How Coloring Helps with Stress & Soothes the Doshas

Have you ever felt the connection between happiness and feeling as if you’re in a state of flow? Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who spent his career studying this connection, defined flow as “a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.”¹

Children may be the leading experts in finding and sustaining this state of flow. Have you ever tried talking to a child while they’re immersed in a project or play? Do you wonder if they can even hear you? Chances are, they can’t because they are so involved in the task at hand that they are “outside” their current reality. And they are so focused on the present moment that they enter a sense of timelessness. This is precisely why the days could feel so long when we were children—we were often operating outside everyday reality, lost in the precious worlds of childhood.

The simple act of coloring gives us these exact traits of being in flow. When we are able to let go and simply be with the motions of coloring, we are able to create a sense of serenity, detached from our worries and thoughts, where the very act of coloring becomes its own reward.

Colors for Each Dosha

Colors can also offer healing properties. Just as each color has their own wavelength, they also have their own distinct vibration and can be used to balance the doshas. If you don’t know which dosha is most predominant for you, the Ayurvedic Profile™ quiz is a fun and easy way to find out.

Vata Colors

Vata type people do best with warm colors such as yellow-gold, orange, and deep red. These colors are considered stimulating and healing. Conversely, calming colors such as white and shades of blue are also good for vata.

Pitta Colors

Because pitta predominant people tend to be hot, colors from the cool side of the color wheel can be of benefit. Soft pastels are soothing for pitta tensions, and all blues and greens are particularly favorable.

Kapha Colors

Kapha does well with some stimulation and thrives with hot, bright, punchy colors such as reds, orange, and gold. Purple is said to be the color of “cosmic consciousness” and is comforting to all doshas, though it may be aggravating to vata in excess.²