People are spending more time at home now than ever before. According to a recent report, nearly 5 million Canadians worked from home this year in response to the pandemic.
You may have seen firsthand the effects your environment can have on your productivity levels. But, what about your health?
Studies show that your environment directly impacts the state of your well-being. And your home has the power to affect the way you feel, the quality of your sleep, and your levels of stress.
Practices like Feng Shui can improve your health by improving the energy in your home. Below I've outlined the basics of Feng Shui, so you can start optimizing both.
The History of Feng Shui
Feng Shui is the practice of arranging items in a living space in order to create harmony within the environment.
The words "Feng Shui" come from the Chinese words for "wind" and "water." So, respectively, Feng Shui reflects the way these elements flow with their surroundings.
The philosophy of Feng Shui stems from the Asian tradition of "Taoism," which observes the principles of nature, teaching us not to resist nature but to be in harmony with it.
Anyone can achieve this balance by harnessing the energy forces of the natural world. These energies are known as Yin and Yang, which represent masculine and feminine energies.
By bringing these energies into harmony within a home, Feng Shui can positively influence the lives of the home's occupants.
Feng Shui in the Home
Since there is a direct relationship between your health and the quality of your surroundings, applying the principles of Feng Shui in your home can improve your well-being.
Before you get started, it's important to note the three basic tenets of Feng Shui:
- Everything is alive
- Everything is connected
- Everything is changing
These principles influence the basic structure of your home's Feng Shui. For example, the placement of doors and windows can either bring fresh energy or keep energy trapped, becoming stale or stagnant.
The "Bagua" is an energy map used in Feng Shui to analyze each part of a home. Translating to "eight areas" in Chinese, the Bagua highlights the eight areas around a home's center.
This energy map plays an important role in Feng Shui, acting as a compass. With poor Feng Shui, you may be perpetuating an imbalanced flow of energy through your house.
If a room has too much yin (negative energy) by remaining cluttered or unoccupied for long periods, you can offset it with yang energy by cleaning the space or adding mirrors to reflect light.
Our "chi" is our "life" energy, and in Feng Shui, all things have a chi: each object, space, and living thing. The better quality of the chi, the healthier and more vibrant that something will be.
Furthermore, if the chi in our bodies is stagnant or blocked for extended periods, health problems can manifest.
In the Bedroom
Your bedroom is a pillar of your home that holds the power to improve your health and happiness. Improving the Feng Shui of your bedroom can influence every other part of your life as well.
We all know what it's like to have a terrible night of sleep. Waking up "on the wrong side of the bed" can negatively impact every other aspect throughout the day.
Thus, a good night's sleep is one of the most powerful tools in improving the quality of your life and your daily relationships. When you're well-rested, you can seemingly tackle any obstacle that might arise with confidence.
Therefore, having a harmonious bedroom contributes to your physical and mental well-being by affecting how you think, feel, speak and perform.
Good Feng Shui Practices
The function of the bedrooms is to rest and recover. Therefore, the bed is the most important item in the bedroom.
The bed should always be in the command position. The "commanding position" is a foundational concept of Feng Shui. It is a position of empowerment, where you are best apt to handle whatever comes your way.
Doors act as portals, allowing energy to enter the bedroom through what's called the "mouth of the chi."
On a subconscious level, the ability to see when someone enters your room allows you to feel more secure while you sleep, meaning a more peaceful rest.
Negative Feng Shui Practices
It's important to maintain space on both sides of the bed and not push one side directly up against a wall. So, leave ample room for both you and your partner to get in and out of bed.
According to Feng Shui, this negative practice can create limitations in your romantic life. Additionally, placing the side of a bed against a wall creates imbalances in your yin and yang energies.
In the Kitchen
The kitchen invites prosperity and is a cornerstone of your health and wealth. It's where you nourish your life force, where vibrant energy brings forth inspiration and creativity.
While you can arrange other rooms in the house quite freely, kitchens are often static. But there are still things you can do to brighten and enrich your kitchen's energy.
Good Feng Shui Practices
Good lighting in the kitchen area is essential to keep the space cheerful. Exposure to sunlight can directly affect our mood and sleep patterns by stimulating the production of chemicals like serotonin or melatonin.
Negative Feng Shui Practices
If the stove is not in a commanding position, this is a negative Feng Shui energy. The stove represents your resources and ability to nourish your health and therefore relates to your overall success.
When you aren't facing the commanding position while cooking, you aren't in control of the energies, people, or even opportunities that may come your way.
If it's not possible to move the stove, you can place a mirror in a location that allows you to see the doorway while you cook.
In Your Common and Gathering Areas
Your living space has the power to nurture the health of your interpersonal relationships. Communal areas are for welcoming and gathering people in the home, which is why it's vital to maintain balance in this area.
Good Feng Shui Practices
The placement of the sofa, like the bed, should always be in a commanding position.
You should also arrange furniture in a way that invites interaction and conversation. Do this by facing seats towards one another and making sure there is comfortable seating for every member of the home.
Negative Feng Shui Practices
Leaving clutter lying around does not promote a harmonious Feng Shui practice.
Spatial harmony is the central element of Feng Shui, and the spaces of your home should each have a purpose. Clutter can disrupt the energy flow in the room, leaving a negative impact on mental health.
Additionally, ensure each item of furniture also has a purpose so that you feel connected to your surroundings. Harmony is key to happiness, and happiness is key to health.
Where Is the Feng Shui Health Area?
The "Health Area" in Feng Shui is the very center of your home and the basis of your well-being.
This area can be seen as the heart, as it touches all other areas of the house, the way the heart relates to every area of your health.
If the health area of your home is out of balance, chances are it reflects other areas of your home and life that are also out of balance.
When the Feng Shui of your health area is balanced, you'll find that you flow through life effortlessly. You may also find that you move on from one thing to the next with ease and are generally less stressed.
Low-stress levels are key to optimum health. Therefore the Feng Shui of your home's Health Area can significantly affect your physical, mental, and emotional health.
Adding Elements
Fung Shui recognizes five key elements:
Adding these elements and bringing them into balance can help positively affect the flow of natural energy throughout a house.
Wood
The wood element in Feng Shui is considered yang energy. Items can include wooden furniture, bamboo, wicker, living plants, or even art incorporating wooden elements.
Wood is associated with springtime and therefore seen as life-affirming, active, healing energy. Combined with the characteristics of strength and flexibility, this element can help bring harmonious change to the home.
Plants
Plants offer many healing benefits. They clean your air, add beauty, and bring the energy of the outside world indoors. They can also act as grounding elements that help us reconnect with nature.
Plants also have the power to reflect the current state of our well-being. For example, sick or dying plants may signify that we aren't caring for them properly. Therefore, we may not be caring for ourselves properly either.
Water
The water element in Feng Shui can help to strengthen or weaken other elements. Water is primarily Yin energy, though at times it can display Yang attributes.
Water that is flowing is receptive and soft, reflecting yin energy. On the other hand, when water flows aggressively, as seen in river rapids or ocean waves, it is then yang energy.
Water is known for the way it flows around obstacles without surrendering its nature. Ways to bring this element into the home include fish tanks, fountains, or objects with curved lines instead of sharp angles.
Adding elements of water can have a calming and positive effect on your overall mood.
Final Thoughts
Here at Insurdinary, we care about the health and well-being of all families across Canada. That's why our goal is to provide you with the latest information to keep your family protected.
Your home is a pillar of your well-being and deserves the same care and attention. Contact Insurdinary today for a quote to protect your family with insurance the way Feng Shui protects your home's energy.
