Color Therapy and the Color Red

Have you ever wondered why you chose to wear the green sweater today and not the red? Or have you walked into someone's house which is decorated in blue and felt more relaxed and peaceful than a house painted in yellow or orange colors? The theories of color therapy provide an explanation: colors affect your moods, personality, feelings and your physical energy. Every color in the rainbow radiates a different vibration or wave length. Reds vibrate very slowly and violets vibrate very quickly. The other five colours vibrate at rates in between these two.

We can make use of this information by applying these vibrations of energy to effect changes in our own human energy vibrations, thereby altering our balance in our day to day lives. Interestingly, natural light (which includes the seven colours of the spectrum) is required by humans for our cells to function and grow normally. When exposed to the different colour vibrations, humans are known to experience changes in their mental, emotional, and physical state. Colour therapy may be used everyday to influence your moods and health.

How Does Color Therapy Healing Work?

All humans have energy centers which are analogous to the body's organs. The difference is that the energy is not visible to the naked eye. Each energy center is represented by a color and called a "chakra". The frequency or vibration of this color can be enhanced if we are in need of this energy. For example, according to color therapy theory, the color yellow stimulates our minds. It is related to wisdom, thoughts and words. It also represents the solar plexus area of our body. This is where the energy of self confidence and self esteem come into play. Therefore, if a student is studying for exams, they would benefit by surrounding themselves in yellow. They may wear yellow clothing, eat yellow foods such as bananas, grapefruit and pineapples, or writing their study notes on yellow paper.

When our chakras are in balance, we display every colour of the rainbow evenly throughout our body. If there are disturbances, whether it be physical, mental, emotional or spiritual our energies do not flow properly and we need to replenish them.

Color Psychology

Red
"Passive people never live passionate lives." Anonymous

Spiritual

Root Chakra
Focus on Survival needs
Grounds us to fulfill our mission on earth
Makes us face reality
Emotional

Passion
Warmth and protection
Action
Mental

Self confidence and reassurance
Power
Determination
Physical

Concerned with ages 0-5 and Root family
Related to blood, bones, teeth, reproduction, adrenal glands
Stimulates sex drive
Activity, movement, action
Stimulates the appetite

Core Beliefs

Since red represents the root chakra and the root family, this is the location where any traumas within the first five years of life within the family unit manifest into blockages. If any of our survival needs have been disturbed such as moving, parents divorcing, sibling dying, abuse etc. we can later manifest physical illnesses as we were not old enough to be aware of these core issues and emotionally deal with them.

If our feet are firmly planted on the ground we know and understand which direction to take in our lives. If indecision occurs, our feet act like a teeter-totter never being fully grounded. This can lead to feet, knees, and hip problems.

People who are not physically active and practice good healthy eating habits will find problems will occur in the root chakra.

People who are very spiritually attuned but not physically grounded will experience their body breaking down as we need to remain in the body to get our mission accomplished.

Red Color Therapy

Essential Oils of Patchouli, Ylang Ylang, Sandlewood, Pine
Tiger's Eye, Jasper gemstones
Foods - strawberries, raspberries, cherries, peppers, red meat, red wine, tomatoes
Decorate with red in a place that needs action and/or warmth. Hallways, bathrooms, playrooms, dining rooms. Use small amounts in a bedroom to stimulate sexual passion. Because of red's high action vibration, it is wise to use small amounts or balance with other colours such as yellow, blue, purple.
Flowers for the garden - Roses, poppies, carnations, tulips
Rock music with loud base guitar. Soul, gospel, R&B music
Zodiac - Aries - They are dynamic people with life energy and they like to help the weak. The keynote of Aries is activity, manifesting on the material plane in their ambition, initiative, creativeness
Dislike Red

May be suffering with irritability, erratic temper or anger
Living with a physical illness - exhaustion
May have been defeated
Indecisive
Personalities - Red

Positive Traits

Athletes, police officers, fire fighters, carpenters, surgeons, truck drivers
Impulsive, hyper, energetic, always moving
Need just the facts! See black and white...no grey.
Responsible, straightforward, trustworthy
Always seeking truth and justice
Very connected to the earth
Displays a hard outside core but is soft on the inside
Combines well with blue and violet personalities
Unconstructive Traits

Controlling
Needs to avoid showing weakness
Feels they need to be strong to survive
It's their way or the highway
Confrontational - challenging
Sexual addictions or abuse when out of balance
Only trust themselves - fear of trusting others
"If you can express what you really need and want without fear and shame, your desires are often met with surprising quickness." Alexander Penny