Feng Shui for Health

Okay so this blog post has been a LONG time in the making!

…not that shooting a quick video and writing up this post is time intensive – but we had to Feng Shui our house while we were wedding planning and working our other day jobs. Phew, so glad we’re past that!

All this started about 6 months ago when Sarah starting having problems with her back. We tried deep tissue massage, acupuncture and chiropractic treatments before getting an X-Ray of her back and realizing that all her troubles are from sitting too much!

What, sitting too much? That’s absolutely right, so being the non-extreme peeps that we are, we got rid of our couch, chairs and dining room table.

That’s right, no more chairs in this house.

Instead, we’ve redesigned our home to support the lifestyle that promotes the highest level of health and wellness for us.

Here’s a Photosphere from the center of our apartment to show what our house looks like…

Here’s what it used to look like…

As you can see, we’ve come a long ways from our more Traditional Setup with the furniture and overall focus. We’ve got so much more color, life and fun throughout our house now!

Feng Shui 101

Okay so we’ve got a step-by-step guide below to Feng Shui your home, but we first wanted to share the specifics of how our space turned out and what our favorite aspects are…

How to Feng Shui for Health

Step #1 – Calculate your Kua Number

Super fun start to the process here! Okay so go to this website and follow their instructions on calculating your Kua Number. This part reminds me of figuring out your astrological sign or Chinese year. Sarah’s a 3 and I’m a 2!

Now, figure out what which elements fuel you and which deplete you. Do a little more exploring and read up on what areas of the house you should be spending more time in – and maybe you’ll even find out which direction you should face while you’re working (Sarah’s best direction is North, and mine is Southeast).

Step #2 – Get to know the Bagua Map

So the Feng Shui masters, over these last few thousands of years, have boiled down the logic into a simple map, called the Bagua Map. You can download/read more about them here.

Once you have the map, you need to properly orient the map in 1 of the following ways:

1. Match the Fame (North) area of the map up with your own front door (easy way)
2. Using a magnetic compass, calculate your compass readings (full instructions here) and orient the map so North matches up with the front door (hard way)

Here’s the Bagua Map we created for our apartment…

Step #3 – Make a Plan for Your home

Take your Bagua Map, created in Step #2, and start designing your new space! Try to keep in mind which elements give you strength so you can plan on spending more of your time in those areas as defined on the map.

Sarah and I printed out our map and set aside some time for planning one night. We walked from one area to the next, sharing fun ideas about what we could do for each area, including function, colors, plants, pictures, etc.

Step #4 – Clear the Old Negative Energy

Smudge your apartment with Sage before making any changes – this helps clear the bad, stagnant energy that has built up over the years.

We bought these sage bundle at our health food store:

Smudging 411: Get a bowl, a lighter and your sage stick. Light the end of the sage on fire, as you would incense, and let it burn for 10 or 20 seconds. Blow out the flame, there should be an even burning ember glow. Now, go to each corner of your house and waft the smoke a few times, clearing the old energy. You may need to re-light the sage from time to time, and use the bowl as an ash tray to carry it around in. (It’s also a good idea to disengaged the smoke alarm or cover it with tape and plastic)

Note: It’s also good to clear your space after times of sorrow, grievance and loss, such as the loss of a friend or pet, a bad breakup or even unemployment.

Step #5 – Take Action

Now that the old energy has been cleared from your house, it’s time to start bringing in more good vibrations!

Sarah and I initially felt overwhelmed, since we were Feng Shui-ing while planning our wedding, but found it best to just work with one area at a time.

Additional Advice

Don’t hold back – let your inner child and imagination run free. Own your space and claim your right to live however you want – don’t feel stuck in old traditions that don’t serve you to your highest potential.

Here’s what happened when we really got into it…

• We ended up with A LOT of color in the end, and it really keeps our spirits high as a result.
• We started painting walls, doors and frames.
• We found ourselves at the craft store buying fabric to hang in the corner and sew pillows with.
• We felt the urge to plant a patio garden and get a fountain, which really took it to the next level.
• We got rid of our sofa, our dining room table, our old desk – and replaced them with new furniture and created new spaces that keep our bodies young and energy lifted.

We could go on and on about how Feng Shui has made our home life a happier experience, and we’re only half way done! We hope you’ve gotten a glimpse into what’s possible with it, and some advice on how to do that. Remember, when in doubt just Google it – we’ve only barely scraped the surface on Feng Shui, but can’t wait to learn more and make our home better!

What is your experience with Feng Shui? Do you have the urge to do the same now? Let us know!