Spending a year in isolation has forced me to reconsider my priorities, and I’ve come to the realization that society’s standards have controlled my adult life up until now. There’s a lot more to life than working hard and being underpaid for your effort; it’s about enjoying peaceful times with yourself and people who show you respect. And that’s exactly why I’ve stopped being so focused on finding a husband just to fast forward to the children and dog. I have pivoted to filling my home with healing colors that improve my mood and life.
I know this may sound bizarre, like Allie, really? Using color to heal a void in your life? But color is an extremely powerful tool. It’s something we’ve been using since the beginning of time. Think about it, cavemen painted their caves to please the spirits and create a festive atmosphere, so they could eat food and have sex. Today we use color in our homes for all types of reasons including getting rid of bad energy from past events or attracting good energy from future events.
The colors you surround yourself with can change your mood in a matter of minutes. If you feel sad, grab a bright pink pillowcase and sleep on that! You’ll wake up feeling positive and optimistic that anything is possible because even if things go wrong in life, at least you have a cute pillowcase to make you smile when you look at it. Of course, there are other ways to improve your mood with color, for example, if you are feeling lonely try decorating your living room with oranges and yellows to make it feel very homey.
It’s no secret that colors influence our moods whether we realize it or not.
Colors can have a strong influence on our moods. Colors can also give healing qualities. Just as each color has its own wavelength, they also possess their own unique vibration and can be used to heal your Ayurvedic body type or dosha.
According to the Ayurveda, we are all ruled by three different energies, or doshas, known as vata, pitta, and kapha. These doshas are governed by the elements, earth, water, air, ether, and fire. We’re all made up of a unique combination of these three forces. If you don’t know which dosha is most predominant for you, the Ayurvedic Body Type quiz is a fun and easy way to find out.
Colors when correctly used can balance the three doshas, and have healing effects because they can heal our imbalances. Every color has a regulating feature that is either absorbed or deflected. It is the power within our consciousness and subconscious mind that enables us to self-regulate. We are usually drawn to the colors we need the most (1).
Chromotherapy influences brain activity through the hypothalamus, the organ that manages and regulates the endocrine gland, consequently it also influences the energetic points on the human body that are associated with the autonomic nervous system and to the regulation of hormones (2).
- Color balances the mental, spiritual, and physical doshas through several different methods.
- Color is most frequently taken in by our sense of sight.
- Color is primarily absorbed through the eyes and secondarily through the skin.
- Color is also absorbed through the colors of food, spices, and other nourishment.
Colors for Each Dosha
The three doshas known as Vata, Pitta, and Kapha are responsible for every function of the mind and body. With an understanding of the ability of the senses to encourage healing, particular attention can be put on colors that bring balance to each dosha using the power of sight.
Vata Color Therapy
Vata type people do well with warm colors such as yellow, gold, orange, and deep red. These colors are regarded as stimulating and healing. The colors should be soft and pale in order to prevent too much mental stimulation. Pastel colors are best, while black, brown, and grey should be avoided as they turn off and repress the Vata type.
If your dosha is largely Vata (elements of air and space) you often need grounding so mild pastel shades and earth tones are settling for you.
Pitta Color Therapy
Pitta type people have a natural attraction to warmth and aggression. They function best with cold, pale, and mild colors. Because pitta dominant people tend to be hot, colors from the cooling side of the color wheel can be of benefit. Strong and bright colors should be reduced, especially red in order not to overload the Pitta “fire”. Soft pastels are calming for pitta pressures, and all blues and greens are especially beneficial.
If your dosha is mainly Pitta (elements of fire and water), you often have a fiery constitution and benefit from cool, soft colors, such as blues, greens, and white. Notice the colors that mirror the ocean, which is pacifying for you.
Kapha Color Therapy
Kapha types are characterized by damp and heaviness. Kapha does well with some stimulation and flourishes with hot, bright, punchy colors such as reds, orange, and gold. The best colors to use are dry, warm, stimulating, and energizing. While avoiding pale colors like white, grey, blue, and black.
The Kapha “heaviness” can be stimulated through warm, bright and lavish colors like purple red and yellow, or even gold. Purple is said to be the color of “cosmic consciousness” and is soothing to all doshas, though it may be aggravating to vata in excess.
If your dosha is mainly Kapha (elements of earth and water), you are often reserved and grounded—too much so sometimes. Bright, strong, bold colors with expressive shapes and designs help to break up the feeling of being stuck.
How to Use Color Therapy in Your Home
You can use your dosha colors in your own home, in your decor and furniture, and in the clothes you wear – in a similar way to using aromatherapy to affect your mood.
As a rule, every person should use those colors that calm down their own dominating or increased Dosha.
Paint Your Home
If you are considering repainting the inside of your home or workplace, use the doshic color guide to help direct your paint choice. The colors that we wake up to our bedroom and come home to on a daily basis can have an immense effect on our outlook, as well as the overall mood and feeling of a room.
Furniture and Upholstery
The next time you decide to replace your furniture, curtains, bedding, and other home decor items, you can make your selection based on what you now know about colors and the doshas.
Clothing and Accessories
When you go shopping for clothing, jewelry, or accessories, you may want to consider the colors that are most balancing for you. It is also interesting to observe the colors that predominate in your closet right now. By scanning over your wardrobe to observe its color pattern, you can reflect on whether or not your current choices are optimal.
Lights and Ambiance
You can choose a single room in the house to try this. Colored lights are relatively economical and maybe less of a nuisance than purchasing new furniture or repainting your home. Simply fill the room’s light fixtures with bulbs in your focus color. Extra lamps can be used to amplify the effects.
Drink and Eat in Color
Colored glass mason jars are accessible for purchase both in stores and online. Fill a colored mason jar with water and let the water rest for a few hours to absorb the color’s energetic vibrations. Then savor your water.
If you have difficulty obtaining a glass jar in your aspired color, you can produce a similar effect by wrapping colored paper or fabric around a water-filled jar. Place the covered water-filled jar in the sunlight for an hour so that the sun rays can help carry the color vibrations into the water. You will need to make certain that the paper or fabric is transparent enough so that the sun rays can enter your water through the wrapping.
It is highly recommended that most people consume food from the full-color spectrum on a regular basis. For some, however, highlighting certain dietary color schemes may be beneficial. Eating foods with colors that go along with your dosha can also help to energize and soothe you.
By using Ayurvedic healing colors, you can pick clothes to wear to balance our dosha and brighten our mood. Think about how you’re feeling in the morning before you get dressed, and keep in mind that the colors around you will influence your mood.