meditation, color and energy

Come with me to the land of woo-woo.

I had a great yoga class last night. It was more challenging than usual and I was pleased with how my body responded. Very satisfying.

But here’s the interesting part.

As I mentioned earlier, in meditating with color, I am drawn to orange. It’s long been my favorite color. It feels rich, nourishing and alive.

When we lay down for savasana last night (a k a corpse pose or, as I like to think of it, lying like a lox), I decided to use the color meditation as well, to maximize the quiet time. (Multitasking in yoga. Is that legal?)

To my surprise, when I closed my eyes, the color that struck me most powerfully was blue. A rich, pure, deep blue. A little bit indigo.

Hm. Is that the color of relaxation for me? If so, it must be the color I want to aim for when I am trying to settle myself down.

It makes sense, if you look at a color wheel and its opposites. Red is a little bit stimulating while orange revs me up pleasantly and yellow feels like a loud bell ringing in my ear. Green—which is my second favorite color—has an effect similar to orange but more muted. Blue/indigo appears to be my alert but quiet place. Purple is erotic to me, which makes sense since it combines the relaxation of blue with the energy of red—the formula for good sex.

I’m all over this energy stuff. I’ve long known what drains energy from me but never gave any thought to actually managing my energy. I’m not sure what, exactly, clicked for me last week but suddenly I understand that personal energy is a resource I must understand in order to be effective in the world.