It can be overwhelming trying to figure out where to start when it comes to cultivating good feng shui in your home. What rooms should you begin with? How do you start fresh or what do you do if a room is already decorated? Crowded, small, and often poorly designed smaller spaces like city apartments can make it hard for residents to feel healthy, happy, and at home in them. Here’s where the ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui promises to help. Feng shui, which isn’t a religion though it’s linked to Taom, translates to “wind and water.” It’s a practice that helps people align their energies with their surroundings. “If you create a balanced representation in your home, it can reflect how you’re reacting to outside experiences. It becomes a metaphor for everything in life,” explains Laura Cerrano, of Feng Shui Manhattan. Sure, it might sound kind of… strange. But there’s some science behind it. Over-crowded living spaces have been shown to have an effect on our health, acting as a stressor. Aeffectsearch shows that spaces and our environments play a huge role in how we feel and perform. This logic is kind of what feng shui is all about. Many feng shui practitioners are adamant that adopting a few simple tips to carve the right environment can improve nearly every aspect of life — whether it’s improving your health, finding love, or making more money. What Is Feng Shui? The philosophy of feng shui is a practice of arranging the pieces in living spaces in order to create balance with the natural world. The goal is to harness energy forces and establish harmony between an individual and their environment. In Asian culture, this philosophy is called the Tao, which translates to mean “the way." Taoism is the way of nature and all the basic principles of feng shui reflect nature. Take a look at the essential principles of feng shui: the commanding position, the bagua, and the five elements. The Commanding Position The commanding position is the spot in a room that is the furthest from the door and not in direct line with it. It puts you diagonal to the door. Ideally, you should have a clear line of sight to the door. The commanding position is where you want to spend most of your time when you are in that room. Feng shui guidelines suggest you determine this dominant position in the room, then place your bed, your desk, or your stove in diagonal alignment, if you can. These three parts of your house are critical since each represents an essential part of your life. The bed stands for you, the desk is an extension of your career, and the stove represents your wealth and nourishment. The Feng Shui Bagua Map A bagua is the feng shui energy map superimposed on the floor plan of your home. The Chinese word "bagua" translates to mean “eight areas.” Each of the eight areas relates to a different life circumstance, such as family, wealth, or career. And, each of these areas has corresponding shapes, colors, seasons, number, and earthly elements. At the center of the bagua—a ninth area—is you, representing your overall health and wellness. There are several feng shui schools of thought. All of them use baguas when analyzing your home; however, some may apply the bagua in different ways. The Western and BTB (Black Sect) schools usually lay the bagua so that the knowledge, career, and helpful people areas align with the front door of the home. The Flying Stars and other classical schools may orient the bagua based on the energy of the year or the compass. The Bagua Areas The easiest way to incorporate the bagua in your life is to identify one to three areas that need the most attention. Do not attempt to work on all areas at once. To strengthen your energy or improve flow in those areas, incorporate Feng Shui suggestions in that particular area. For example, if you want to encourage fertility, you might add a metallic, circular table in the part of your house representing children. The science of feng shui Working to balance these five elements properly in your home can help their corresponding traits to thrive in your life. Chinese feng shui masters also devised a tool called a Bagua map that lays out various life areas, or stations, including health, wealth, marriage, and fame, to name a few. These areas correlate with various parts of a building or living space. You can line up the Bagua map with your floor plan to help determine the optimal placement of colors, artwork, objects, and more. If there’s a certain aspect of your life that feels off, adding different touches or reshuffling your possessions in the corresponding life area might help. The transformation lies within your expectations Don’t turn to feng shui expecting a miracle. “You can’t bring anyone back from the dead,” Cerrano notes. But beyond that, stay open, even if you’re not completely convinced. According to Cerrano, there’s not much feng shui can’t help you with. She even says it’s helped clients conceive children and get rid of cancer! To find a good feng shui consultant in your region, try the International Feng Shui Guild’s consultant directory, but keep in mind that not every qualified expert may be listed there. Try asking consultants whether they focus on residential or office spaces — and don’t forget to ask for references. Read more Astrology