Colors and Ayurveda

Have you ever pondered on how one can find peace and balance in their life with just the help of some colors that exist in mother nature?

We sometimes feel different emotions while watching a color. For instance, white feels pure, red feels warm, and blue feels cold. These colors play an important role to control our emotions and Doshas. Read out the article curated by Team Amrutam understand the significance of colors in our ayurvedic lifestyle.

Ayurveda consists of three doshas:
• Vata
• Pitta
• Kapha

All these doshas are a result of what we eat, what we do, what we think, and what we see. The ultimate aim is to find a balance between all the three doshas to make our body healthy. There are multiple ways to get a balance, one of which is by using colors.

Ayurveda also recommends different colors for different days based on the prominent doshas.  We can either wear or can see the colors to suppress the dominant dosha in our body, hence getting the balance in life. All the doshas are different, thus they need different colors to calm their natural type.

Want to know about your Dosha? Check out Vata, Pitta, Kapha – The Amrutam Quiz

Vata Dosha

Vata is cold and it is represented by the air and ether. It is the lightest dosha of all. Due to its cold and light nature, it requires pale, soft and warm colours like red, orange, yellow. There should be no use of black, grey or brown shades as they disturb the mind.

Colors that can be used to calm the Vata Dosha:

1. Red – this color helps in boosting circulation and self-confidence. It decreases depression and lethargy and helps in increasing objectivity. It also cools and calms down the emotions.
2. Yellow – this color increases clarity and communication. It helps in improving memory. But there are some disadvantages as well as it can cause agitation, restlessness, and hyperactivity and it also reduces focus.
3. Orange – this color boosts confidence, also helps in decreasing fatigues and loneliness. Believe it or not but it aids thyroid function. It is also associated with sexual issues.

Pitta Dosha

Pitta is hot and aggressive. It is composed of fire and a small amount of water, so for this dosha one needs to use pale, cool, and mild colors like blue and green. For this dosha, intense and bright colors should be avoided as they already represent heat, especially the red color.

Colors that can be used to calm Pitta Dosha:

1. Green – this color helps in calming the nerves and anxiety. It also reduces fever and helps in balancing the metabolism. It also decreases indecisiveness.
2. Blue – this color helps in calming emotions. It promotes calmness, it also increases patience, decreases stress, and calms the anger. It also helps with sleeplessness and promotes regulated sleep. It has antibiotic effects but with all this, it also decreases the sense of compassion.

Kapha Dosha

Kapha Dosha is moist and heavy. It is the heaviest Dosha of all and is composed of earth and water so it requires warm and energizing colors like gold and purple. There should be an avoidance of pale colors.

Colors that can calm the Kapha Dosha:

1. Purple – this color helps in relaxing the joints and also reduces the chest pain of the body. It also inhibits and represses feelings or emotions.
2. Gold – this color is warm and is slightly moist with heaviness in it, so it can be used for almost all the doshas and particularly the Kapha Dosha. It promotes stability in the body. It manages anxiety and also bipolar tendencies. During the low phase, it helps in uplifting the spirit and promotes great awareness. It also helps in curing the diseases and is useful in the management of autoimmune diseases.

Wondering what's your color? Read this article to learn more about Ayurveda and colors!

Rajasik Colors

Here are some colors that should not be used for any Dosha:

1. Black - this color is the darkest one of all. It promotes the fear and induces feelings of paranoia. It also increases and agitates all the three Doshas.
2. Grey – it decreases the liveliness and can also lead to depression.

How would you add colors in your dincharya?

Dincharya is basically what you do in your ayurvedic lifestyle to make a balanced and healthy body. To get the use of colors, one must include those in their Dincharya. There are plenty of examples like wearing a red kurta to calm your Vata Dosha or coloring your wall purple to calm your Kapha Dosha or adding some green plants to calm your Pitta Dosha.

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Also Read: Dincharya and Hrutucharya - The Wheels of Ayurveda Lifestyle.

One can also play with different colors and can add them to their Dincharya according to the weekdays. In Ayurveda, weekdays are ruled by different planets and planets further represent different colors.

1. Monday - This day is ruled by the moon. It supports our emotional body and honors our yin energy (the passive energy). White is the color for this day as it spreads the positive energy and is helpful to start the week with healthy energy within the positivity. One can use white bedsheets to lighten their mood.

2.Tuesday - Mars is associated with this day and this planet has a fiery side so in accordance to this planet one should use red color as it also channels the energy. This color can be used by using some red stones.

3. Wednesday - This day is ruled by Mercury. This planet is known for enhancing communications and intellect. So green is the color for this day as it helps in communication and balance between the mind, soul, and body. One can keep little plants in their house to make the best use of the color out of it.

4. Thursday - The planet Jupiter does rule this day. It is the symbol of good luck and abundance. Yellow is the ultimate color for this day. Sunflower is the best way to use this color for the day.

5. Friday - The planet Venus rules this day and it is the planet of art, so one should take out his creative side for this day. Pink is the best color for it. This color can be used by some creativity, it can also be used by adding some little objects.

6. Saturday - This week symbolizes the planet Saturn which is also known as the greatest teacher of all. This week should use to get ready for the next week with good intentions. Black and purple is the color for this day. These dark colors can be used by adding a purple door to the house.

7. Sunday - This day represents the Sun. Sun is the reflection of the soul and it is a great day for spiritual activities such as meditation. Orange is the color for this day. One can also wear something orange to calm their body

Want to make some natural colors on your own? Check out this amazing article that will act as your guide in the process!

What colors to avoid or choose according to Hrutucharya!

Hrutucharya is the way of living your Ayurvedic life according to the seasons. So we should use the colors by acknowledging the dominant dosha in a particular season. As we know there are six types of seasons in Ayurveda:

1.Grisham/Summer season - (Mid-May to mid-July) this season has all the heat and dryness, due to which the Kapha Dosha suppress and the Pitta and Vata Dosha becomes dominant. So in accordance to balance the Doshas one need to use colors like gold or purple.

2. Varsha/Rainy season - (Mid-July to mid-September) this season has Vata Dosha as dominant and deposition of Pitta Dosha, so colors should be used which can calm these doshas, like gold.

3. Sharad/Autumn season - (Mid-September to mid-November) this season shows more signs of Pitta Dosha, so one must ignore colors like red, yellow, orange.

4. Hemant/Pre-Winter season - (Mid November to mid-January) the energy and stability of an individual stay on the highest degree and vitiated Pitta Dosha gets satisfied. So one can use a few warm colors, but there should be an avoidance of Kapha colors.

5. Shishir/Winter season - (Mid-January to mid-March) this season has Kapha as a dominant dosha, so one must avoid purple or gold. One can use red, yellow, orange, etc.

6. Vasant/Spring season - (Mid-March to mid-May) an individual’s strength during this season remains in medium extent and vitiation of Kapha Dosha occurs. One must use less Vata Colors as it is the season where this Dosha shows its variations.

So now you know how to make the best use of the Colors within the Ayurveda. Now it is your chance to enhance your way of living and make your body a balanced one with the help of different colors!