DRESS FOR HEALTH: COLOUR THERAPY

Part 1 Red Orange Yellow Green Green with envy, seeing red, feeling blue, colours are often used to describe our emotions but did you realise that your choice of colours may actually reveal more about you than just your tastes or that the colours you wear may even affect your mood?

It is now accepted that colour can be used to stimulate or inhibit certain behaviours. Advertising executives are well aware that a product can have a completely different impact if the colour of the packaging is changed. The colour of the clothes we use can also be used to help the healing process or to change the way we feel. According to practitioners of colour therapy, the link between colours and our moods and emotions goes even deeper than that. They believe that not only do colours affect our emotions, but they have healing properties. According to them, every colour in the light spectrum vibrates at a different frequency. The faster the vibration, the warmer the colour, and the slower the vibration, the cooler the colour. For instance, red is a warm colour, while blue is cool.
This is not a new-fangled theory, but one that has been practiced as far back in time as the Egyptian civilization. In ancient Egypt, people often immersed themselves in vats of coloured pigment as a curative measure. In ancient times, there were great halls with coloured glass panels or windows where people would stand and be bathed in the light that filtered in.
Colour is an important factor when choosing clothes, apart from recognising whether something suits you or not, an inner sense tells you which colour to wear. If you have a sudden desire to wear red it could indicate that you are about to experience a tiring day and need all the help you can get. Interestingly when traffic lights were first introduced people had great difficulty stopping for the red light because on a psychological level red means GO and green means STOP.
Fabrics are actually colour filters that pass colour waves through our skin. When we wear blue, all the other colours pass through the cloth, but the blue energy is absorbed. This blue energy is then filtered through our skin into our bodies.
So let's look at the various colours we use and see how we can harness their energies to increase our health and vitality.

RED: Including crimson, burgundy and deep red
Red is stimulating; it represents power, vitality, energy, creativity, and power. It is suggested that it can heal sexual difficulties and anemia. The colour red is believed to stimulate the release of adrenalin into the bloodstream therefore causing haemoglobin to multiply. Hence, it results in greater strength and energy and is good for treating anaemia and other blood-related conditions. Red can also make you feel warmer, reducing the pain that comes from the cold. It can also help people who are feeling lethargic or depressed.
Red is great when you want to get noticed, you feel sensuous and vivacious! Wear red when you want to be more assertive and want to make things happen faster.
Red should be avoided when you are suffering from exhaustion, ME or a flu infection. You should not wear it excessively if you suffer from high blood pressure. An excess of red can make a person agitated and aggressive. Choose a different colour if you are feeling nervous, don’t want attention or are feeling frustrated and angry. While it may excite sexual passion, it can also lead to anger and destructive behaviour. It is not recommended to be used for people who have heart trouble or who have a nervous disposition.

ORANGE: Like red, orange is also an energising colour. It has the same vibrational frequency as DNA, the template of all human cells. This color is known to heal shock. It is useful in treating gallstones, digestive ailments, chest and kidney diseases and arthritis. It helps to lift the spirits of people who are depressed, lonely, who feel hemmed in or who feel that their lives lack direction. Use this colour in place mats and tablecloths, to pique the appetite of a person who is ill. This colour should be avoided by those who are trying to lose weight. If you are feeling tired or run down try wearing an orange garment to lift your energy level. General weakness, allergies, and constipation may also improve. Too much orange can lead to agitation and restlessness like the colour red so don’t wear it when you want to relax. Orange should also be avoided if you feel nauseous or confused, as it might make matters worse!

YELLOW: Including lemon and gold
People attracted to the colour yellow usually have sunny dispositions and are good communicators who love to talk. Those who prefer the stronger shades of yellow often tend to be arrogant or conceited, while those who are drawn to the more pastel shades of yellow may be timid.
Yellow is the colour to wear when you want to be clear-headed, rational and communicative. It is a colour that promotes being able to be impartial and detached from a situation or event. It is excellent for times when you want to be able to express yourself confidently. It will empower you and enable you to feel a great deal of self-worth.
Yellow stimulates the intellect, if you want to remember something, jot it down on yellow paper. It also raises the blood pressure and increases the pulse rate, but to a lesser degree than red does. As the colour of sunshine, yellow has an energising effect; it can help relieve depression. Yellow has been useful in facilitating the digestive process and in curing skin problems. However, like red and orange, it is not recommended for people experiencing great stress. Over stimulation could result in exhaustion and depression.
Avoid yellow when you are going through a period of instability in your emotional life, times when you are feeling a bit detached. Too much yellow can make you feel sick (literally). Gold is a good colour instead at times like these, as it encourages you to seek your inner wisdom.

GREEN: The colour green represents balance, harmony and hope. Green clothing is an excellent choice for times when you are in the position of having to make some kind of choice or decision. A light green will help you feel better in yourself, increasing happiness, whilst darker green allows you to attract material wealth, and the ability to help others. People who favour the yellowier tones of green are usually adventurous in nature, while those who prefer the bluer tones of green tend to be optimists. Green helps to calm frazzled nerves and is good for people with heart conditions. It stimulates growth and therefore helps to heal broken bones and facilitates the regrowth of tissue. It is recommended for pregnant women to create a serene atmosphere. Green is a balancing colour, situated between action and inactivity. It therefore is not a good colour to wear when you need to take action of some sort! It allows you time to think about what decisions you need to make. Those seeking their own identity, fulfillment of their heart's desire, or are searching for a new direction, are drawn to wear this colour.

See next issue for:

Blue Black Brown White Violet Indigo Pink

For more information or to book an appointment please call Sarah at ATRIUM on 957 534 019

Sarah Morning; Complementary Therapist and Masseuse, ATRIUM, Calle Real 12, Iznajar.