Colour Therapy

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Colour therapy is closely linked to aura healing, and the two are often practised in conjunction. The idea of colour therapy goes back to ancient civilizations, as the Greeks and Egyptians are believed to have chosen the colours of their temple adornments for their beneficial effects on the mind, body and spirit.

Colour therapy is also still practised in Tibet and India, where Buddhist monks wear orange robes because of the colour's spiritual properties. It has been proven that people are affected both psychologically and physically by different coloured light. What colour healers do is work with the various principles of certain colours to bring about effective healing.

Recent investigation has shown that there is a close correlation between cer-tan colours and states of mind. Colour can affect people's mood, perception of time and temperature, and their ability to concentrate and function effectively. Some colours can induce anxiety and unease while others create a tranquil, restful state of mind. For example, greens and blues are commonly used in the decoration of hospitals and prisons because they have been found to have a relaxing effect, counteracting aggression and anxiety.

Even fast-food restaurants know the significance of colour psychology and use the colour red to encourage people to eat quickly and move on. The strength of the colour induces a feeling of urgency and discourages the desire to linger.

Colour therapists go beyond psychology and believe that specific maladies can be treated and cured by adjusting the colour input to the body. As with aura therapy, it is believed that the body absorbs the electromagnetic energy of light and gives out its own aura of energy, which vibrates in a specific pattern. An unhealthy body creates an imbalance in this pattern, and the colour therapist strives to restore the balance through the stimulation of bodily reactions by colour.

Colour healing is said to be based on the principle of attraction-the vibrations of the colour attract similar vibrations in the human body and extract the vibrations that are causing imbalance and illness.

The main colours used in colour therapy are red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue, violet and magenta. Each colour is considered to be effective in the treatment of specific ailments.

When making a diagnosis, a colour therapist will ask about your colour preferences as well as for details of your medical history and lifestyle. Most therapists will also employ an element of intuition or extrasensory perception to assess any imbalances in your aura.

Then the therapist will concentrate on your spine, stroking the length of it while focusing on your condition. Each vertebra relates to a part of the body as well as to one of the main eight colours listed earlier, which are repeated in sequence down the twenty-four vertebrae of the spinal column. In this way, any vibrations from an individual vertebra are picked up and interpreted to reveal where the colour balance is upset.

Once the balance or imbalance has been established, the practitioner will know which colours are required for effective treatment. Treatment involves the beaming of different coloured lights onto the patient by a special colour therapy instrument.

Sometimes the whole body is bathed in the healing light, and at other times the colour will be focused only on a specific part of the body, depending on the patient's condition. The main colour used in the healing will usually be interspersed with a complementary colour, apparently increasing the efficacy of the former.

A session of this treatment will usually last around twenty minutes, and the patient should undergo at least seven or eight sessions over several weeks in order to receive the full beneficial effects. In addition to this formulaic treatment, the practitioner will advise the patient on what colours to wear and use around the home in the form of furnishings or lighting.

Self-help techniques will also be taught and encouraged, to reinforce psychologically the benefits of the colour treatment. The therapist will guide the patient by visualization exercises, which he or she may then practise at home. These exercises may include visualizing a particular colour penetrating the body and suffusing it with coloured light, or the visualization could be based on a narrative and involve the patient imagining himself or herself enacting a journey through fields of specifically coloured flowers.

There is no doubt that colour can indeed affect mood and perhaps alter behaviour patterns, but the curative powers of colour therapy are yet to be scientifically proven. Even colour therapists recognize that this form of treatment should not replace orthodox medical diagnosis and treatment, but should be complementary.