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Chromotherapy or color therapy is said to have its roots in ancient Egypt where patients were kept in specially built solarium rooms with tinted glass. The use of colored gels, colored cloth filters and colored water was also prevalent in ancient Egypt. Down the centuries, color therapy has conquered a lot of skepticism and is now being used as an alternative method of healing.

This holistic healing approach seeks to correct the imbalance in the body through colors. In this context it is important to realize that all holistic or alternative healing sciences believe that 'dis-ease' occurs when there is some disturbance in the balance of the body. Once this imbalance is set right, wellness and health is restored.

In color therapy, a trained therapist uses the different colors of the spectrum to balance and enhance the body's energy centers (also known as 'Chakras').

Does color therapy have the backing of science? To a big extent, yes. Scientists, who have extensively researched color and light, agree that color brings out unexpectedly acute emotional reactions in man, be it physical, emotional, spiritual or mental. It shines upon us from the sun and is emitted by every single cell in the human body. What is even more interesting is that each person reacts differently to the same color. So, while the color red may make you angry, it might make another person feel romantic!

Throughout our lives we are continuously associating meanings and feelings with colors. Thus, we easily build up prejudices towards colors and attach happy and sad connotations with colors.

What cause this attraction or aversion to colors in individuals? It is believed that just as the body signals vitamin deficiency by causing food cravings, so also an individual is attracted to a particular color when the energy flow in a particular area is blocked. Color is absorbed by the skull, skin and the eyes and thus affects every single cell in the body. The healing journey starts when we understand why certain colors affect us favorably while others bring out the worst in us.

According to color therapy, each of the seven colors in the spectrum (VIBGYOR ' Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red) finds an equivalent in one of the seven main chakras of the body.

Man's well being is not a purely physical issue. Color therapy helps to re-balance the imbalance in our chakras by applying the appropriate color to the body. So color therapy is effective because practitioners believe that a healthy human is the combination of body, mind and spirit working together.

Color therapy is a catalyst to the healing process and when used in combination with orthodox medical treatment, is found to be very effective. For instance, a recent announcement made by CNN discusses the application of blue light to the back of the knees to help people overcome jet lag.

A qualified therapist is able to decide what colors need to be supplied to the individual to make him better. The methodology of treatment varies from doctor to doctor. The most commonly used method is a light box. Other methods include meditation with color, color breathing, solarized water, using colored silks and directing colored light to the body.

Over the years, researchers have managed to identify the colors associated with certain ailments. Thus color therapy is coping very well with different illnesses. Although scoffed at by medical experts in the beginning, color therapy is slowly being recognized as a legitimate healing method.