Color Therapy
The influence of color is all around. Different colors can induce a variety of emotions, and this fact is reflected in many areas of life, including advertising, fashion and interior design. One common perception is that colors such as reds and browns are "warm" while others, like blues and greens, are "cold". A room can appear to be much bigger if it is painted in light, bright colors, or warmer if it is painted in shades from red end of the color spectrum. Yellow is perceived to be bright, cheerful color, whereas browns and greys are more sombre and conservative. 

Fashion magazines often advise people on the particular color that suits them. depending on hair and skin tones, certain shades are supposed to be more flattering to the individual than others, and people are often ascribed seasonal labels to help them determine which colors to wear. An autumnal person would be advised to wear corresponding shades in  order to enhance his/her natural features and appear more attractive, but a summer individual would find a completely different set of colors recommended. Black has always been the choice for those who wish to appear slimmer, even if it means absorbs the fierce heat of the sun in order to hide those extra inches. 

But there is another school of thought that is less concerned with the external and which focusses on creating an inner balance using colors. Color therapy, or color healing, is part of the holistic stable of complementary therapies. It involves the therapeutic use of color and light as a means of balancing and harmonizing the mind, body and spirit. Research has shown that our physical and mental well-being can be affected by our relationship with the colors (or lack of them!) in our environment. One condition which exists as a result of this is a Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a relatively common type of depression which is caused by the lack of light in the darker, winter months. Color therapy uses light and color to improve a patient's state of  mind by several different methods, including visualization, using crystals, gem stones or colored fabrics, and working on the aura. 

All living things are said to be surrounded by an energy field called an aura, which is only visible to the trained eye.  The aura is a manifestation of a person's well-being and happiness, and can be manipulated in order to improve levels of energy and to clear unwanted energy blockages. Usually consisting of a base color that radiates a few inches from the body, the aura is responsive to all sorts of internal and external stimuli, such as physical illness, emotions and our environment. The aura itself is comprised of several layers. The first layer is called the etheric body and it is supposed to reflect what is happening inside the physical body. The second is the emotional body and this indicates the current emotional state of the individual. The final layer is called the mental body, and is usually yellow in appearance. This layer is connected to the thought process and, as this is often directly linked to the emotions, other colors creep in to create a blend of different shades. Other colors may also be visible in the auric field depending on our physical surroundings and on the energy fields of those around us. The first impressions which people create are often based on appearance, but the aura can also influence them. 

An aura is created by the body's chakras. The word chakra is comes from sanskrit meaning circle, or wheel, and applies to the energy centers located throughout the body. There are seven major chakras in the human body, six located roughly along the spinal cord and one at the crown of the skull, and their closest equivalent in western medicine is the endocrine system. Each chakra is associated with specific color, as well as a part of the body, and they are situated on the meridian lines of energy which acupuncturists tap into when practicing their medicine. The first, the base chakra, is located at the bottom of the spine and its associate color is red. This is followed by the sacral chakra, which is connected to the sexual organs and is orange. ... To continue.

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This Page was last updated on October 19, 1999 
 

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