Anna Balkan, Designer

When I walked into Anna Balkan Designer Jewelry Gallery in Norcorss, GA, I immediately felt welcomed, inspired and empowered. Anna’s jewelry is composed of the finest natural semi-precious gemstones and pearls from around the world and she has a unique style.

I met Anna when she attended one of my “How to create Balance through Colors” workshops. We connected right away. The combination of her experience working with colors and my passion to help women balance their chakras through colors created a wonderful partnership. We both breathe, live and love colors.

Last time I visited Anna in her gallery, I observed her interaction with her customers. It was very clear to me that her gallery has become a meeting place for women who are looking for ways to explore and express who they really are. A customer entered the gallery wanting to exchange a piece of jewelry she got from her husband. Anna warmly welcomed the woman and asked her what in this piece was not herself. After hearing her response, Anna asked her what would represent her true self. Having quickly heard the woman’s life story, Anna was able to show her an art piece that was perfect for her, and the woman left with tears in her eyes, so touched by the meaningful conversation she had with Anna.

Anna and I are planning a series of empowering events for women.
The first event is a special FREE workshop on Tuesday 12/7/2010, 1:00 – 3:00 pm.

Please join us to color your world with art and mystery that honors the deep beauty that you are.

Color Your Life – Tuesday 12/7/2010, 1:00 – 3:00 pm, FREE.

You can’t be put in the box. You’re too passionate, sophisticated and smart. One way to share who you really are with the world is through color.

Click HERE to register.

Hope to see you on Tuesday!

How would you know if your base chakra, located at the base of your spine, is the energy center in need of balance?

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is your energy low and you often feel tired or sick?
2. Do you suffer from depression?
3. Do you feel insecure and unsafe?
4. Do you ever feel like you don’t belong?
5. Do you often choose to “run away” from life by having an addictive behavior?
6. Do you have any physical problems with your legs, feet or do you have a chronic constipation?
7. Do you feel sometimes like you “don’t want to be here”?

If you answered “yes” to most of these questions, you are in need of balancing your first chakra. One of the things you can do yourself is to add the color red into your life. I often meet people who are tired or depressed and they wear only black or grey. Black or grey are actually the worst colors to wear when you are tired or depressed. Wear red. It will cheer you up and energize you.

Any shade of red will be beneficial Use it in any way you want: clothes, accessories, items in your home, items in your work, using red crystals and even food. Add red peppers, tomatoes and strawberries to your meal. You will be surprised how energized it makes you feel.

Colorful Salad

This is your last opportunity to submit colorful food photo to my color food contest. Here is one of the photos we received this week. How do you feel looking at this colorful salad?

Hurry up and submit your pictures by Sunday. The winner will receive a FREE Coaching Session.

For example, let’s say that someone doesn’t like blue. Blue is associated with the throat Chakra which is related to communication, it might mean that this person has some challenges with communication or that using this color will make it easier for him to communicate.

So be creative and add colors to your life. I love talking about Chakras and colors so feel free to always ask me specific questions.

You don’t have to paint your walls – just add accessories which can be changed when need be. For example, if you need grounding get a red candle, some red art, or just red roses. For creativity, add a bowl of oranges to your work area. Add yellow accessories or sun flowers if you need to lighten your attitude or if you need more confidence. Having problems with relationships? Add green plants, decorative green grasses or bamboo. Add a blue poster, painting, curtains or even a piece of furniture to stimulate your ability to communicate and express yourself. There are so many ways to add colors to your home. Again, consider the chart above and what you can do to enliven your living space.

In my June 13 blog: “What’s the connection between Food, Chakras and Color Healing” I introduced you to my friend Malkie. Let’s go back to Malkie and check what YOU can learn from her heart attack:

Malkie is the perfect example of the importance of colors. No doubt Malkie’s Heart Chakra was under-active long before her heart attack. On an unconscious level, her body knew she needed to stimulate the heart area, to raise the vibration and so she became unconventionally obsessed with green. Her intuition was leading her to use colors to balance her chakra.

Be curious and creative about the colors you choose. Use colors as a source of information about your energy centers. Add colors to your food, your clothes and your home and feed your body what it needs.

Look at the chart on my June 14 blog: “The Color of the food you eat – balance your Chakras”

and be creative with your color choices. Need to improve your communication in a job interview? Wear a blue scarf. Need to open your heart in an upcoming conversation? Wear a green shirt. Give it a try: this week, wear the one color that you would never wear, and see how it affects your mood and well being.

Is there a color you will NEVER wear????

Healing through colors is very profound. It works both ways: you can look at a specific chakra which needs some balance and chose to eat food with that specific color or you can identify a specific color that is missing from your daily menu, and ask yourself what’s going on with the corresponding chakra. The one color which is hard to find is blue. Any ideas for a blue natural (not processed) food?

It was twelve years ago, while living in Germany, that I got the call: my good friend Malkie had had a heart attack. I was in shock. I had just seen her two days earlier and there was no indication that something was wrong.

Interestingly, I recalled noticing a few weeks before her heart attack that Malkie had become obsessed with green accessories, adding green scarves and jewelry to her otherwise black attire. She wore black because she claimed it was more comfortable and made her appear thinner.

That may seem like a strange observation on my part, but I’m always surprised when people wear only black because I love colors and use them often.

What struck me most is that the Heart Chakra is associated with the color green. In fact, each Chakra (which means “wheel of light” in Sanskrit and refer to our bodies’ energy centers) is associated with a different color, i.e., the energy center and the color vibrate in the same frequency. This is why colors have so much power, and we respond to different colors in different ways.

Many people know that colors affect their moods, reflect their emotions and can even change their behaviors. So how can we use the power of colors to balance our energy? By using as many colors as we can in our daily lives!

When people come to see me for healing I always ask them about their color preferences. Properly utilizing these colors helps us balance their energy. For example: they communicate more easily when using blue (Throat Chakra) and feel more grounded and energized when using red (Base Chakra).

Here are a few simple ways in which you can stimulate and balance your energy centers with a rainbow of colors.

Colors and Your Food

A healthy, balanced diet consists of eating a variety of foods, and one of the natural ways we absorb colors is through the foods we eat.

Whenever one or more of your chakras is misaligned you might do well to look and see if you are not eating or possibly overeating the foods that fuel that particular chakra. In addition, try to add as many colors as you can to your dishes. For example, when making a salad, choose different color vegetables and add to the greens. When you grocery shop, buy fruits and vegetables in colors you wouldn’t usually use. Even if you don’t think a color looks good on you, I promise it looks good in you! Check out this chart to see what foods and colors go with which energy centers.

In tomorrow’s blog I will post a chart of different color food and the connection to specific chakras.

Why is that?

Because – colors are a living energy.

Colors alwaysfascinate me. It happens so many times that the color that you dislike the most is the color that you need the most. If you challenge yourself and use color that you don’t usually like – wear it, eat it, buy an accessory – you will be surprised of how can it change your mood, your attitude, your behavior.

Kerry Ross from Atlanta is participating a few times already, in my teleseminar: “You Must be Present to Win”. We look at Chakras and colors and she reports that her perception of color tremendously changed and that it brought so much healing to her life:

“Admittedly, I look “good” in black and gray. I have never understood peoples’ opposition to it. It never depressed me or made me feel isolated. I liked that it had formality and seriousness. As we all know, it is easy to match it etc… In fact, I was often adverse to most colors because it is one more thing I had to try to “match” or orchestrate around. My house has white walls in general because I have to decorate around a color. If I use a color in the room, I feel committed to it and bound to have to work with it. The last thing I need is more limitations. It was almost as if color was a “commitment” or “limitation” to me. I did not see it as freeing.

Odd that I felt that color created limits and problems for me. It has been difficult to step out of that sensation. You can ask my relatives. I just like things simple and uniform. I prefer the classic style and fine neat points. Somehow, I have come around. I guess it is from using color in my meditation. Rather than just using voice and the “tranquility and stillness” like effect, I have applied color in my meditation. Color has a sense of creating a space and opening a place for thought for me now. It is like I see a color and try to place it with a chakra. Then I think, “Do I need to open that Chakra now or does it need some balance with its complementary?” Two weeks ago, my husband and I actually painted my front foyer a sky blue and we are loving it. It makes me smile and reminds me about using communication and my voice. It is very positive.

I had to get a new pair of tennis shoes for my workouts. My old pair were just too old. I was given a choice of colors. I first tried on the purple ones and while they were nice, it is my LEAST favorite color. Even still, I liked them. I then looked at the blue/gray and ones with sort of a red/pink. The conservative, traditional me wanted the blue/gray, but I surprised myself when I was really drawn to the red/pink color. In fact, I really loved them. I wore them home. I thought, “WOW they make me feel good.” I like the color so much that I want nail polish to match. It was just a brief moment that I worried about trying to look “okay” when wearing them. I felt positive in them and that was enough for me.

So, my perception of color really has changed. I think my emotions are starting to match colors in a way. Mostly, I really do try to identify with various colors and enjoy them rather than think of them as a problem. It is fun to remind myself of each chakra and its color. Then, to rationalize whether it is right for me at that time and place. Even now, I open my closet and sort of watch the color start to bubble out and feel “it” for the day. Kind of like a message for myself and my focus”.

What is your experience with colors like? Is there any color you don’t like?