Feeding your Soul with Warm LightHow exciting is your Winter? How relaxing? How healing? How enjoyable? How special?

Many people find a month of February difficult for energy levels, moods and general health, according to statistics. Tiredness and even depression are common and so are Colds and Flus.

How healthy your Body is in this cold season? What is feeding your Soul in this time of year when Christmas holidays are long over, summer holidays 2021 is a total uncertainty, days are still cold and though longer are not yet fully bright?

 

Feeding the Soul…with Lights

Once upon a mid-winter I felt so tired after a stressful personal year full of uncertainty for the future (how easy is this description can be applied now universally right now??), so so zero in energy. I had a student for a fortnight long one to one intensive course coming to learn Colourpuncture straight after the New Year. 

I sat there in the evening before and thought: 

  • OK. How did I arrive to this?
  • Most importantly, what do I do?
  • Indeed, if there anything I can do? 

All therapy tricks I learned over the years give steady, reliable but not an overnight result. I needed an overnight result…something which would create an immediate effect. I was concerned and at a loss for ideas. The Christmas and New Year celebrations were over but we kept fairy lights as it was still very dark outside in the afternoons and early mornings. 

Looking aimlessly at coloured fairy lights…I had no idea as yet that they hold the answer. I just kept looking at beautiful dim lights – I always loved this part of celebrations, the Lights. Then I vaguely remembered a recently read article on health implications of bright light – Light at Night or LAN – and the need to keep evening lights dim and warm for health benefits.

I didn’t know what to expect – and I had absolutely nothing to lose,  I read about it but never implemented – I decided to try. 

I dimmed all the lights in the house and kept them this way. I wasn’t miraculously cured of my extreme tiredness. But I immediately felt as all these soft lights around the house started feeding my Soul….I had an amazing, soft, stimulating and relaxing 2 weeks intense training with my student. Life was good 🙂

I was beyond surprised at how such a simple change in lighting created such a transformation in how I felt. I keep our winter/evening light this way ever since. In fact when I see bright light inside somebody’s house in winter I’m genuinely surprised: it feels so out of place…When we are tired and have to work a harsh lighting feels like a hostile environment; lit warmly and softly it feels like Winter Wonderland.  

Soft warm dim lights and fairy lights are feeding my Soul today just the same as they did then, years ago..

 

Research on Cold coloured lights vs Warm coloured lights and health

Most science research to date suggests that warmer coloured light is better for us as it doesn’t disrupt melatonin production and so sleep disruption the way cold-coloured light does. 

Orange and Yellow colours of light minimally affect melatonin production and Red has no effect on melatonin production at all. 

Disrupted sleep while looking like an innocent inconvenience has huge health implications: it does not let the body mind to regenerate properly during the night. When we repeatedly don’t let our Body mind regenerate on a regular basis we have many diseases potentially stemming from it – not to mention accelerated ageing. 

Common sense says we as humans evolved with our physiology adapted to fully dark nights – apart from light from the fire, stars at night and a monthly Full Moon. Artificial light at night time, LAN, became a part of our life just a couple of minutes ago, in evolutionary terms.  

How easy is ti to try switching to dim warm light in winter/in the evening? I found it easy. And as a bonus we will get some Colour Light Therapy: Red colour will give us passion and strength as well as improved circulation; Orange colour will bring us happiness, joy and endocrine balance and Yellow colour will gift us with focus, clarity, happy digestive and immune system and optimum functioning. After all Light therapy – a therapy based on shining bright white or coloured light onto a patient by varies means – has a history stretching back thousands of years to ancient civilisations.

 

Warming Red and Cooling Blue on Acupuncture point LI4 for Colds and Flus

Colourpuncture uses colour ‘temperature’ properties in a unique way to treat various ailments. Here is a simple example.
Colourpuncture treatment of a classic Acupuncture point Large Intestine 4 (LI4) for Colds, Flus and other acute respiratory problems is highly effective and gives sustainable results. Large Intestine 4 (LI4) Colourpuncture is used both for Supporting Immune System and if you already have symptoms of Cold, Flu, or other acute states. All of the above also goes for Colourpuncture application of Red and Blue for Acupuncture point Lung 7 (especially if it is used in combination with LI4), another major point for treating Colds and Flus:

  • We use Red as the main colour to improve blood circulation and warm the body
  • However, if there is high temperature we use Blue to calm and cool down.

Please note that LI4 is an Acupuncture point contraindicated in pregnancy.

 

Light Health tips for the Winter 

The darkness of winter is not an inconvenience for work – it’s a wise and caring invitation from Nature to us to go in, relax and trust. Before we know it there will be another Spring, and a lot of light but for now, we can just relax with gratitude into the deepest healing Yin. This is what I found helpful for Body health and Soul feeding in Winter: 

  • Keep outdoor light levels high: get max natural light outdoors (while keeping warm!) during the day to maximise natural Vitamin D production and to check in with the elements 
  • Keep indoor lights dim and warm to support natural Melatonin production 
  • Cultivate a warm inner glow of love, comfort and relaxation by consciously noticing things which already go well this winter; went well some other winters and planning on trying more things which are naturally suited Winter season: reading, journalling, taking care of your health, planning, taking more time to relax and nurture connections with people close to you.   

Now, how often does the opposite happen? How often we don’t get enough light outdoors, put glaring harsh (often overhead) artificial cold light on, to ‘cheer ourselves up’ and (because none of these help us feel better) we then complain about a rather ‘boring’ winter weather, feeling tired, low in energy and depressed. 

A big part of these low energy states are connected to low levels of production of both Vitamin D and Melatonin. A significant part is our attitude towards cold weather and grey days. And yet another part is our 24/7/365 culture which makes no difference between day and night, summer and winter. Luckily, a great art of Hygge is becoming a bigger and bigger trend and we finally discover the value of rest, relaxation and close connections in a softly lit warm environment. 

 

Winter is for Health

Apart from keeping your indoor lights warm and dim don’t forget to maintain and cultivate your health in winter as Winter is for Health just as Summer is for Soul:

 

Sheltering the Spirit 

Winters are generally times for Sheltering the Spirit from cold and darkness of the season. Winter 2021 is so much more so because of ongoing global health crisis which still causes much anxiety and uncertainty on a background of our increasing weariness after living in this stressful environment for nearly a year. 

Just being aware that this situation depleting our psycho-emotional resources, helps; consciously cultivating practices for sheltering the Spirit supports us in a good health and mood and gives hope and energy for the future. 

Nature shows us the way, by example – should we care to observe. Nature takes a great deep pause, plants and animal kingdoms alike, the deepest and longest of an entire year. All resources are spent minimally. Winter sun boldly spotlights bare trees, the only winter landscape feature – with no distractions whatsoever. It’s not the lush green foliage of Spring we see, not the showy flowers of Summer and not mature fruits and seeds of Autumn – it’s the very structure, the Bare Bones. This is what we need to strive for by keeping our Spirit, our inner core, protected and our foundation of the body, the Kidneys system according to Chinese Medicine, healthy. 

Winter is a great deep pause to conserve resources, focus on these Bare Bones of our Life and our Self and plan, dream and sleep – deeply – so we can act fully, come spring. 

  • How does bright cold light vs warm dim light make you feel? 
  • How are you looking after yourself and your family this winter?

 

Join Cafe Self for all your Soul feeding needs!

Join Cafe Party for Winter Inventory experience 🙂

February 2021: ask your question about Colourpuncture!

In February 2021 I will be giving FREE, no obligations, focused 20 min one to one online consultations on Colourpuncture: please get in touch and ask me anything you would like to know about Colourpuncture and what it can help you with – or to learn a tailor made short treatment protocol for your current needs.

If you don’t have your Colourpuncture Perlux yet, don’t worry: Acupressure on Colourpuncture points will give very good results.

I’m here and I’m happy to help!

Related Posts:

References:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *