Wellbeing

Wellbeing: Boost health with feng shui

. With these simple feng shui tips, you can live this year in perfect harmony

It’s time to say goodbye to 2011, eliminate the clutter, clear the pathways and make simple steps towards a positive 2012. With these simple feng shui tips, you can live this year in perfect harmony
How many times have you rearranged the living room furniture to help you relax? This is because the state of your home reflects and affects your inner state. Originating in China, feng shui is the ancient art of furniture placement and energy flow into the home. However, it is now used by people all over the world to enhance and attract good health, wealth and relationships in every area of their lives. Based on the belief that energy meridians, known as chi (or qi), flow through the home or living space, feng shui encourages these currents to move freely, creating a balanced ambiance. The five elements: metal, fire, water, wood and earth are an integral part of feng shui. Each corresponds to a colour and flows in different cycles with the other elements. This energy flow can be manipulated to create the best atmosphere so that you can walk out of your front door with a smile on your stress-free face.

Declutter your life

Clutter slows down energy flow and creates chaos. At work, a frantically messy desk will create a sense of disorder, making you a less efficient worker. At home, smelly shoes by the front door send pongy chi energy through your home, making your family ill. In love, hoarding old love letters and photos keeps their energy and prevents the energy of an exciting new conquest coming in. In short, tidy up!

Bohemian bliss

Television sets and other electrical entities create electrical energy that floods shar chi through your space. Luckily, you don’t have to become a non-conformist freedom-fighter to avoid this; simply place large plants in the room to soak up negative chi. It is also worthwhile investing in essential oils as they retain the spirit of the plant or herb from which they have been extracted. Lavender is the best oil for bringing chi back to neutral.

Water baby

Running water is not only soothing mentally and emotionally but believed to activate chi. Adding a water feature to your house is, therefore, very beneficial. A fish tank in your house creates a dynamic flow of chi and black fish even absorb negativity. Place it in the south-east corner (your wealth corner) of a room for prosperity. Similarily, a pond outdoors will bring good chi to your home.

Crystallise

Crystals are widely used in feng shui to slow down negative energy. The theory here is simple, if your kitchen windows looks out to a less than desirable view, hang a crystal from it. If your front door is opposite the stairs, shar chi will flow in freely, hang a crystal in between them. When in doubt, hang a crystal!

Mirror, mirror on the wall

For matters of the heart, the romantic space in your bedroom should promote union, allowing two souls to grow. Do not place a mirror opposite your bed as this will attract a third party to your relationship and disrupt the harmony. Instead, hang them up in your dining room as they bounce energy backward and forward, creating stimulating conversation.

Refresh!

Okay, it’s winter and, yes, it’s a little chilly but, unless you want to sleep with stale chi every night and not have any good fortune, open your bedroom window for 20 minutes each day to allow fresh chi in. However, keep that bathroom door shut. Otherwise, the negative energy (shar chi) from bathroom nasties will continuously travel around your happy home and make your family ill!

Childlike chi

Encourage your children to personalise the door to their room as these are the ‘front doors’ to their ‘houses’. Research has shown that children who establish an identity onto their room adapt more easily into society. Place their bed against a solid wall for support. The laughing buddha is sure to amuse children and brings happiness when placed in their room.

“Unless you want to sleep with stale chi every night, open your bedroom window for 20 minutes each day to allow fresh chi in”

Single seeker

If you’re desperately hoping that 2012 will be the year that you fall in love, don’t drown your sorrows by filling your wardrobe with January sale lovelies, instead, leave a few spare hangers for your soulmate, you selfish singleton! This simple act will encourage the universe to attract someone special to share your life with. Alternatively, grab some warmcoloured bedding in those sales to bring a little love into your life.

What’s more, unless you want that tall, dark and handsome creation to remain a figment of your imagination, stop living in cyberville and take that computer out of your bedroom. Computers don’t belong here as you risk spending too much time on them and not enough time in reality!

Harmonise homesickness

There’s little point leaving home beaming if you’re about to enter a working environment that makes you feel depleted. Make sure your desk is free from clutter for a stress-free day. If you are the type of employee that always leaves work a few minutes early, let’s not assume that you’re lazy, you could be sitting too close to the door that leads home so move your desk. However, if this doesn’t work, I’m afraid that you are, in fact, a slacker!