allison keli – Page 10 – Swellness Vibes

Color Therapy 101: Orange

At this point, no doubt you’ve pressed the “night shift” mode on your phone to help dim the effects of a bright phone when it’s nighttime. It’s an orange-y color, right? And I’m sure you know that orange is better than blue light, because the regular blue light disrupts melatonin production and we certainly need that produced by our bodies so we can sleep better at night.

So, aha! Orange light therapy is already a part of your every day life!

Alas, that doesn’t really explain any aversions or attractions to orange, especially in lieu of the chakra system. (Personal anecdote: the child was looking at the endocrine system in a book, and I told him the glands correlate with an energy system he already knows a lot about — and he figured it out — chakras!)

Orange is another stimulating color on the visible spectrum — but perhaps not as stimulating as red. It vibrates at a faster frequency than its predecessor, and generally elicits feelings of happiness and joy.

Let’s dig little deeper.

I personally could not STAND orange until my early to mid 30s. Around the time I was spending a lot of time holding my abdomen (and my child was swirling around in my aura, but that’s another story) — around the chakra area that is orange, the sacral area — it was by no mistake.

While the root chakra represents stability and security, the sacral chakra represents creation, emotions, this flowing essence of such. It’s where empathy is created, where ideas bloom, where everything — included sexuality, and therefore babies! — are created.

The combination of the two chakras fully working together creates freedom in the essence of stability. Who doesn’t strive for that, right?

However, if you are like me when I was younger and orange was a huge deterrent, there’s probably some sort of esoteric reason why. If your sacral chakra is out of balance by being too stimulated, you may find that you are overly sensual and sexual, to the point of dysfunction in your life because of it.

If your sacral chakra is under-stimulated, you may have relationship issues, or the fear of realizing your full potential (blocked creativity) in any form of your life.

So what can you do if you want to stimulate your aversion to orange?

If you want to un or de-stimulate your love of orange because you find that you are engaging in those overstimulated behaviors, you can try to mellow your attraction by engaging with the other colors, specifically the ones you may find aversion towards, or rather, more whites (purity) or upper spectrum colors. Greens would be good to focus on, to try and bridge yourself toward the upper colors as well.

This goes towards any color on the spectrum — you could also seek energy therapy to help balance the chakras — not just physical color therapy, but emotional, mental, spiritual. (Think: in-person or remote reiki, or chakra balancing yoga, or pendulum work.)

If you are understimulated, feel free to surround yourself with orange stones like carnelian or coral — you can wear one as a choker at your throat; listen to music that makes you feel sexy; grab a lovely, sensual orange and silk scarf to wear out on the town, or simply run it through your fingers, awakening the senses.

Lie on the floor and do a reclined-goddess pose; do pelvic rocks while in bridge, or scissors kicks (abdominal strengthening, too, woohoo!).

Even Philips has something to say about orange light therapy itself — it apparently revitalizes skin.

Remember — these color therapy/chakra posts are just the beginning.

Some of the information above is from the sources below:

Charles Klotsche – Color Medicine: The Secrets of Color Vibrational Healing; Anodea Judith – Wheels of Life: A User’s Guide to the Chakra System; and also my Reiki I and Reiki II compilations of sources.

“We often think that when we have completed our study of one we know all about two because two is one and one. we forget that we still have to make a study of “and”.” -A. Eddington

Color Therapy 101: Introduction + Red

When you think of red, what sort of emotional response does it elicit within you? One of passion, rage, anger? One of lust? One of discomfort, awkwardness? Love, perhaps? Power?

Upon thinking of these responses, it’s really hard to disassociate the chakras and what their typical color and meaning assignments are. Thus, we will begin to see how color therapy can be used to help remove energetic blockages.

Starting with red, chakra colors follow a typical rainbow pattern up to the top of your head. The red is the root; orange is sacral; yellow is solar plexus; green is the heart bridge; blue is throat; indigo is the third eye; violet is the crown.

When I was a young girl, I couldn’t stand the lower chakra colors — red, orange, and yellow. Actually, I couldn’t stand green, either. I was all about the other end of the spectrum — blues, indigo, dark violets, blacks, and to a lesser extent, deep whites.

I remember when I was about in the 7th grade and a friend declared she loved my style. She thought it was amusing that one day I could get away with wearing all white, and the next day I could wear all black — and it wasn’t weird.

As with all of us, I would choose to wear colors depending on how I felt.

As my psyche and persona developed into high school age, the black became more of an enveloping color to to cloak me in safety — hello, Goths, or Emos, or whatever you’re called now — there’s a reason why you gravitate towards black.

Black absorbs all colors, and it helps you work through your highly emotional, and empathetic, states. It keeps you safe.

As I got older and began to study chakras, I realized why I preferred the colors I had always gravitated towards — these darker, deeper colors. To this day, lighter colors, pastels, still sit a little ill with me — and I am desperately trying to make yellow work within my lifestyle (but that one is a little harder, too; it sits not just on an emotional plane for me, but also physical — I am yellow-toned, and yellow eerily washes me out into a state of nonexistence!).

Red itself, though, was evasive for probably over 30 years of my life.

Red represents the color most frequently associated with the lowest chakra — the root. Literally think of the sciatic nerve rooting down from your spinal column, reaching down into the ground. Red is on the visible spectrum, and it moves at a much lower speed of frequency.

When all is well, you feel grounded, stable. There is security and stillness. You feel like you belong, and you damn well deserve to belong. A key phrase might be, “I am.”

However, if your root chakra is imbalanced – as mine was as a child – you don’t feel stable, and the very thought of gravity is terrifying. You simply want to lift off, and get away from wherever you currently are — and I’m using the word loosely – planted.

It could also be over-stimulated, in which case you might become too content, too lethargic, too close to the ground. You might imbibe in too much red protein, and begin to vibrate at a lower frequency. You might become overweight, stagnant.

So red, this color associated with this root chakra, might be a major deterrent. It may stimulate your senses and simply be too overwhelming. It might activate you, and make you extremely jittery.

If you find that this is the case, and no other color bothers you — then you might want to actually work with the color red and not avoid it.

In small doses, of course, especially since it IS such a stimulating color.

Here are some suggestions for you to try:

Gather red flowers, red stones for decoration inside your abode. Place them in groups within your vision; don’t start with too much, but subtle differences your body systems will take alert towards. Continue to add to the piles you’ve chosen, until you realize you don’t notice them anymore.

Stone suggestions: ruby, garnet, bloodstone, red jasper. Flowers: roses, carnations.

Wear these slick, red glasses like the ones I offer to students during my Introduction to Color/Light Therapy classes — and FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS by not keeping them on too long. You are literally filtering in the red light into your retinas.

WEAR RED. This is probably the most simple to do, and your body systems will absorb the color. I have a tendency of wearing a red hoodie anytime I get sick — it’s like my body is absorbing the frequency to heal up more efficiently.

EAT RED. Grapes, apples, red meat if that’s your thing.

KNIT IN RED! (Like I’m currently doing, for my son’s Hallowe’en Spider-man costume!)

I think you get the idea.

To find out if you could use some color therapy in your life in regards to your chakras, a google search will pull up some chakra tests.

Here’s one I just took, which was super quick and easy.

And just so you know, it said my sacral chakra is off. Which is perfect, as our next chakra and color to look into will be… orange!

For further consideration regarding red color and/or light therapy, think of infrared lights, lasers. Think of how these treatments are already embedded into our society without second thought. More and more studies are being conducted regarding different colors and/or light therapy, beyond what we take for granted as normal. There are even studies that red light therapy helps with migraine headaches!

Let this series start your journey into color therapy! Read books, check out blogs, check out studies. You can even find a color therapist for more personal guidance. But above all, enjoy!

❤ This rich world of hues can be used as an added wonder into your daily life. ❤

I hope you enjoyed this little blurb about the color red… the next color in this series will be orange, so stay tuned!

Free 7-day Meditation Series

Why did I not know these people before now? Micah, who I’m desperately trying to get onboard with writing her own posts on this blog (can you feel it, friend?), sent a link to Lasater Yoga’s free 7-day Meditation series.

I guess I’ve been caught up with Reiki, or Cranial-Sacral Therapy, or other massage techniques. I really have only just begun to explore the WORLD of yoga (even though I have been practicing for over 20 years).

I foresee myself using these ladies for continuing education. Judith Laseter not only helped create Yoga Journal itself, she helped create the governing body of American yoga, and also trained directly under Iyengar… Google her! She seems pretty fascinating, and clearly is one of the reasons behind people like me wondering about yoga to begin with.

Her and her daughter just offered this free meditation course, with another live webinar coming up September 2, 2021. It appears you’ll be able to sign up for an intensive sometime after that, and I’m assuming all of these videos and audios will be available for a long time in the future.

The one-week program is designed around 3-5 minutes of video from the Guru and Daughter team, discussing a theme of the day. It is then followed by 5 minutes of briefly-guided audio-only meditation. I didn’t enjoy the fact that they used Dropbox to share their wealth, but the 10-minutes every night while my son read next to me (preparing for sleep) — well, my son and I both enjoyed it. A few times he joined in with me, or asked questions. (He’s only seven!)

What wonderful, simple suggestions for someone not new to meditation to try! Third eye at the back of the forehead? Nah, move that INTO THE BRAIN. (Chakras are connected to glands, right? What a novel sensation!)

Feel the movement of skin, the uplift of ribs as you focus on breath…wait, what?

My favorite from Day 7 —- notice the silence after a thought. Rather than struggling with thoughts when you’re trying not to think — focus on the SILENCE after that thought.

Yes!

Sign up here! No, I’m not getting any kickbacks, just sharing this quick daily slow down with you. Hope you enjoy it like I did.

Color Therapy… and Cosmo

Sometimes I unwittingly find myself teaching various topics to others. I typically call these classes ‘sharing sessions’ because I am by no means an expert on these topics.

A class I created based off of previous academic and personal studies is Color/Light Therapy. We delve into the visible spectrum and how the various shades of beauty shape the world we live in. We discuss aversions, loves, sounds. We talk about ajna therapy, UV therapy, listening in color, and more. I then send my students off into the world wearing groovy glasses from a color of the rainbow.

It’s fun.

Imagine my jolt of surprise when I randomly found myself with a Cosmopolitan magazine (VOL. 270, NO. 5) in my hand, and as I started to flip through it, I found mention of color therapy! The article “Hi, have you heard of color therapy?” was written by Lauren Adhav, and while a lot of it is silly in its very nature of being a Cosmo article, there’s still some good information in it.

For instance, she actually sites science: how when your eyes assess the color of an item, it can trigger an emotional response in your body. Sure, we know that. She mentions history, too, saying how most of color-mood associations stem from “waaay back”, at least according to a fashion psychologist she spoke with. She hails the ways of ancient Greeks and Egyptians and their use of colors in clothes and healing.

As it’s a Cosmo article, the author then enlightens us about how color therapy is already in use (offices are using violet to spurn creativity), but also how designers are in on it and starting to gear their designs to the emotions they wish to help you achieve.

Due to this author’s reawakening of my interest in colors, I figured I’d start a series on color therapy! I’ll reach from the classes that I teach, including Reiki from when we touch upon chakras.

Expect the series to start late Summer/early fall.

I wonder if there’s a hue that could give me fashion sense?

I attempted Commune’s 10-Day Community Challenge …

Well, I tried to, and am so bummed at how it turned out!

Here’s my brief history with yoga: imagine yourself on a cheap yoga mat from Wal-mart watching a scratchy VHS of Rodney Yee‘s voiceovers on top of his amazingly fit, tone and strong yoga body. That was the beginning. Then my VHSes turned into DVDs and I spent my time with Pilates-guru Jennifer Kries. (She’s making a comeback, just so you know. <3)

I also hung out with Craig T. Nelson (okay, I know that’s the actor and not the Yoga Journal instructor, I can’t remember his name offhand), did some Budokon, and anyway, my point is: I ALWAYS DID MY PRACTICE AT HOME.

I went to a few in-house yoga classes here and there, but if the classes weren’t forced on me by a friend, it wasn’t my jam.

Enter the digital age and YouTube, where Adriene Mishler‘s Yoga With Adriene stole my heart, breath and soul and my yoga practice finally became a regular thing.

I then finally signed up for that yoga training that had been on my mind for about 15 years — and was looking forward to being WITH THE PEOPLE for once. In an actual studio. And not just *any* yoga, but hot yoga!

Enter Covid-19.

I was back to doing yoga alone again. In the comfort of my pajamas. But hey — that’s what it’s really about, right? Going within?

So when Commune recently came around with their 10-day challenge, I was excited to try some different teachers out along with different methods. Adriene has made me so much stronger in my practice — and while ultimately her style is probably more my style than anything else, it is simply fantastic to change things up every so often to gain not only perspective, but experience in YOUR BODY.

From my yoga space, in my OWN HOUSE! (Because that’s apparently what I do.)

Day 1 with Schuyler Grant – I hadn’t really read what I was getting into, so I was a little taken aback that the first video seemed to be more of a demo for shoulder strength than a practice. However, after I dropped my expectations, I was infinitely delighted to focus on alignment. Then I realized there would be 3 videos to choose from each day, with varying skill levels and/or focus… now THAT is something I have never come across in these free offerings, and I think it was brilliant.

Day 2 with Chelsea Korus – I chose to do the medium difficulty and yes! It was more of a flow that kicked my butt in a good way, enticing different muscles than I normally use.

Day 3 – Wups. I forgot to do it.

Day 4 — er, Day 3 with Matt Phippen– Luckily Commune kept the sessions available for me to use even if I missed a day/fell behind. In the past they closed things up after a day or two — slightly nerve-racking.

I chose another medium difficulty and fell in love with the instructor. He gave the best cues for someone instruction-challenged like me and I worked on my hamstrings. After his instruction ended, I continued on with some shoulder lengtheners for me.

Day 4 with Mary Beth LaRue – I chose to do the easy one because I was tired and in pain from poor body mechanics earlier in the day at work. Easy! Ha! Beginner! Ha! Did I love it? Yes. Her cues weren’t as fantastic as the guy from the day before, but the poses were just what I needed. Mostly common poses, but with added stretches and flair to them. What a fantastic reminder to make your practice your own — in ANY pose. Don’t be afraid to branch out and try out something new that feels good.

Day 5 — Oh boy, this really isn’t going well is it? The child’s summer endeavors are taking a toll on my time management! It’s all pool this, playground that. I still had laundry to do by 9 o’clock at night so another non-starter.

Day 6 – er 5 with Jennifer Elliot – Okay, so I chose Level 1 and rocked the yin supported poses. I definitely felt the inspiration for yomassage as I got a little distracted and imagined a lovely foot massage in these gentle supported bridge postures. I liked all the props we used, and holding the postures for oh-so many breaths. Just what my tired mind needed. Be proud of me — I had even done traveling this day and still found my me time at the end of the day.

Day 6 with Adriene Mishler – I typically do yoga at night but this time I did it in the morning with my main squeeze. She seemed slightly different on this platform than on her own — but the practice was just what I needed to wake up though.

Day 7 -10 – The accessibility to the classes end tonight sometime, and I am so bummed I wasn’t able to partake in it more.

And I guess that’s the realism to a yoga practice in this world. It needs to be incorporated into your daily life — even outside of a full asana practice — as much as possible. And when you HAVE that moment, even if it’s just 20 minutes – to do a full series of some sort — take it and run with it.

Overall I think this course was AWESOME. The different levels with various teachers and longer accessibility was great — if it were in fact a slower time of the year for me. I would have loved to truly explore each of these sessions — not just one a day. Maybe some I would have just watched instead of performed.

They added some binaural beats at the end of the series for soothing listening. They had a community you could chat with during your practice, as well as podcasts and a chance to win some tea apparently.

They offer freebies throughout the year, but you can also join and have access year-round. I promise I am not affiliated with them in any way. I don’t even remember how I first came across it, to be honest. Maybe in the future they will sell access to certain courses only instead of access to the whole platform — I would purchase the yoga challenge in a heartbeat.

UPDATE!!!! (7/6) Link to purchase here for $19.99 lifetime access!