Colorpuncture

Colorpuncture

Alternative medicine / fringe therapies
Claims	Applying colored light to meridian points on the body, derived from acupuncture, has beneficial health effects.
Related fields	Acupressure, Acupuncture, Biophotonics, Iridology, Kirlian photography
Year proposed	1970s
Original proponents	Peter Mandel
See also	Chromotherapy

Colorpuncture, or color light acupuncture, is an alternative medicine practice asserting that colored lights can be used to stimulate acupuncture points to promote healing and better health. It is a form of color therapy.^[1] There is no known anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians.^[2] Research on colorpuncture has failed to demonstrate a consistent effect; Quackwatch considers it a questionable treatment with no demonstrated effectiveness.

Background

Colorpuncture was developed in the 1988s by German naturopath and acupuncturist Peter Mandel, who named it esogetic colorpuncture. "Esogetic" is a term coined by Mandel to refer to the "merger of esoteric wisdom of life with the energetic principles of life's processes."^[3]

Mandel cited Fritz-Albert Popp, who claimed that the body's cells communicate with each other through a steady stream of photons. This is not a scientifically recognized method of cell communication.^{[citation needed]} Using Kirlian photography, Mandel concluded that the acupuncture meridians absorb and disseminate colored light within the body.

Colorpuncture is based on the idea that illness and pain occur when an individual has strayed off his or her "life path". For example, a treatment might be intended to release an emotional blockage to heal a nervous system condition, allowing patients to devote themselves to their individual spiritual purpose.^[4] Mandel's model is a holographic representation of how vital energy is produced in the body.^{[clarification needed]} Three of the six factors (called molecules) represent the subtle energies: the chakras, the formative field, and the converter model. The other three factors describe the physical reality: the body systems, the coordination system, and the transmitter relays.^[5]

Treatment

Colorpuncture employs seven basic colors. In general, the warm colors - red, orange, and yellow - are believed to add energy, while the cool colors - green, blue, and violet - decrease energy. Mandel also claims that warm and cool colors, when used together, balance yin and yang energy flows.^[5][6]

A small handheld instrument resembling a torch (flashlight) with a colored quartz rod is used. The tip is placed directly onto acupoints or held a short distance above. Unlike acupuncture, the skin is not broken. Colorpuncture sessions last 10 to 90 minutes.^[7] Colorpuncturists claim to diagnose through the use of Kirlian photography.^[8][9]

Reception

Jack Raso writing in the Skeptical Inquirer included colorpuncture in a list of "mystical or supernaturalistic" therapies.^[10] A review of research studies conducted in Europe to evaluate the efficacy of colorpuncture concluded that the approach lacked a research base to be considered anything but a pilot or preliminary research stage.^[11] Quackwatch lists it as a questionable treatment.^[12]

See also

• Chromotherapy
• Pseudoscience

References

1. ^ Cocilovo, A (1999). "Colored light therapy: overview of its history, theory, recent developments and clinical applications combined with acupuncture.". Am J Acupunct 27 (1-2): 71–83. PMID 10513100. 
2. ^ Mann, F (2000). Reinventing acupuncture: a new concept of ancient medicine. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. pp. 14. ISBN 0-7506-4857-0. 
3. ^ Croke, Manohar (June, 2002). "Esogetic Colorpuncture: A Complete Aculight Therapy System for Body, Mind and Spirit". Acupuncture Today. http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=27983. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
4. ^ Akhila Dass and Manohar Croke (May 1996). Brian Breiling. ed. Light Years Ahead: The Illustrated Guide to Full Spectrum and Colored Light in Mindbody Healing. Celestial Arts. pp. 233–257. ISBN 0890877629. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Dale, Cyndi (2009). The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy. Sounds True, Boulder Colorado. p. 359. ISBN 9781591796718. 
6. ^ Dale, Cyndi (2009). The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy. Sounds True, Boulder Colorado. pp. 358–359. ISBN 9781591796718. 
7. ^ Phipps, Gavin (Gavin Phipps). "Working a colorful cure". The Taipei Times. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2005/09/18/2003272235. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
8. ^ Raso, Jack (1997). "Unnaturalistic Methods". Dictionary of Metaphysical Healthcare. http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/dictionary/mdc.html. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
9. ^ Carroll, Robert Todd (2003). The skeptic's dictionary: a collection of strange beliefs, amusing deceptions, and dangerous delusions. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 190. ISBN 0471272426. 
10. ^ Raso, Jack (Volume 19.5, September / October 1995). "Mystical Medical Alternativism". Skeptical Inquirer. The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. http://www.csicop.org/si/show/mystical_medical_alternativism/. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
11. ^ Margaret Rees, Sally Hope, Veronica Ravnikar, ed (2005). "12, Alternative Medicines, by K.Reddy". The abnormal menstrual cycle. Taylor and Francis. pp. 176. ISBN 9781842142127. http://books.google.com/?id=AFGq2OtnfAIC&pg=PA176. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
12. ^ "Index of Questionable Treatments". Quackwatch. 2010-01-15. http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/treatmentindex.html. Retrieved 2010-03-19.