Imagine a world without colour. It's hard to fathom, isn't it? Colours have the power to bring us in tune with our inner selves and unlock our mind-body potential.
This is why I'm drawn to Ayurveda. It's a holistic science that encompasses all aspects of well-being, from diet and lifestyle management to breathing practices, mudras, exercise routines, Marma points, chromotherapy, music therapy, and more. Ayurveda provides us with the tools to understand ourselves and achieve body-mind balance like no other system.
Colour is a potent tool that can capture our attention, influence our moods, and express our emotions. The colours we choose can have a profound impact on us. Colour therapy is a sensory therapy that plays a significant role in mental and spiritual healing. The wrong colours can disrupt our mental activity, while the right colours can restore it.
Ayurveda's approach to colour is to diagnose and treat any imbalances we may have and enhance our potential. The simplest way to start is by looking at the three Doshas (Vata, Pitta, and Kapha).
Diagnostic tool
Begin by observing the colours of the clothes you're wearing right now. Did you consciously choose them, or was it an automatic decision? How did you feel when you decided to wear them? Alternatively, take a look at your room. What colours are your curtains? Did you intentionally choose the colour of your walls? Would you prefer a different colour?
Observing without judgment is an excellent starting point. You'll likely notice a pattern that will lead to a better understanding of your feelings and needs.
Therapeutic tool
Balancing Vata, Pitta, and Kapha with the appropriate harmonious colours can restore our health and well-being.
Vata
Vatas, governed by Air and Ether, are hyperactive, friendly, fast, with many interests, active, anxious, creative, natural worriers but with flexible minds and don't like routines.
To balance Vata, calming, warm, moist, and soft colours are ideal. These are opposite in qualities to its cold, dry, light, and hyperactive nature. Warm colours like gold, red, orange, and yellow can be combined with moist and calm colours like white or whitish shades of green or blue. Avoid over-stimulating colours as they can over-energize Vatas' nervous sensitivity.
Pitta
Pittas, governed by fire, are determined, intense, sharp, intelligent, with charisma, critical, they have good concentration and leadership skills, ambitious, disciplined and are good planners.
To balance Pitta, a cooling, calming, and mild approach is best. These are primarily white, green, and blue, avoiding stimulating colours like red, orange, and yellow. Pittas do best with mild shades, like pastels or neutral colours like grey or white.
Kaphas
Kaphas, governed by water and earth, are calm, slow, quiet, strong, they don't like change much, good savers and with strong vital capacity and stamina.
Stimulation is key when it comes to Kapha's choice of colours. Warm, dry, and stimulating colours can counter its properties of coldness, dampness, heaviness, and lack of movement. Kaphas do well with bright shades and strong colour contrasts like orange, yellow, gold, or red. They should avoid too much white or white shades of cool colours like green or blue but can use these (except white) in brighter or more lucid hues. Bright, clear, and transparent colours will activate and energize them.
Observe yourself, your environment, and your choices to determine what you need to feel your best. Ayurveda's colour therapy can help you achieve balance and harmony in your life.
Reference: Frawley, David, Ayurveda and the Mind: the Healing of Consciousness, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, WI. 1996