Color therapy

• Color therapy uses colors for their proposed healing abilities to treat emotional and physical disturbances. Changing the colors of clothes or home or office décor or visualizing different colors may be recommended. Color therapy is based on the idea that different colors evoke different responses in people. For example, some colors are considered to be stimulating, whereas others may be soothing. Some color therapists assert that they can read and alter the colors of people's auras. In traditional Ayurvedic medicine, different colors are associated with different chakras, or energy centers.
• Color, light, or phototherapy using single or mixed colors, sometimes from a laser, may be shined on the whole body or on particular chakras. The Luscher Color Testâ„¢ is said to indicate mood and personality. Silks colored with natural dyes, solarized water, color cards, or a light box or lamp with colored filters may be included as part of treatment. In addition, meditation and breathing exercises may be performed during color therapy.
• Ocular light therapy, which projects light through colored filters and into the eyes, is sometimes used in people with psychological disorders. Colored light therapy, colorpuncture, and chromopressure are newer techniques.
• Scientific evidence is lacking for color therapy. Although color therapy has been suggested for many conditions, and it has been used in some hospitals, its safety and effectiveness have not been thoroughly studied.