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Color Therapy 101: Violet

We have arrived at our last color for this series, and also the final, main chakra: the crown. It’s also the color my son has designated as my favorite color, which I find extremely interesting. My mainstays as a kid were blues and blacks. (I went through that normal dark, hormonal phase as a kid, right?) But as I got older, I still loved black (absorption of all!) and blue (it matches my eyes, after all). And then as I started to be more comfortable around other colors, I just decided that the whole damn rainbow was my favorite color!

When I was 20 years old, I sojourned to Salem, Massachusetts in October with my mother. It was a fun, festive trip, and I got my aura photographed through kirlian technology. The read-out suggested that the colors surrounding me proved I was a creative hot head; a tightly orange and red circle formed around my head. It also said the creativity color could eventually change to nice, calming green. So when I got my aura photographed about 10 years later, it wasn’t surprising to find out that it was still orange and red. However, my son sees me, at least partially, as violet, so perhaps the calming green is still achievable!

I digress.

Violet is a soothing color. (It’s also the name of the lead character in my upcoming novel, The Light Thrower: When Violet Got Bored! I’m not biased at all.) It has the highest frequency and the lowest wavelength on the visible spectrum. On Kheops International’s chakra handout, it states that if your crown chakra is overactive, you may find that you have a lack of empathy, light sensitivity, rigidity or general distrust of others. If it’s underactive, you may find that you have a lack of purpose, or even coordination problems. When it is balanced, you feel serene and connected to the Universe.

According to Whole Living Wellness Center based out of California, violet light therapy is good for affecting the immune system and therefore comforts those with autoimmune dis-eases. It detoxifies and improves sleep.

Of course you can adorn your body in purple clothes, your house in purple cloth, or surround yourself with the ever-populous amethyst crystal. David Hamilton says that amethyst itself is said to help tap into intuition and authenticity.

My favorite yoga pose to help wake up the crown chakra is rabbit stand. It’s generally safe to do as long as you are careful with your neck, and as it puts pressure on the top of your head, its physical nature directly stimulates the chakra. It’s also a good stretch!

This post ends our color/light therapy series. We’ve spent half a year exploring various chakras and color frequencies. We’ve discussed what aversions to certain colors may mean, and different ways to incorporate each color more into your life. We’ve talked about color therapies available, and what each color may help us attain.

These colors and light therapies are tools to add to your self-healing belt!

Wherever you find yourself today, I hope it’s enriched by one of the many amazing colors on the visible spectrum. I hope they bring you joy, or soothing energy, or maybe even some healing energy to your soul or physical body. Above all, enjoy your journey exploring the richness these hues can offer you. ❤️

Month One, Year 2022–That’s a Wrap!

Edit: This post was supposed to go out over the weekend after a successful completion of YWA’s Move. Well, the Universe had other plans for me… Thursday night I came down with a flu of some sort. I didn’t do yoga for Thursday, Friday or Saturday nights! Sunday I did a previous night’s one to try and just..MOVE..a bit. It felt good. I did the final session last night–so I could control what poses to put my body into–and I plan on doing the rest of the sessions starting tonight. Point to take home: be kind to yourself, always. I didn’t beat myself up at all, and I feel like that’s major progress. That’s yoga, baby!
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About a week ago, I finished Schuyler Grant’s 10-Day Grounding into Grace program. I fell in love with this program so much, I’m looking into doing some actual online training with her through Commune. I loved how she used time to get into good form before focusing on the flowing. It was very challenging to do (I am not particularly skilled at achieving great form with asanas–I’m not inherently flexible and I have a tendency of freezing when someone is leading me into something I’m unfamiliar with) but I was able to follow along because of the repetition and really feeling the form in my body. Grant’s new program is called Form & Flow, and it focuses on Iyengar-type alignment; but also the flow within the form. This is my favorite space to be. I hope I can do it!

I would start my evenings with the harder program, and end it, happily so, with Adriene’s sessions. It seemed like the first half of her program this year was more aerobic-based; holding poses; building strength (specifically core); but the second part was much more focused on breath and relaxing. And after my Grant sessions, I welcomed these Adriene sessions.

I am happy to be near the end of this last January program–just because I’m tired of feeling like I “have” to do something. However, I am also proud of myself for sticking with it!

If I take Grant’s program, I’m sure I’ll blog about it. And no doubt I’ll be signing up for YWA’s 30-day program next year. I think you should, too. ❤

Mid-Month Update on Becoming Fabulous

And that’s a half-way wrap!

Kudos to me for sticking with not only YWA’s January Challenge, but also finishing Donna Eden’s 10-Day Joy Challenge and starting Commune’s 10-Day Grounding into Grace.

It hasn’t always been easy, but since I was dedicated in advance, and this isn’t my first time subjecting myself to these challenges, I’ve been able to keep up. (Note: I said subjecting myself!)

I’ll start with Donna Eden’s challenge, because last year I bombed it! 2021’s was actually a 28-day challenge, and, like everyone else, commitment is a daunting task to achieve. This year’s 10-day challenge made it seem much more attainable. I tended to do it before I started with my nightly yoga, or after my yoga. I even suckered my husband into doing it–which trust me, it’s a big deal, because not only has he started-stopped so many of his own challenges (planks, anyone?), he’s never even pretended to join in with me before for my challenges.

But this one was appealing to him–and maybe because it has been such a stressful time at work–but he jumped in a couple of times when I was doing it, he did it on his on at work, and he doubled up on the days he missed. I asked him if he felt like it kept with him throughout his day, and he said yes.

As I mostly did mine at night, I can’t say it kept me joyful during the day, but it certainly settled me down in the evening. I even did it on my own tonight, even though the challenge ended. My husband and I both really enjoyed the different perspectives from the different teachers. He asked if it was something I’d like to be certified in (the Eden Method, that is), and I just laughed–I’m done getting certified in new things! (Right? Right???)

Onward to Adriene’s annual yoga challenge, this year called MOVE. So far I’ve been able to depend on Adriene’s gentle, soothing voice to guide me into whatever yoga position she’s cueing, but this year it seems like she’s pushing our asanas (heh heh) harder! I wouldn’t necessarily say the moves are more aerobic, but it seems to be a little less traditional posing with a little more side-stretchy. I don’t typically ache after her sessions, but I’ve been sore since day one this go around. (This could also be because I got so out of routine in December. Maybe I’m just that out of shape again!) I’m enjoying this newer, other-side to Adriene approach. (Side note: I’m only comparing this to the other free yearly challenges I’ve done fo Adriene’s. The other one, my all-time favorite, Revolution, also seemed to kick my butt a bit more than the others.)

As soon as the Eden Challenge wrapped up, I jumped onto the Commune program. So far, this has been harder to commit to, just because of the duration of the yoga. (Adriene’s is also about 30 minutes). However, especially as a yoga instructor, it’s so entirely relevant to get different perspectives on how to share any aspect of yoga–pranayama, meditation, asanas. So far Schuyler Grant has really been whipping my mind into shape about how to approach asanas from the ground up. Yoga for my feet = yoga for my brain.

Comment on any of these you’re doing with me, or perhaps some other 2022 challenge that we here at Swellness Vibes haven’t heard about!

I’ll be sure to check in at the end of the month about my progress into the new year.

Color Therapy 101: Indigo

Indigo is the color of the sacred third eye chakra, chakra number 6. Indigo is a deep bluish-purple, a mixture of blue and red, so anything that blue light therapy may treat, or anything red light therapy may treat, indigo light therapy could treat, too.

According to two different businesses in California that offer indigo light therapy, it specifically treats eye issues–glaucoma, cataracts, general eye inflammation. One place is in Lancaster, but the other place is in Santa Clarita and offers a much more in-depth explanation of the benefits of indigo light therapy.

This company specifically states that the indigo chromotherapy could also help with psoriasis and headaches. The company says that indigo is a mentally-stimulating color, and therefore increases imagination and greater dream activity. It can increase white blood cell production which can help stave off disease.

As the color of the third eye, it’s no wonder that when I personally close my eyes, indigo is the color I see. It’s the first color I see as I start to meditate, or do Reiki. One of my clients who saw color for the first time (with her eyes closed) saw this beautiful indigo—it was during a Reiki attunement.

I love blue, and I love purple!

According to Deepak Chopra and Oprah’s combined knowledge and detailed booklet during one of their 21-day meditations, if your third eye is imbalanced, you may be experiencing “indecision, poor intuition, lack of concentration, impaired judgment, confusion, or depression. Physical imbalances may manifest as headaches, trouble sleeping, or nightmares”.

I suggest surrounding yourself with all things bluish purple. Clothes, lapis lazuli stones, blueberries! Paint your fingernails indigo! Stare into a painting and ponder the meaning of the universe! Talk a walk at night and look UP.

If you think your third eye is overstimulated and you’re a little too woo-woo, try to ground yourself back to the planet. Give yourself a foot rub or get a pedicure. Walk barefoot outside. Hang out with some animals. Meditate—you may think that would have the opposite effect, but it can be very grounding. Stimulate your root chakra, as that’s the chakra that binds you to this earth, like roots sinking into dirt.

I have decided to finish up this post wearing indigo-colored glasses which are supposed to help with achieving “serenity, stillness, understanding and imagination”. As I’m typing into this computer screen, I’m finding it a little daunting looking at the screen as this beautiful, rich color, instead of its usual white. But I was instantly calmed when I put them on. My husband is going through some issues at work–guess what I’ll be placing on him later on today.

(Side note: If you were to wear glasses this dark, you’d have to be careful. It does cancel some things and makes it extremely hard to see!)

Anyone have any experiences with Indigo they’d like to discuss???

Happy New Year!

With an onslaught of free *and* purchased new year’s series to try, you can find it overwhelming… which defeats the purpose for a new and improved you.

I personally have signed up for Yoga With Adriene’s MOVE… this starts January 1st with an introduction. Movement doesn’t officially begin until the 2nd. I’ve been looking forward to this one, because the past two months my home practice has taken a hit due to all of the holiday shenanigans. Which, again, defeats the purpose… yoga is a tool to keep you sane! You need it most during holiday shenanigans. Maybe I’ll figure out that particular balance in 2022.

I’ve also signed up for Donna Eden’s 10 Days of Joy, which also starts on the first day of January. These will be little videos of tapping the happy spots. I bombed it last year; I have the gusto to do it this upcoming year, though… I’ll keep you posted.

Lastly, through Commune, I’ve signed up for Grounding into Grace with Schulyer Grant. I was first introduced to her during another one of Commune’s challenges that I wrote about; luckily this one doesn’t start until mid-January which I think is brilliant marketing. However, it may be harder to continue since I’d be doubling up on my yoga practice and I do not want to injure myself!

So having said that, remember — take a little bit of time, daily, to breathe it all in, exhale it all out, see with your eyes, feel with your heart. You don’t need any of these external programs to inherit the wealth of joy — you just need your open heart and mind. Remember to be receptive to the gifts that are out there, even when things are grim. The darker it is in your life, the more these little bursts of sunshine will matter.

2022 will see the end of our color journey together — indigo and violet should be up in January. I finally got some citrine gems to infuse water — I’ll be reporting on that, too. By mid-year I hope to be publishing at least twice a month with the help of a friend or two (you know who you are!), but wherever this journey leads us, let’s be swell together on it, shall we?

Happy New Year!