Chromotherapy: Lighting Color Therapy for Health Benefits
Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2010/10/04 - Updated: 2025/02/22
Publication Type: Informative
Topic: Alternative Medicine - Publications List
Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main
Synopsis: Information on chromotherapy, including a color chart with explanations, an alternative therapy that uses color to balance energy and promote potential health benefits.
Why it matters: This article and Chromotherapy color chart provides an overview of chromotherapy, an alternative medicine practice that uses colors and light to balance energy in the body. It delves into the history of chromotherapy, tracing its roots back to ancient civilizations, and explains how it works by applying specific colors to different parts of the body. The article also highlights the potential benefits of chromotherapy, such as improved mood, reduced stress, and enhanced overall well-being. What makes this article particularly useful is its accessibility; it presents complex concepts in a straightforward manner, making it easy for readers to understand and apply the information. While chromotherapy is considered pseudoscientific by critics, the information may be of interest to individuals exploring complementary therapies, including those with disabilities or seniors seeking alternative health approaches - Disabled World (DW).
Introduction
Chromotherapy, also known as color therapy, colorology or cromatherapy, is a alternative medicine method. Chromotherapists claim to be able to use light in the form of color to balance energy lacking from a person's body, whether it be on physical, emotional, spiritual, or mental levels.
Main Item
Light therapy, a valid and proven form of medical treatment for seasonal affective disorder and a small number of other conditions, is unrelated to Chromotherapy. Light therapy is a specific treatment approach using high intensity light to treat specific sleep, skin and mood disorders - (Mood Colors: Meaning and Associations of Color Psychology). Light therapy is a way to treat seasonal affective disorder, depression and certain other conditions by exposure to bright artificial light. During light therapy, you sit or work near a device called a light therapy box. The light therapy box gives off bright light that mimics natural outdoor light.
It is claimed that a therapist trained in chromotherapy can use color and light to balance "energy" wherever a person's body be lacking, be it physical, emotional, spiritual, or mental. The practice has been labeled pseudo-scientific by its critics.
Throughout the 19th century, healers claimed colored glass filters could treat many diseases including constipation and meningitis. Photo-biology, the term for the contemporary scientific study of the effects of light on humans, has replaced the term chromotherapy in an effort to separate it from its roots in Victorian mysticism and to strip it of its associations with symbolism and magic.
Today chromotherapists apply color and light to specific area and pressure points on one's body. Specific colors, and amounts of colors, are deemed critical for healing. A color will vibrate at a specific frequency. It is said that organs and glands of our bodies also vibrate at specific frequencies and that colors correspond to the areas of our body which have the same frequency. When we are sick, our organs and glands may become out of balance and not function at their proper frequencies. Restoring the proper frequency is thought to restore health.
Ayurvedic medicine describes the body as having seven main chakras, which are spiritual centers located along the spine that are associated with a color, function and organ or bodily system. These colors can become imbalanced and result in physical diseases but these imbalances can be corrected through using the appropriate color as a treatment.
| Color | Chakra | Chakra location | Alleged function(s) | Associated system |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | First | Base of the spine | Grounding and Survival - Promotes energy, empowerment, and stimulation. Physically, it is thought to improve circulation and stimulate red blood cell production. | Gonads, kidneys, spine, sense of smell |
| Orange | Second | Lower abdomen, genitals | Emotions, sexuality - Promotes pleasure, enthusiasm, and sexual stimulation. Ayurvedic practitioners believe it has antibacterial properties and may be useful in easing digestive system discomforts (e.g., flatulence, cramps). | Urinary tract, circulation, reproduction |
| Yellow | Third | Solar plexus | Power, ego - A sensory stimulant associated with wisdom and clarity. Yellow is thought to have decongestant and antibacterial properties, and is useful in stimulating both the digestive system and the lymphatic system. | Stomach, liver, gall bladder, pancreas |
| Green | Fourth | Heart | Love, sense of responsibility - Calming, and is used by Ayurvedic practitioners to promote healing of ulcers. It is said to have antiseptic, germicide, and antibacterial properties and is sometimes used by holistic color therapists to treat bacterial infections. | Heart, lungs, thymus |
| Blue | Fifth | Throat | Physical and spiritual communication - Promotes communication and knowledge. It eliminates toxins, and is used to treat liver disorders and jaundice. | Throat, ears, mouth, hands |
| Indigo | Sixth | Just above the center of the brow, middle of forehead | Forgiveness, compassion, understanding - Sedative and calming. It is said to promote intuition. Indigo may be useful in controlling bleeding and abscesses. | Eye, pineal glands |
| Violet | Seventh | Crown of the head | Connection with universal energies, transmission of ideas and information - Promotes enlightenment, revelation, and spiritual awakening. Holistic healthcare providers use violet to soothe organs, relax muscles, and calm the nervous system. | Pituitary gland, the central nervous system and the cerebral cortex |
Many of today's infrared sauna manufacturers are including Chromotherapy in their home saunas which offer different lighting colors based on the 7 Tantric chakra system. Sauna chromotherapy lights are generally colored LED's. A single color can be selected, or rotating colors can be programmed via a control panel. Combined with the healing attributes derived from infrared sauna heat technology, the colored chromotherapy lights are said to maximize the healing benefits that sauna usage provides.
Although there is little risk of health problems from chromotherapy, some critics claim that chromotherapy is a quack therapy - as chromotherapy has never been proven in randomized, controlled trials.
Printable Chromotherapy Lighting Color Chart
Author Credentials: Ian was born and grew up in Australia. Since then, he has traveled and lived in numerous locations and currently resides in Montreal, Canada. Ian is the founder, a writer, and editor in chief for Disabled World. Ian believes in the Social Model of Disability, a belief developed by disabled people in the 1970s. The social model changes the focus away from people's impairments and towards removing barriers that disabled people face daily. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and achievements, check out his bio.