De-Stress Your Bedroom: Feng Shui Style

featured this week in Savor Magazine

Did you know your bedroom environment greatly influences your stress levels and ability to truly rest and regenerate? We spend many passive “yin” hours sleeping in this room. It’s no surprise that in Feng Shui philosophy, your bedroom represents you. Here are some tips to create a harmonious space of relaxation and repose.

Location, Location, Location

Location absolutely matters! Specifically, I’m referring to the location of your bed in relation to the bedroom door. The best location for the bed is the farthest position from the door, while not in line with or behind the swing of it.

When you are lying in bed, you want to be able to easily see the door. You feel safe when you can see your bedroom door; therefore, your mind and body relax because you are in control of your environment. If this arrangement is not possible, set up a mirror such that while you are lying in bed, you can clearly see out the door.

What’s Underneath?

What is underneath your bed influences your sleep and well-being. It is recommended that you keep nothing under your bed, so the energy and “chi” can flow easily around you while you are sleeping. We spend many idle hours asleep, so you are easily susceptible to the energies of the objects below your bed.

If you must store things here, stick with soft bed-related items such as linens, blankets and pillows. Be sure to stay away from sharp objects and specifically anything negatively nostalgic like photos of ex-partners.

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by Anjie Cho


Bring a bit of feng shui into your home

featured last month on SheKnows.com, article by Sherri Kuhn 

The entryway to your home sets the tone for your whole living space, but what about the effect it has on your career success? Feng shui suggests that black and other dark colors have an impact on your success. We spoke with feng shui experts to find out how we can incorporate these concepts into our own homes — and boost our careers at the same time.

How does feng shui relate to your career?

The Kan Gua is located near the front entry, and is the career area of a home. "The colors of the Kan Gua are black, navy blue and dark blue," says Diana Hathaway Timmons, color expert at About.com, interior designer and author of Sell Your Home Without Losing Your Zen. "Decorating with these colors in the Kan Gua of your home can enhance career opportunities." She stresses that while using these colors is beneficial, it is important to approach it in a balanced way, or it will create the opposite effect. "Feng shui is all about balance, and that includes the use of colors," she adds. "Using large amounts of dark color in the room traps the chi (energy) and will defeat the purpose of using color as a career enhancement."

Your face to the world

Visualize the front entry to your home, which is what people see first when they approach your home or enter it. "The entry and front door of your home represent your face to the world, how the world sees you and how easily opportunities can come to you," says Anjie Cho, registered New York State architect and feng shui interior designer. "The entry is also related to your path in life as well as the season and energy of winter," Cho adds. "Using black to emphasize water and career will increase your career success. The colors black and dark blue, the number one, wavy shapes and the element of water symbolize this area."

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by Anjie Cho


Feng Shui 101: The Bagua Map

Above is the feng shui bagua map. You may have seen this before in an octagon shape with lots of weird symbols. The bagua map I’ve created is a modernized representation, but they mean the same thing. I’ll spend some time sharing with you how to use this map and go into some detail about each area.

The feng shui bagua map is a concept that feng shui practitioners use to look at your environment. This concept can be applied to your entire property, to the floorplan of the house or building, to the floorplan of your bedroom, and even the layout of your desk. The square is a three by three grid and can stretch and shrink to fit over your floorplan.

The first rule is to align the bottom of the bagua to the entrance wall of your space. An easy way to start is to use your bedroom. Stand in the doorway of your bedroom and look into the room. Then you hold this bagua so that the far right corner is Relationships. That would make the back left corner the Abundance area. If we were looking at your desk, you could divide your desktop into a three by three grid and apply the bagua similarly. The far right corner is Relationships, and the back left corner is Abundance.

Now I’ll share a little bit about each area!

New Beginnings:

This area is related to new beginnings of any kind: creation, family matters, and the season and energy of spring and is symbolized by the color green, the number three, columnar and tall shapes, and the element of yang wood. It has that magnificent burst of energy associated with a sprout pushing out of the ground and the excitement of the first beautifully sunny and warm day of spring. This is a great area to activate if you have trouble starting new things.

Abundance:

This area is related to wealth, abundance, prosperity and self-worth, represented by the color purple, the number four, columnar and tall shapes, and the element of yin wood. This is one of the “favorite” areas of the bagua. It’s not just about money though. Your wealth in the world is dependent and related to your self worth, so this area is also about having an abundance of the positive aspects in your life.

Health:

This area is related to your overall health, signified by earthy colors yellow-orange-brown, the number five, square shapes, and the element of earth. If you look at the location of this area, it’s in the center and is sometimes referred to as the “tai chi”. Because it’s in the center, the health area is affected by and affects all eight bagua areas around it.

Benefactors:

This area is related to helpful people, benefactors, the energy of heaven, travel and the father, all symbolized by the color gray, the number six, circular shapes, and the element of yang metal. Oftentimes we need the help of others (whether that be people or from the heavens) to move forward. Adjustments can be done in this area to activate the energy to bring supportive energy and people into your life.

Completion:

This area is related to completion, children, any sort of output or offspring, joy, and the season and energy of autumn. The color white, the number seven, circular shapes, and the element of yin metal relate to Completion. This area is about closure and the end of things. But the end of things brings new beginnings as well. This area would be great to activate if you have trouble completing projects.

Knowledge:

This area is related to knowledge and self-cultivation, represented by the color dark blue, the number eight, square shapes, and the element of yang earth. This area is also about our spiritual inclinations to grow and develop our inner lives. It’s also about your level of skill and knowledge in mundane areas of your life.

Recognition:

This area is related to fame, passion, recognition, reputation and the season and energy of summer. It is symbolized by the color red, the number nine, triangular shapes, and the element of fire. This is also an area for people who want to be seen and recognized. It governs your level of passion and how the world sees you and is a great area to activate if you are starting any new endeavors that require public support.

Path in Life:

This area is related to your career as well as the season and energy of winter. The color black, the number one, wavy shapes, and the element of water symbolize this area. This is the path you walk in life, and how you express your work in the world. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a traditional career, but it pertains to how you move through the course of your life.

Relationships:

This area is related to relationships, partnerships, the mother and marriage, symbolized by the color pink, the number two, square shapes, and the element of yin earth. This area is probably the second most popular because it can activate attracting a primary relationship.


The bagua is one of the most important aspects of feng shui, as it assists in determining what parts of your space relate to each specific type of energy. Without properly defining this, you cannot properly execute feng shui. Look into which bagua area relates to an area that you need to work on, and get started!

by Anjie Cho


If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com