What is the color of relaxation for you? How can you use this “color” → “relaxation” connection to create a powerful visualization exercise to relieve stress and anxiety?
Colors are a powerful symbol we can use in our self-improvement rituals.
For many people, different colors are associated with different emotions, moods, or “vibes.” And we can use these powerful associations in our rituals to help change our mindset or attitude in any given moment.
In this ritual, we are going to focus on one color that we associate with “relaxation,” then I’ll show you how you can integrate this into a small breathing exercise.
1. Choose a color for relaxation
First let’s choose a color that you most connect with “relaxation.”
Take a moment and look at this color wheel. Which color do you associate most with relaxation?
Did you choose one?
I have chosen mine. But I don’t want my answer to influence yours, so please choose one of your own before you look at my choice.
The color I chose was…
Don’t worry if we didn’t choose the same one. But if we did, that’s pretty cool.
2. Visualize the color
Once you have chosen your color, the next step is to practice visualizing it.
Look again at the color you chose above. Then close your eyes and try to see it in your imagination.
Try your best to imagine your “relaxation color” as a cloud right in front of you. See the color move and swirl around. Notice its calm movements and relaxing aura.
Now imagine yourself stepping into the cloud. Feel it move around your body, from your head all the way down to your toes. Imagine that it’s feeding you feelings of relaxation, comfort, and security through the pours of your skin. Feel your mind and body become less tense and more relaxed as the cloud swirls around you.
Take a moment to really imagine it and feel it (even if it’s just a little bit). Remind yourself that this colorful cloud is a powerful symbol for calm, relaxation, and inner peace.
Note: If you have trouble visualizing, just pretend you can visualize it. This is the first step toward building your imagination muscles. With practice and patience, it’ll become easier to visualize over time.
To strengthen the association between the color and feelings of relaxation, you can combine this short visualization with a relaxing affirmation, such as…
- “I am becoming more and more calm and relaxed…”
- “I am filled with inner peace…”
- “My mind and body are resting…”
Repeat one of the affirmations to yourself as you continue to visualize the cloud moving around you. Or you can create an affirmation of your own!
3. Breathe in the color
Now that we’ve practiced the visualization, let’s take it one step further.
While imagining the colorful cloud swirling around your body, imagine yourself breathing in the calming aura.
Take a slow deep breath in through your nose. Then take a slow deep breath out through your mouth. Picture the colorful aura coming into your body and slowly filling it up with its relaxing presence.
Do this for 20 deep breaths until your body is completely filled with the relaxing energy.
Take a moment and continue to bask in the feelings of calm, relaxation, comfort, and security.
4. Daily applications
If this is your first time doing an exercise like this, be patient with yourself. It takes practice to build your “imagination muscles” and be able to use them to change your mindset.
The more you practice these exercise, the stronger the connection will be between your “color cloud” ↔ “feelings of relaxation and comfort.”
But once you build a strong association, you can practice this exercise in small bursts throughout your day, such as…
- In the morning, before you start your day.
- Right before a big job interview, date, or public presentation.
- At night, after a long and stressful day.
- During mini-breaks throughout your day (such as in the bathroom or during lunch).
- In a heated moment, when you feel you are getting overwhelmed.
For example, sometimes if I feel myself getting particularly frustrated, angry, or upset at something, I’ll do a few deep breaths while visualizing my “color cloud,” and that can be a nice little hack to get myself to calm down a little.
The stronger your symbol is, the quicker you can access it and recreate those feelings in any given moment.
This is just an introduction to what you can do with color in your self-improvement rituals. In the future, we are going to look into other ways to use different colors to create different mental states, such as for improving motivation and creativity.
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