Five Ways to Support Healing with Colour
“Colours are the smiles of nature.”, James Henry Leigh Hunt, a 19th century English poet once said. What a beautiful way to see colour. The ancient Chinese also saw that colours in nature as well as in our food, our home, our clothes etc. had a huge impact on our health and well being. Over time they started to notice that different colours had different impacts on the body, mind and soul.
In Medical Qigong, a form of Traditional Chinese Medicine, aligns the many healing benefits of colour for the different organ systems of the body as follows:
The colour green is used to support the Liver, Gallbladder, tendons, nerves and eyes (sight).
The reds and pinks are used to support the Heart, Small Intestine, blood, veins/arteries and tongue (speech).
Yellow and gold are healing colours for Spleen, Stomach, supporting digestion, muscles, lymph system and mouth (taste).
White and silver are used to support the Lungs, Large Intestines, skin, hair and nose (smell).
Finally, the blue and black colours are used to energize the Kidneys, Bladder, bones, adrenals, sexual organs and ears (hearing).
Now, here are five ways to invite these healing colours into the body.
1. You can use your awareness and meditate while seeing the different areas filling with colour.
Take a moment to simply sit and allow yourself to bathe your organs in colour. Using the colours from above for the appropriate organs, simply close your eyes and breath as if you are surrounded by a bubble of your colour of choice. As you inhale, allow your organ of choice to fill, cleanse and energize with the colour and as you exhale imagine removing any toxicity (heavy emotions, thoughts, physical problems) from the body. Continue to do this until you feel refreshed and revitalized.
2. You can also eat colourful food to support healing for the organs.
One of my favourite ways to bring in colour is to allow my plate at mealtime to represent the different colours of the rainbow. As we enter the summer months, this gets easier and easier to obtain the nutrients from all the different coloured fruit and vegetables grown locally. Whether raw, cooked or steamed, by adding colour to your plate, you are adding the healing properties of the rich colours to your body. Try this out by going to your local supermarket and/or farmer’s market and fill your shopping bag with colourful offerings. For more on the nutrients check out the video (on left).
3. You can wear clothes which are the colour you are trying to invoke.
A very simply way to shift your mood and invoke the healing properties of colour is to include it in your clothing choices. Feeling a little low, bring in a little red to your wardrobe. Want more energy and vitality for your Kidneys….wear blue and/or black. Bring more awareness to your needs and wear the colour that supports those needs.
4. You can use Chinese harmonizing philosophy of Feng Shui to decorate your home with healing colours that support your vitality.
Allow your home to become a place of colour for vitality and well being. Add plants or flowers to bring in more excitement. Paint your walls to add more life and energy to a room. Have furniture or wall hanging that bring you joy. A general rule of thumb is to honour your internal Feng Shui and bring in the colours that energize you and your surroundings.
5. You can also walk in nature viewing all the beautiful colours of the plants, flowers and trees around you.
This uses the same idea as #1 except allow yourself to move through nature. Give yourself the gift of noticing the different colours and hues around you. Walk slowly and simply breath in this vibrancy into your body. Imagine these colours releasing any stress, anxiety, anger, worry or fear and feel yourself fill with love, compassion and the sense that you are perfect as you are.
Remember that you are supported in many ways via the colours you see, feel and taste. Let you choices be ones that offer you healing and vitality. Life is art, live yours in colour!
