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Essay / Art therapy: the healing power of color
Color has power in all aspects of life. From birth to death, our life script covers color in a notional and perceptible way. We perceive and experience them, we thus become more aware of them. The day begins with the color of sunrise and ends with the color of sunset. In between, we also witness various colors with different tones and shades in the natural environment. We design our personal environments and feel a sense of belonging through the use of our favorite and appropriate colors in the design process. Each color has its own meaning. So, each of them evokes different feelings. This suggests that through its potency it can affect human beings psychologically, physiologically and behaviorally. Each color and color combination has its own feel. They can, individually or in combination, become irritating to the eyes and cause headaches. Their proper use can maximize productivity and relax the entire body. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay It could affect not only people's emotions, but also their brain waves, heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate (Kaiser, 1984; Martinson and Bukoski, 2005), hormone secretions, reactions to stress, the autonomic nervous system and the cerebral cortex where emotions are located (Jin et al., 2009). In their study, Jin et al. (2009) reported that the color red seemed to have the greatest effect on emotional changes and directly affected the activity of the subjects' parasympathetic nervous system, which adjusted blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate below the normal level. The effect of colors on the body's physiological functions has been used effectively as color therapy in various medical fields such as depression and cancer. There is an ancient and widespread faith in the healing power of color (Helen, 1983). Therefore, it is suggested to use color as a treatment tool when it comes to color healing. Healers of color believe in chakras which are believed to be energy centers within the human body (O'Connor, 2011). These energy centers are formed by seven chakras. If there is too much or too little energy in each chakra, i.e. no energy balance of the chakras, emotional well-being and personality are influenced (Mahnke, 1996). Each chakra resonates with one of the spectral colors shown below and the proper balance of chakra energy is restored through color therapy. The summit chakra (purple) represents wisdom and spiritual energy. It influences the pituitary gland. The forehead chakra (indigo) represents intuition (third eye) and influences the pineal gland. The larynx chakra (blue) represents religious inspiration, creativity, language and communication. It influences the thyroid gland. The heart chakra (green, pink) represents love, sympathy and harmony. It influences the heart and the thymus. The solar plexus chakra (yellow) represents knowledge, intellect and is also the seat of tensions. It influences the solar plexus and the adrenal body. The spleen chakra (orange) represents energy and influences the spleen and pancreas. The base chakra (red) represents life and reproduction. It influences the sexual glands and sexual organs. Kopacz (cited in O'Connor, 2011) associates colors with bodily functions and..