How can colors benefit our health? Let’s explore the impact of the color green on your stress level.
These days, everybody seems to have an abundance of stressful situations on hand. Technology has made us available 24/7 and the expectations to readily jump on every text, phone call or email have greatly diminished our peaceful alone time. Rising living expenses, unhealthy relationships, raising children and demanding careers all take a toll and we find ourselves in a state of chronic stress. With the constant rat race and tension, our bodies produce more adrenalin and when it is released too much too often, we become imbalanced. Adrenalin was designed to give us a boost for the event that we are in true danger. It helps us activate the fight and flight response so that we are able to act according to the crisis presented. However, constant release of adrenaline causes many physical ailments, notably high blood pressure, compromised immune system, anxiety, insomnia and belly aches just to name a few. Often, we do not associate these symptoms with the craziness of our daily lives. Chasing to do lists, appointments, emails and meetings have become a normal part of our day. Little do we realize that the chatter in our heads, the racing heart or the bout of anxiety comes from an overabundance of unbalanced stressors in our lives. And even if we do notice, we often do not take the time to step out and identify the areas to reduce the modern stress. Sometimes it takes a massive event like an illness, or the current pandemic that forces us to sit still and find ways to nourish our wounded body and soul.
Identify your stress
I invite you to stop, sit and scan your body throughout the day. Do you tense up when you hear your phone chirp with hundreds of texts? Do you feel strain in your back when working on a deadline? Are you driving angrily and impatiently? Do you eat your meals on the fly? Do you pop sleeping pills at night to get some rest? Wait, do you even rest? Try to identify which tasks or action causes involuntary stress responses in your body or mind. Become aware of how your body is telling you that you need to stop and reevaluate what you are doing. So I invite you right now to sit still for 10 minutes and just breathe. Quiet your thoughts and take notice if there are other feelings, words and images that bubble up into your consciousness. It may be a feeling of peace, it may be words of encouragement, it may be images of calm places, or it may be the color green. Whatever is in your inner vision, listen to your intuition and trust that the message that is presented to you will guide you in the right direction towards a more stress free existence.
The color green
The color green is the great harmonizer and equalizer of the spectrum. Green talks to the heart. It soothes nerves, calms the mind and settles the body. It regulates the circulatory system and can slow down a rapid heart beat or energize a sluggish one. Green is the color that can help you gain clarity into your cluttered mind and soothe your nerves just a little so you can observe yourself more clearly. Use the color green whenever you find yourself in stressful situations. Everybody should really have a picture or a painting of a landscape or a forest on hand in their office. When things get to crazy, just take a minute and breathe in the color green. Raise your vibration by affirming that the color green will bring harmony and balance to you when you need it. “I breathe green to revive harmony and tranquility to my heart.”
Green bathing
Nature has an abundance of green, so it is not surprising that spending time in the garden or the park can help calming frazzled nerves. It has been proven that taking time out during the day and surrounding yourself with nature has a positive effect on your overall health. Your nervous system is of nature and is an integral part of it. If the weather permits, grab your lunch and head outside to the nearest park. Turn your phone off and inhale the smells, sounds and vibrations of the environment around you. Allow the green peace wash through your body, smooth out your nerves and strengthen your heart. Look around and observe all the colors playing in the sun. Become aware of the birds, the flowers and the bees buzzing among them. Watch the clouds float by and breathe in all that is offered to your heart. Let your mind be still and listen to what surrounds you. Soon, you will feel grounded, peaceful and mindful of the beautiful powers of nature. You can return to your job refreshed, renewed and emotionally balanced.
Forest Bathing
If you are a serious urbanite, forest bathing may be the right therapy for you. People are notoriously more stressed in cities than their counterparts in the country side. Noise from the traffic, bad air quality and close proximity to high rise buildings affect the nerves in a negative way. To balance out the high octane turbulence ,a monthly visit to the forest may be a great equalizer to the system.
Forest bathing originated in Japan. The term “Shinrin-yoku” loosely translates into forest bathing and it describes the act of submerging oneself into nature, mainly forests. Just like the term bathing implies, the time in the forest should be spend exploring, feeling, sensing and emerging oneself among the trees. Here, you do not count miles and steps, you do not bring your phone and you do not chatter away about your latest problems, but rather you bathe among the green leaves in silence and commune with the bark of ancient wood. Slowly, you start to breathe deeply and purposefully. You notice your surroundings for the first time and become one with the energy of the woods. Your mind becomes still and is then filled with the chirping of the birds, with the rustle of the leaves and the gentle song of the whispering trees in the wind. Your world slows down and your body is accepting the healing energy of the trees.
Studies have shown that just a 2 hour immersion walk among pine trees can lower your stress hormone, and with that, reduce the blood pressure and the heart beat. Evergreens emit chemicals that are collectively called phytoncides. These are beneficial for your immune system and your white blood cells receive a boost. The Japanese Shinrin-yoku studies spoke of an invisible healer in the woods, and in Germany people with lung ailments would be treated in sanatoriums located in the pine forests. The air, heavily laden with the scent of pines healed many. If you would like to read more about the studies, visit natureandforesttherapy.org for some great information on the subject.
Regardless of your stress level, time spent in green nature improves your mood and with that your performance, your energy level and you concentration. You feel better, you heal better and you are much better company to yourself and others. So next time you feel that life is caving in around you, head to the next forest and immerse yourself into the world of the healing trees. Your body will thank you for it.
