Feng Shui 101: Basic principles and tips you should know

Your home is the key to your happiness. Surprised? Well, a spick and span home can do wonders when it comes to calming your nerves and uplifting your mood. To make sure that homes look the best versions of themselves, Feng Shui leaves no stone unturned.

National Geographic explains Feng Shui as an “ancient Chinese art of arranging buildings, objects, and space in an environment to achieve harmony and balance in a way that will bring peace and prosperity.” If you are looking to declutter your apartment to usher in positivity and happiness, Feng Shui might be the “silver bullet” for you.

Here’s everything you need to know and tips to use

What is Feng Shui?

Feng Shui means “the way of wind and water”. It roots back to early Taoism but has managed to not only retain its popularity but also spread its branches outside China to many other countries across the world.

Feng Shui basics

The ancient Chinese practice originates from the Taoist concept of chi — the life force, which resides within every entity. Chi is formed when two opposing and complementary forces — yin and yang — come together.

Yin represents feminine energy and is often associated with nighttime, coolness and quiet. While yang is the complementing masculine energy represented by the sun, sociability and heat.

Feng Shui is all about harmoniously balancing these two energies, by building structures, arranging furniture and other decor items in a way that enhances the flow of positive chi and keeps the negative chi at bay.

How does positive chi help you ask? According to the ancient Chinese people, positive chi helps in keeping diseases away, improving interpersonal relationships and ensuring good luck.

Components of Feng Shui

Feng Shui divides the world into five components — wood represents creativity and growth; fire stands for leadership and boldness; earth denotes strength and stability; metal signifies focus and order; water symbolises emotion and inspiration. Working around these five facets can ensure positive chi and balance the natural flow of energy.

To make balancing energies easier, Chinese Feng Shui masters invented a tool known as the Bagua map.

A Bagua map portrays the many areas or stations of one’s life — like health, career, personal life, and some others — and then correlates these stations to different parts of the individual’s home.

Tips you can incorporate to practise Feng Shui at home and office

• Steer away from any kind of mess and clutter. Remember that a clean home is a happy home. Whether it is your kitchen, wardrobe or bookshelf, organise it well to ensure there is no dearth of positive energy in your abode. The area around the entrance and main door should be free of any mess because that is exactly where energy enters your abode.
• Add some plants to your decor. This will add the wood element, which denotes creativity and growth. You can also use the lucky cat or lucky frog figurine, both of which are considered to bring good luck and wealth.
• Remove damaged things and dead plants from your home.
• Use colours that resonate with the five elements of Feng Shui. Earthy tones, greys, whites, blues and reds are some colours that you can use.
• Make sure your bed, work desk and stove should be in a commanding position — that is facing the entry door.
• Choose a soothing colour for your bedroom and ensure there’s space on either side of your bed. If choosing nightstands, make sure they are of the same height. Also, take out some time to make your bed every morning.
• Also, remove anything that hinders your path and slows down your movement in your home. If you are bumping into a chair regularly, it is about time you change its placement.
• Clean your windows to allow maximum sunlight into your home for a warm and bright vibe. Let the energy flow.

Hero and Featured image: Courtesy Alexandra Gorn/Unsplash.

The story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia India