Feng Shui and Your Health

As I prepare to move the clinic, I am once again brushing up on my Feng Shui. For those who are not familiar, the words mean ‘wind and water’.  And are pronounced ‘fung shwey’.

As I consider the areas of the new clinic, what they symbolize, and how I wish to make the clinic most healthy for my and my patients in every way, I realized that the area of health is not so often spoken of when I hear people talk about feng shui. In this system, we divide a room, or a whole house, or a whole yard, into 9 squares. The Qi (‘chee’) flows around in the space and must be able to smoothly flow through each area without obstruction. Each of the 9 areas represents a facet of our lives, such as family, community, reputation, career, prosperity, love. The most center one represents health. And since that would be in the center of a room, we are not so often thinking about what we can do there to enhance health. It is easier to think of what to hang on the walls, where furniture should be positioned around the room, and what stuff might be impeding the Qi flow in an area.

So as I consider the center of each room in my home, I mostly notice that there is no problem there. In the bedrooms, the bed usually is there, and beds are made, for the most part, so no obstruction to the energy. Now, if there was a big pile of stuff on the bed, we would want to move it so as to clear the flow of Qi there. In the case of the bathroom, pretty much nothing is there, either obstructing or enabling Qi flow. In the case of the living room, in the center is a rocking chair and a coffee table with some dog toys around. I don’t see much of a problem, except that this chair is kind of sitting there out in the open. Perhaps I need a little table next to it. It seems like a blockage to movement through the room as it is now, and in fact it seems to move around a lot because nobody ever sits there are we are always moving it out of the way. I’ll think about how to approach this situation. Perhaps it needs a little occasional table next to it so as to anchor it in the space more. Or maybe we should just move it to another position where it does not seem to be in the way. Or maybe we can decorate it with something that makes it seem more stable.

So, in the case of my rocker, it is a problem in the ‘health’ area because it represents a hazard, and because it really always is in the way.  The coffee table is fine, for the most part, except when it gets piled with junk. And come to think of it, now that we have a smaller one, it does not get piled with junk as much. That is good feng shui because it looks nice and there is no disorganized stuff there to confuse the Qi flow.

In the case of the kitchen, of course the middle of the room is empty, because I do not have an island. However, as I think of it, there is a tall stool there that is often in the way. Again, we move it around because it seems to always be in the way when I am working. Perhaps we should store that stool and just get it out when needed. Additionally, there are a couple of throw rugs in the center of the kitchen. They are great for picking up all the stuff that falls there, but they have gotten hazardous because their rubber backings have just about gone from so much washing. Again, I need to either get rid of them, or get new ones that are less of a trip hazard. That would be good for the feng shui of the health area in the kitchen. And since the kitchen is an area that really empowers health and abundance in general, these changes seem really important, as well as keeping the kitchen neat, clean, and dishes in the dishwasher.

The last area, and perhaps the worst, is the dining room. Our table, like yours, I bet, ends up being a place to eat, but also a place to do projects, a desk full of little scraps of paper and articles we are reading, a place where stuff sits until we figure out where to put it, and a place that seems to accumulate junk for two weeks until the cleaning folks are coming and I clear it off for them.

This is probably the worst part of the house for the feng shui of ‘health’. We have a constant clutter there, dust, cat hair, stuff not related to eating, and general chaos. That does not promote smooth flow of Qi. The clutter represents health problems in general, and impedes progress on those problems. The dust also represent chronic, low grade health issues that accumulate without our realizing it, and which we can ignore for a long time until they get really noticeable, and then we might still ignore them. Except in our dining room, where the Western sun comes across the table every day and shows all the dust. The materials on the table that are not related to eating represent a diversion from progress in health, a confusion about health, and more obstruction to progress in health.

So, now I have convinced myself that it is essential for my health, and the health of my family, to keep the table free of clutter of every sort, as well as dust and hair, and limit the use of the table to eating, and spending quality time with family and friends. That will really empower health related activities around here.

I don’t have space or time here to explain why Feng Shui works. But suffice it to say that our minds are set up with these correlations built in. The Chinese have just systematized it so we can use it. Or maybe it is just a myth, and we enjoy playing with the ideas. Either way, it is rewarding to investigate and make the small changes through the house that are indicated.

Read any book on Feng Shui. I recommend Feng Shui for Dummies, believe it or not, because it is a really easy to understand presentation of the simplest type of Feng Shui for beginners. It is my go to reference when I need it.

And now, I’ll go and start mapping out the office to see what we need to do to optimize the ‘health’ area, as well as all the other areas in the space. This will be one of the most fun parts of moving.