Feng Shui Basics: How to Create a Space Inspired By this Ancient Chinese Practice
Oriental art, craft, and design are unique and something many people want to incorporate into their homes. However, feng shui is more than a way to decorate your living space; it is a way of life. Discover a few tips for creating a feng shui house and learn a little about feng shui basics and how to reawaken your space by incorporating feng shui elements into your home.
Learn more about the meaning of this ancient practice, the rules around creating a feng shui room, and how to make your bedroom feng shui with decorating ideas and the ideal layout. Enjoy!
What is Feng Shui?
The ancient art, or practice, of feng shui can be summarized as an intentional placement of pieces that encourage a good flow of energy within the space to create harmony and balance. Your living space needs to be harmonious and comfortable; after all, it is your sanctuary, so how comfortable and peaceful you feel in your space will affect every aspect of your life. The idea behind feng shui is to direct the flow of Chi from your home into your heart.
To achieve this harmony, according to feng shui philosophy, you can incorporate and arrange pieces of furniture in your home that will create a balance with the natural world. There are guidelines around what is and isn’t considered feng. Those who are new to this Taoist ideology might want to learn more about the bagua map to better understand how to optimally design a feng shui room.
Feng Shui Elements
There are 5 elements of feng shui – wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. The incorporation and proper placement of these elements will promote Chi to flow freely and abundantly throughout your life.
The purpose and meaning of each of the 5 elements and an example of each:
- Wood – promotes health, vitality, and growth (healthy plants)
- Fire – brings joy and creativity (candles)
- Earth – represents nourishment, protection, stability, and support (pottery)
- Metal – promotes structure and discipline, efficiency and productivity (metal framework and bowls)
- Water – is a symbol of abundance; promotes presence, expression, flow, and ease (fountain feature)
Feng Shui Basics
The basics of feng shui revolve around these areas and objects in your home; the doorway, the commanding position, your bed, desk, and stove. In any room, the commanding position is the spot furthest away from the door but not in direct line with it. In a living room you would want to place a sofa in the command position, for example. In a bedroom, your bed would be placed in the command position. The initial setup of feng shui can feel like it might be overwhelming to incorporate, but you can use the guide called a Bagua map, or energy map, to help you get the gist of it.
Another basic of feng shui is to make your front door as welcoming as possible. This is so that you can welcome as much positive energy into your home as possible. And interestingly, your ideal feng shui front door color is dependent upon which direction your front door faces; North, South, East, or West. Place a feng shui plant at the front door to invite wealth in!
The Meaning of Feng Shui
Feng shui is also known as Chinese geomancy. Its literal English translation means wind-water. It helps you use the energy of the objects around you to control the flow of energy in your home. This should, in turn, improve your everyday life. We turned to National Geographic to dive deeper into the history of this practice and to learn even more feng shui basics.
How Do You Make a Bedroom Feng Shui
Making your bedroom feng shui will improve the quality of your sleep and as we’ve all come to realize – good sleep is absolutely vital. Now that our lives are becoming more and more hectic with plenty of added pressure and worries, making your bedroom a sanctuary of peace is all the more important. Here are some feng shui bedroom tips and guidelines:
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Declutter your space, first and foremost.
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Choose muted colors such as muted blues, pinks, and taupe tones for the walls and decorations.
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Sleep in a king-sized or a super-king-sized bed that is not a place that receives a draft.
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Do not put a television in your room, and keep laptops, computers, and other electronic devices outside of the bedroom.
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Place a wooden bedside table on either side of the bed, top with a feng shui plant such as a purifying and aesthetically pleasing calathea.
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Use very low, dull lights, and light candles to create a relaxing ambiance.
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Always close drawers as soon as they are not in use.
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Do not keep a bookshelf full of books in your room. You should only have the book you are reading at the moment in your bedroom.
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Try not to have mirrors in your room as mirrors reflect light making the energy of the room yang. If you must have a mirror in the bedroom don’t place it in front of the bed.
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Get a solid headboard for your bed to help with grounding and most ideally place the headboard directly against the wall.
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Only put natural bedding on your bed.
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Try to incorporate all five feng shui elements into the room.
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This piece has been contributed to YogaVibes by Heather Jacoby, Founder of The Yogatique.