We are surrounded by colour, blue sky, green leaves, brown earth, red bricks, grey asphalt and white clouds all are easily pictured in our minds eye by their colours. Psychologists have shown that colour helps us to process and store visual information more efficiently than colourless experiences. Between 62%-90% of the visual impression is based on colour alone. Did you know that red has a physiological effect? It raises your blood pressure. Given the importance of colour in our lives and how we interpret these colours how can we use this knowledge to enhance our lives and improve our moods?
Do you want your home to be a place of tranquillity? Look for colours that make you feel at peace, such as soft light blues and greens, avoid sharp or bright colours which are stimulating and energising. Want to feel that your space is warm, cosy and inviting? Think about surrounding yourself with the autumnal earth tones, from browns, beiges and asparagus green to soft rusty reds. Alternatively you might want to create an environment that stimulates you and inspires you to take action. Here you may choose bright neutrals like a white and black with pops of your favourite bright colours such as fuchsia, fire engine red or apple green.
To remain healthy you need to eat a rainbow of coloured foods, from the lovely crisp greens of celery, cucumber and broccoli to the vibrant reds of capsicum and raspberries, along with the rich orange of carrots and pumpkin, and the indigo of blueberries. The more naturally coloured foods you include in your diet the greater the variety of antioxidant and vitamin you’ll ingest to make your body happy and healthy. Try to include at least 5 different coloured of food each day to ensure your antioxidant and vitamin intake is adequate.
Don’t forget that you are wrapped in colours each day as you get dressed. The colours you choose to put on your body can affect your mood and health. If you wear colours that are flattering to your natural colouring (which is based on the reflection of those colours onto your skin and how well they harmonise with your skin pigments, such as carotene and melanin), you’ll find that others will react in a more positive manner towards you than you may have experienced before.
Colours are light waves and vibrate at their own unique frequency. When the colours you wear vibrate and harmonise with your colouring you will find that you will look slimmer, younger and most importantly healthier. Our colouring changes through our lives, as the pigments leave our hair, as it turns grey, we need to be aware that our skin is also losing pigment and we need to wear softer or more smoky colours than the brighter more vibrant colours of our youth. When you look in the mirror you want your face, which is your communication centre, to pop and be the focus of attention, rather than the colour of the clothes you’re wearing which creates a body focus.
Use the colours of your clothing to communicate with those around you. If you want to gain concensus at work, avoid black and dark grey, instead look for medium colours such as blues and greens or earthy browns and camels which are seen as non-judgemental and friendly.
Clients have told me after they’ve had a colour consultation and start wearing their best colours that people treat them differently. One client who has severe rosacea found a profound effect. Her red face had made people think she was aggressive and angry all the time and she was never included in office banter. After having her colour analysis and finding the most flattering colours that didn’t exaggerate her red colouring she noticed a change in her colleagues behavior and was so excited when she was included in the water-cooler jokes and talk that she’d always been excluded from previously.
No matter which aspect of your life you consider, colour plays an important part in your emotional and physical well-being. The more you understand its influence the better you can engage with its power.
