|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
Colour healing has its roots in several ancient civilizations. Egyptians built healing temples of light four thousand years ago, bathing patients in specific colours of light to produce different effects. Healing through colour has also been integral to ayurvedic and naturopathic form of treatment developed in ancient India. Ayurveda is based on the idea that every individual contains the five basic elements of the universe: earth, water, air, fire, and ether (space) and the imbalance in these elements through unhealthy living habits or outside forces, results in illness. Ayurvedic medicine uses the energies inherent in the colours of the spectrum to restore this balance. |
|
| |
There are also evidences of the theory being practiced in ancient civilizations of Atlantis, Lemuria, Mu and Alatia. The Chinese traditional medicine associates each organ to a colour, and correspondingly each colour to specific healing properties. In Ancient Greece colour was intrinsic to healing, which involved restoring the balance. Coloured garments, oils, plasters, ointments, and salves were used to treat diseases. |
|
| |
In the first century A.D., Aurelius Cornelius Celsus followed the doctrines established by Pythagoras and Hippocrates and included the use of coloured ointments, plasters, and flowers in several treatises on medicine. These concepts of colour therapy were included in the scientific framework and remained largely unchanged until the middle Ages. |
|
| |
Avicenna (980-1037), an Arab physician and disciple of Aristotle advanced the art of healing. In his ‘Canon of Medicine’ he emphasized clearly on the vitality of colour in both diagnosis and treatment. Avicenna noted that colour was an observable symptom of disease, and developed a chart which related colour to temperament and the physical condition of the body. |
|
| |
Since then the science of Colour therapy has moved on. From basic effects of colour on crop growth to studies suggesting that neonatal jaundice, a potentially fatal condition found in two-thirds of premature babies, could be successfully treated by exposure to sunlight. Today white full-spectrum light is being used in the treatment of cancers, seasonal depression, anorexia, bulimia nervosa, insomnia, jet lag, shift-working, alcohol and drug dependency, and to reduce overall levels of medication. At the annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1990, scientists reported on the successful use of blue light in the treatment of a wide variety of psychological problems, including addictions, eating disorders, impotence, and depression. |
|
| |
Colour Therapy has come a long way. This age old relationship between colours and our health clearly indicates its potential in our physical and psychological wellbeing. Certainly, the world of colours with its infinite potential is not only a source of aesthetic beauty, but a channel to explore our mind and body, as well as to bring peace to our soul. |
|
| |
|
