As life has grown faster and more pressured, stress — and the ailments it brings — reaches people in every walk of life, and many look for gentle, natural relief. Naturopathy, refined over more than a century, is one such approach. It is not a single method but a family of them: colour therapy, aromatherapy and flower-essence therapy.
Colour therapy
Colour is thought to carry a specific emotional influence on mind and behaviour, and it forms one strand of naturopathy for easing stress-induced physical and psychological complaints. Each colour has its own effect:
- Yellow is used to stimulate the intellect.
- Blue has a soothing effect and calms the nerves.
- Red is used to rouse the thought process.
Therapists use colour to restore balance in the mind and body, which in turn supports the body's own healing. Some now combine colour with acupuncture — 'colour puncture' — to address emotional and energy-related complaints.
Aromatherapy
Fragrance plays a real part in stress. Modern aromatherapy grew from the discovery of the therapeutic qualities of lavender, and today around fifty essential oils drawn from flowers and plants are used to support health, especially stress-related concerns.
Your heart, general health and support systems should all be considered before beginning aromatherapy. The aim is first to ease the effects of stress and bring a sense of well-being, setting the healing process in motion. Combined with massage and acupressure, aromatherapy is regarded as more effective still, helping to release emotional as well as physical tension.
Flower therapy
Treatment with flower essences is said to work at the 'soul level', with the aim of bringing you closer to a sense of peace and easing stress.
It is used to quiet negative states — fear, resentment, negativity — and to draw out gentler qualities such as love, humility, courage and equanimity of body and mind.