just as a reference point, I wanted to quickly list the colors associated with the chakras before we go any further.
Root Chakra – Red
Sacral Chakra – Orange
Solar Plexus Chakra – Yellow
Heart Chakra – Green
Throat Chakra – Blue
Third Eye Chakra – Indigo
Crown Chakra – Violet or white
Doshas and Colors
If you listened to Episode 2 of The Mind Body Design Podcast or read this article about Ayurveda and Doshas, you’ll remember that there are 3 doshas – Vata, Pitta and Kapha. For Vata – yellows and golds are very balancing. For Pitta – blues, greens and pinks are balancing. Lastly, for Kapha – reds and oranges are best.
Now, let’s go through a few colors and what they are best used for. I’m going to combine the science with the woo here. The woo side is coming direct from ” The Secret Language of Your Body” by Inna Segal.
Colors and Healing
Black
Black is more the absence of color. It is used for protection and strength. Too much black, however, can drain energy, bring on a sense of pessimism and keep you stuck.
White
If you didn’t know, white is the combination of all colors and deals with healing of the entire body, purifying and clarity. It can be used for spiritual strength, vision, and negative thoughts. Too much white can lead to feeling washed out.
Red
Red can be used for energy, heat and power. It represents passion, courage, new opportunities and creativity. It is great for warming and pain reduction. It is said to be helpful with things such as constipation, reproductive issues, anemia. Remember that red is the color for the root Chakra. Too much red can end up in feelings of anxiety, irritation and frustration.
Orange
Orange is amazing for healing emotions and for depression and fear. It is also good for sexual energy which aligns with orange being the color for your Sacral Chakra. Orange can be helpful with digestive issues and adrenal issues. Too much orange can cause anxiety and worry.
Yellow
Yellow is the color for intellect, memory and self expression. It can bring happiness and clarity. It is said to be helpful with the lymphatic system, inflammation, and weight loss. It can aid in issues with the liver, pancreas, kidneys, spleen. Too much yellow and it may result in depression and exhaustion.
Again, makes sense given Yellow is also for the Solar Plexus Chakra which is located in your midsection.
Green
Green can help with anger and fear. It is also for healing and attracts abundance. Too much can lead to envy and jealousy.
From a Chakra point of view, green can help mend a broken heart. Remember that green is for the heart chakra.
Blue
Blue is very soothing and cool. It is calming and purifies the aura. It can also help with connection to the Divine. It’s calming and purifying attributes work well for things like inflammation, irritations, overexcited. Too much may make one cold or depressed.
From a Chakra point of view, blue can help with communication issues and confidence to speak your truth. Remember that blue is for the throat chakra.
Indigo
Indigo deals with the head, ears, nose and mouth, as well as intuition and wisdom – which all make sense because it is the color for the Third Eye Chakra. It is good for releasing stress and for pain. Too much indigo cause feelings of being ungrounded and overstimulated.
Violet
Violet is often linked to the divine Spirit and that is what it is mostly used for. Some sources suggest that violet’s only focus should be on Spirit. Given that our crown Chakra is associated with Spiritual awakening, this would make sense. But others believe violet can be used for mental illness as well.
Pink
Lastly, I want to talk about Pink. It is not associated with any Chakra but I think the properties of it are incredibly important. Pink is for unconditional love, and it opens and heals the heart. It is calming and soothing and can help with emotional baggage. Too much pink can result in feelings of wanting to control others and feeling overemotional.
We just touched the surface with a few colors. If you want a more indepth view, pick up The Secret Language of Your Body book.
How to Use Color for Healing?
There are so many ways to use colors and most of which you won’t have to spend a dime on. Here is a list of common ways to use colors for healing
Mind
Thoughts/Visualization
On the body
Clothes
Jewelry
Accessories
Around the body
Decorations
Furniture
Wall colors
With the body
Create art
Simply look at specific colors
In the body
Food
Drinks
There are also color therapy machines out there, but I don’t know much about those. I read somewhere a while back (and I can’t remember where) that a great way to make a color therapy drink is to put purified water into a colored water bottle and then let the sun’s rays shine through it for a while. Now don’t go cooking your water in 100 degrees weather, but you get the idea. Then when you drink the water, it is said to be infused with the healing properties of the color.
All in all, super cool stuff.
How Do I Personally Use Color Therapy?
I mainly use colors for therapy and healing in 3 ways.
- When I’m doing self Reiki, I will visualize the colors that I want to use in my hands and then lay my hands over the part of my body needing the healing.
- I will choose clothing colors for the day that represent what I feel my body needs in terms of colors.
- Lastly, I use colored stones during meditation. If I am lying down, I’ll place them over the intended body part. If I am sitting, I will simply hold them.
I hope you all enjoyed this quick little jump into color therapy. Be sure to let me know if you want a more in depth discussion!
Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The contents of this article, made available via The Mind Body Design (Holistic Fit LLC), are for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. The Content presented here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. If you think you may be suffering from any medical condition, you should seek immediate medical attention. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information provided by The Mind Body Design (Holistic Fit LLC). Reliance on any information provided by this article is solely at your own risk. And, of course, never use an herb or essential oil without first reading the label, doing your research, or checking with a local expert.
References
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible_spectrum
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1297510/
