The ancient Egyptians as well as the Greeks, Chinese, and Indians all used color therapy to help heal ailments. What would it look like if we experimented by using some of the same color healing techniques today? Obviously heed your medical doctor’s advice when dealing with any ailment. If however, you’d like to try color healing as an extra alternative therapy, read on.

Case Study #1: Using Color Therapy as part of Common Cold Prevention and Treatment

Feed That Cold First

Recently I came down with a nasty cold that lasted for about a week. Normally when I feel one coming on (usually at the first sign of a sore throat or sniffle) I use food as medicine to ward off the cold. A typical remedy that works wonders is raw, organic honey (when I can find it), fresh ginger pieces, and raw garlic.

The ginger can be eaten as little pieces or taken together with tea. Honey can also be taken by itself or in a tea. Raw garlic however can be quite a challenge to just eat by itself.

The ancient Egyptians as well as the Greeks, Chinese, and Indians all used color therapy to help heal ailments.

I recommend making a delicious tsatstiki. That’s a Greek dish of plain or Greek yogurt, chopped up garlic, and diced cucumber. Add a little olive oil and salt/pepper to taste and eat spread on pita bread or cucumber slices. Another option is put tiny garlic pieces into a heaping spoonful of honey. Swallow the honey without chewing so you taste the honey and not the garlic. In most cases your cold will never even develop. When taken after the cold is already established, these foods will also help you recover fast.

Just Add Color

I hadn’t used color therapy until the middle to end stages of my cold. So when I saw my four year-old son coming down with the same cold, I pulled out all the stops.

It was the weekend so first I made him (and his older brother who wanted a little pampering as well) comfy on the couch near the TV wrapped in blankets, with orange and red lights warming up the room. We are big Halloween fans at my house so I turned on several electric jack-o-lanterns and lit a few orange candles safely out of the reach of children.

I dressed my sneezing son in his red pajamas and served both boys some juicy orange clementine pieces together with some bright red dried cranberries.

So by now you may have gathered that reds and oranges are great colors to help treat a cold. They help warm up the body’s temperature, keep chills at bay, and ramp up energy. Blue has the opposite effect and would be a bad choice for wearing, visualizing, or eating when you have a cold. However blue is an excellent choice for helping to reduce a fever or to relieve sunburn.

I was half expecting my son would be under the weather as long as I had been but to my amazement, the next morning he was almost 100% better and only suffered from a mild stuffy nose. His brother so far (knock on wood) has not caught the cold at all.

So this is one way you might incorporate color therapy into your usual cold remedy routine.

And if all else fails, there’s always Vicks Vapo-Rub and your medicine cabinet. If you use all your secret weapons together you’ll be back on your feet in no time!

I believe colors and patterns can help heal emotional wounds, conjure up energy, and serve as vehicles for spiritual connection and growth. Symbols and characters acting out narratives can educate, tell stories, and inspire personal reflection and even positive social change. I aim to use colors that evoke strong emotions and to utilize symbols and patterns that have cross-cultural significance.

Learn more about how I use color in my own artwork for improving mood, healing, creative visualization, manifesting good outcomes, and more in my online art gallery here.

Would you like to learn more about the amazing power of color and its ability to affect yourself and those around you? Check out this free lesson from my new course, Beginners Uplifting Color Therapy For Self Empowerment.

Do you use color to help with stress, sickness, or anything else? Please tell us what works for you in the comments.