It is everywhere you look, and everywhere you don’t look. You delight in its marvels consciously and sub-consciously. You see color all the time, but how often do you think about its origins and effects? In a series of articles, we explore this topic further. In this first article, we’ll review some basics of color therapy and healing. You can read the next 2 articles here: 1) Color Meanings and 2) Color Psychology. You can also download our color meaning and symbolism charts.
Topics covered in this article:
What is Color?
As most of you know, color is light and energy. Color is visible because it reflects, bends, and refracts through all kinds of particles, molecules and objects. There are a variety of wavelengths that light can be categorized, producing different types of light. Visible wavelengths fall approximately in the 390 to 750 nanometre range and is known as the visible spectrum. Other wavelengths and frequencies are associated with non-visible light such as x-rays & ultraviolet rays. Most people are aware of the effects of non-visible light, so it makes sense that visible light would also affect us.
One example of the way light can affect us is a mild form of depression known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which causes many people suffering during winters.
An Introduction to Color Therapy
Color therapy and healing (also known as chromotherapy or light therapy) is a type of holistic healing that uses the visible spectrum of light and color to affect a person’s mood and physical or mental health. Each color falls into a specific frequency and vibration, which many believe contribute to specific properties that can be used to affect the energy and frequencies within our bodies.
While it is common knowledge that light enters through our eyes, it’s important to note that light can also enter through our skin. Given the unique frequencies and vibrations of various colors, people believe that certain colors entering the body can activate hormones causing chemical reactions within the body, then influencing emotion and enabling the body to heal.
Colors are known to have an effect on people with brain disorders or people with emotional troubles. For example, the color blue can have a calming effect which can then result in lower blood pressure, whereas the color red might have the opposite effect. Green is another color that may be used to relax people who are emotionally unbalanced. Yellow, on the other hand, may be used to help invigorate people who might be suffering from depression. (We’ll dive deeper into specific colors in a future article.)
Alternative therapies also believe that a person’s aura contains different layers of light which can be used for cleansing and balancing. Knowing the colors in your aura can help you better understand your spirit, and thus help you better understand how to heal. Additionally, the colors surrounding you can also have various effects.
A Brief History of Color Therapy
It’s no mystery that the sun and its source of light (or lack thereof), can have a profound effect on us. Thousands of years ago, some countries began exploring color and its healing capabilities. Egypt, Greece and China are known for their forays into color healing and therapy. A few examples include:
- Painting rooms different colors with the hopes of treating certain conditions.
- Utilizing colors in nature in their surroundings (blue from skies, green from grass, etc.)
- Healing rooms that utilized crystals to break up sunlight shining through.
There is evidence of people attempting to use color for healing and therapy from as far back as 2000 years. And it has gained in popularity throughout the years, with numerous books being written about it, including Johann Wolfgang Goethe who studied the physiological effects of color. As we mentioned though, many people are skeptical about using color and light for healing or therapy.
Stay tuned for upcoming articles over the next few weeks where we’ll introduce color meanings and symbolism, how we see color, and the various effects of specific colors.
Does color affect you? Let us know in the comments.
What a lovely introduction! I really liked it. I think that it is very important to spread the word out about Color Therapy and many other kinds of therapies in order to heal the body and the mind in a holistic way. I am really looking forward to reading the following articles! Thanks
Oops! I forgot to add that four years ago when I was going through a very bad state of depression I couldn’t sleep properly at night. As it was time to paint my room again, I chose a light perriwinkle colour. I was really surprised because after a few days I started sleeping really well and I started feeling relaxed and calm. It is awesome how colour can help!
If anyone wants to understand colour and all it’s healing qualities, have a read through any of Lilian Verner Bonds’ books on colour healing. She’s a master with it!
Thank you for making a start on this subject! Colour is very important to the healing process and the more people know about it the more people can apply it to their individual practices.
I found this article very helpful and I look forawrd to the upcoming ones:) I am VERY interested in art therapy as well as color healing and I can definatly say that I believe that color therapy works! Thanks for all the information!
Thats realy an intersting and helpful article to know the value of colours in our daily lives and their effects on the mmind and heart. one can get inner peace with the effective use of these colours in the routine hectic life.. I’ll be waiting for the next article to come.
Great intro! Yellow is my “power” color. Whenever I create a Mandala and process it afterward. I look for the yellow to determine its strength, weakness, placement, fragmentation, etc.
Colour is such an important part of my life without it ever being an effort. I always wear colour and can never wear black,it simply drains me and i feel so heavy and stagnant. I wear the colours that i feel, whatever that means, I can put on a dress and take it off immediately because the colour just doesn’t feel right, despite it being the right colour a few days ago. I love deep colours but there are days i need soft pastels and other days lots of bold and other days just the one constant colour and ……i am so looking forward to the upcoming articles
thank you Maryxx
I am wondering if you can refer me to any clinical studies re the healing power of color? Do you happen to recall the source for the lowered blood pressure statement? I would be much obliged. Love your blog!
Linda
Loved the article of the color theraphy healing. I want to receive the continuation on the subject
Thank you very much. This is really very interesting.
Hi; I am a British Mature student with the British School of Yoga, having just completed my final exam in Advanced Colour Therapy Diploma. And have just started a 1 Year Professional Merit “Art-It’s Place In Therapy”, being an intro to Art Therapy yeah. With view to change my career due to Disabilty, with 7 year Non-Clinical experience working on ward as a Health Carer. I am studying to bring my Creative skills together to help those with Learning Difficulties eventually. My further studies are in Psychology in the way of Behavioural Cognitive Therapy. But I require advice in how to bring this together as a whole holstic approach in healing and therapy as a new career And how to go forward. I have a learning difficulty being moderately dyslexic and dyspraxic and have a natural afinity with Colour and very Spiritual person I have also a 2year Diploma in Natural Healing Practitioner. And A’ Level Art n Design. With a extensive portfolio of “Rainbow Healing Art” (c) 2011) being an Artist and Author in Poetry. i have foiund your website invaluable and will be checking ion frequently and have subscribed to your emails to stay in the Loop so to speak. Bless you and Thank you. Many Rainbows Blessings Aho! RL (Rainbow Lizzie)
Hi Lizzie, your passion and career path sound fascinating. I would also love to help those with cognitive difficulties in areas I have struggled. I would be interested in following your path, discoveries, and insights as an inspiration. Drop a line if you wish. Cheers, Jon
Thanks for that amazing article, and I also want to say a big hello to Lizzie (posting above me) as what you are doing sounds just wonderful! Have you got a website that I can visit?
I am an artist who has just started selling work. I am interested in Holistic Healing and Therapy and my focus is to use my art to reach people who need to feel better emotionally or spiritually. My inspirations come from Nature mainly, but I love mystical themes such as Angels and Goddesses. I am trying to research as much as I can about colour therapy to use it in my work, and I hope to also do a course in the near future. Thanks for this article, it was very informative. If anyone is interested in my work, please visit my website:
http://www.birdsbecomefishes.co.uk
Blessings!
Hi, a friend of mine speaks alot about colour therapy and colour awareness, particularly involving the use of Aura Soma products, Archangeloi, and Quintessences.
What are your thoughts on these products? Please refer to the above URL for more information regarding what I am talking about.
What you said about crystals breaking up the light makes sense to me. I’m usually very put off by people who hang crystals and such. I think of it as hokey medicine but when you talk about breaking up the light so as to allow in different colors then that makes sense to me. I’m happy you added that little bit in there. 🙂
Faith
Nice article. You’re right! I noticed that every time I see the color blue, I find it soothing. At first I thought the ‘soothing’ feeling is because blue is my favorite color, until I stumbled on your blog.
I am a child psychologist and use some basic “art therapy” in my practice. I am always amazed how much you can deduce from child’s drawing. For example, one of my clients (7 years old girl) had serious sleeping problem and would not sleep separate from the parents. When I asked her to draw her family, she drew herself in the center holding hands with parents. Interestingly, the parents at her drawing didn’t have legs… I started thinking about this and it was obvious to me that the child didn’t sleep because she was afraid that parents will walk away when she is asleep. After digging deeper I learned from parents that the child stayed with grandparents at the age 4 till 6 months, because parents had to go to Asia for business. The child obviously had attachment problems and after few sessions the child started sleeping fine. If not for drawing sessions, it could have required many sessions and extensive assessments to identify the problem.
Best Regards,
Tali
Hi Tali! I read your post and it’s very interesting! I’m a 27 year old Psychologist and I worked with kids during my practice. It’s amazing how much you can get from a drawing, it seems it helped you a lot! It helped me too very much. I’m not an art therapist, I’m just a Psychologist but I find this therapy very useful. I also practice it myself, I mean, I like to paint the Adults Coloring Books, and I like the technical drawing, it’s something that I really enjoy doing it, it relaxes me, and makes me forget about all the stress of the day, eventhough I’m not very good at it.
I’m working on my blog, it’s very simple, it’s about painting and drawing and its relationship with Psychology, also about some material’s review, and other stuff, I’ll leave it here if you want to take a look!
thetherapyofcoloringart.blogspot.com
Greetings!
Mariela V.
Thanks for this great article. I’m researching colour therapy and healing for a friends website, and what I’m reading is just inspiring me to the amazing work that everyone is involved in.
Colors effect me a lot. Mainly, I relax in the eight chakra colors.
I would like to know how to help myself, more, to be more relaxed.
Thanks for this site.
Hi there,
I’m aleady a fully qualified practising colour therapist with an art, design, fashion, textiles and print background. This includes a HND in printing studies and BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA in ART and DESIGN specialising in Fashion and Textiles.
Furthermore, I have a level three in Counselling with RELATE.
Where do I stand in relation to practising Art Therapy or becoming an Art Therapist?
Many thanks, kind regards,
Sunita
Yes, I want to learn more about colour and auras and how they affect behavior and mood.
I have leaned how to use colours in therapy and have treated many people but mostly my family using the methods of Theo Gimble. He was a genious in his field!
It is so great to see all these positive comments! We are just adding Sunstone Studio to our practice where we have a new art therapist. We are so excited to see what an impact in will have on our clients. The creative outlet is such an amazing tool. We will be back frequenting here to see more of these stories. I can’t wait to see what our new Art Therapist can do.