CONTRIBUTED by Catie Jarvis
Vinyasa Flow MON 12-1pm & FRI 715-830am
In
Southern California, the change in season means a number of things...
changes in temperature, less bathing suits, more sweaters. It gets dark
earlier, people seem more busy, energy wanes with the holidays and waxes
with the new year when we set new goals and go off to achieve them. But
one thing that is missing in SoCal is any significant shift in the
color. The ocean and sky are still blue, the palm trees are still green.
After
having lived on the east coast for most of my life, this lack of change
in the colors of the world always feels a bit strange to me. In New
England, the colors of fall and winter are so significant in your
understanding of the passing of one season to another. They affect you!
One day there is green, then suddenly there is yellow, orange, red.
Things change to brown and white. There is a fading as we move from one
year into another. A lull, a hibernating. Then there is regrowth that is
so apparent. It is magical to see the world turn back to life, from
brown to green once again. It is important, I think, to have these
colors be a part of our experience. Just seeing these different colors
when we step outside brings certain feelings, thoughts, and energies to
our lives.
Colors
can affect your emotional and physical state. Each color has a unique
vibration that can influence how you feel. Chakras, or energy centers in
the body, have specific colors that relate to different parts of the
body and aspects of the self. Wherever you are, it can be helpful to
take control of what colors you are surrounding yourself with and why.
If the world around us here in LA is staying consistent with its colors,
maybe we need to take it upon ourselves to bring the colors that we
need into our lives.
Here are some notes on what certain colors can bring...
Red will
energize, inspire activity and movement, help passion, be powerful and
stimulating as well as grounding. Red is associated with the root
chakra, at the base of the spine. It can be too much for a person who is
feeling anxious, but for someone who needs to be energized it would be a
strong element to ad. Thinking of painting your exercise room? Maybe
red is just the color. In Feng Shui, red is connected with luck.
Orange feeds
happy, joyful, social emotions. Orange can be great to inspire
creativity, the sharing of ideas, positive energy, and self confidence.
It governs the sacral chakra in the lower abdomen and is a great
emotional stimulant.
Yellow inspires intellectual
clarity, organization, clear thinking, and helps us connect to our
mental self and our self worth. It is a color of logic, of the left side
of the brain. It great for productivity, but not as much for restful,
or calming spaces and places. Yellow is the color assigned to the solar plexus chakra, situated below the ribs.
Green is
balance. A perfect combination of restful and energizing. Green is the
color of outdoors, calm and active at the same time. Green brings
balance and harmony, healing, and rejuvenation. It is the color of the
heart chakra and allows us to give love to others and to love the self.
Blue is cool
and calming. Think rest, peace, and loving kindness. It is the color of
the throat chakra and can relate to communication and truth. Blue can
be great for invoking a meditative atmosphere. Thinking of creating a
yoga space or buying a new mat, think blue. Thinking of a place to go to
meditate, try that big blue ocean! Blue can reduce blood pressure and
soothe one to sleep.
Purple/Indigo is
very a spiritual color. A color full of richness in inspiration,
intuition, and trust. Indigo is associated with the third eye chakra
between the brows which connects us to our inner self, and our inner
connection to the universe around us. Purple or Violet relates to the
crown chakra at the top of the head where we find our “divine
inspiration”, our connection to creativity and spirituality.
The
more you understand how colors can affect you, the more you can control
what kind of energy you choose to surround yourself with. You might
consider painting your workout room a new shade, bringing new colors
into your wardrobe, your accessories, your eye-shadow, your artwork,
your yoga mat, your life. Take a moment to ask yourself what colors you
would like to bring into your life as we move into the winter season!
