Please join me for this exciting Feng Shui workshop and learn the essential Feng Shui concepts you need to start changing your life for the better right away.

Teaching the Bagua Energy Map

You’ll leave the class with

• A clear understanding of the Bagua Energy Map and how it applies to your space.
• Tools to give you powerful insights and help you focus on your life’s highest priorities, from improving your health to enriching your relationships.
• A fresh perspective on the power your space has in your life.
• A set of practical techniques you’ll use to become happier and more successful starting now.

Get The Most Out Of The Workshop!

To get the most value from the class, please bring a floorplan of your house or apartment. 

I will be looking at as many individual floorplans as possible during the class to make your Feng Shui learning as clear and useful as possible.

Bring a notebook or journal, too, and be prepared to take lots of notes during this information-packed class!

REGISTER HERE – due to the individual attention given each attendee, attendance is limited.

When: Wednesday May 23, 2012, 7:30-9:00 pm

Where: 280 Madison Ave, Suite 806

Price: $20 in advance, $25 at the door

Questions?  Email me at ann@openspacesfengshui.com

From furniture selection and placement to art and color, from a Feng Shui perspective your bedroom exists to make you feel nourished, supported and revitalized.

Paint your own personal bedroom picture!

You may be surprised to learn that there are no color absolutes in a Feng Shui bedroom.  Instead the colors you use should respond to your current life situation to create the positive impact you’re going for in your bedroom.

Feng Shui Bedroom Colors

Skintones — Colors in the vast range of humanity’s skintones come the closest to being a must in a Feng Shui bedroom.  From the palest pinks to the deepest shades of eggplant, these beautiful rich colors evoke the sensuality that’s desirable in any bedroom.

• The question here is one of degree: if your intentions include attracting a romantic relationship, you’ll use more of these warm, intense colors in your bedroom. Otherwise accent colors and accessories will do.

Greens and Blues — These soothing shades add Feng Shui that cools things down.  Use them if your life feels overheated, to bring a bit of balance back into your life.

• These colors also represent the idea of Family and New Beginnings in your life, so they’re appropriate when you’re trying to start a family or stabilize family relationships.

Yellows — Use sparingly! Bright colors like yellow are perfect for a Feng Shui color accent, but usually won’t be appropriate as the dominant color in your bedroom.  

Neutrals — Taupes, whites and creamy colors create the calm atmosphere you may crave, but be careful that the entire room doesn’t become “a snooze.” Use the other colors in your palette to make sure the room retains a sense of fun and pleasure.

• You may also use rich textures to add sensuality to a neutral-colored bedroom.  Silks, nubbly wools and soft cotton create a pleasurable space that’s also easy on the eyes.

Need help choosing the best Feng Shui colors for your bedroom?  Give me a call at 646-382-3878.

(Palette photo courtesy of petruccidoi, )

From your Mom to your grandma, sister or wife, you may have a more than a few wonderful women to honor this Sunday.

This Mother’s Day look to Mother Earth, the Feng Shui element that nourishes and sustains us all.

Here are just a few ways to incorporate the Earth element into your gift-giving strategy:

• Give a gift in a shade of yellow, the color that represents Earth in Feng Shui. From flowers to a beautiful scarf or blouse, yellow communicates the nourishment you receive from the Moms in your life.
• Find a beautiful item made of Earth: ceramics, clay or earthenware, a beautiful earthy object is a wonderful way to symbolize the way your Mom nourished and grounded you as a child.
•  Square shapes also symbolize Earth.  A square or rectangular tile, beautiful square box, or even a square piece of jewelry all symbolize the stability a good Mom provides, whatever might be going on in your life.

I wish you the very best for a Happy Mother’s Day this year!

(Rose photo courtesy of alegoo.com)

For the best possible chance at a happy love life you’ll want to sleep and nurture your love life in a bed that’s “Goldilocks size:” not too big, not too small, but just right.

Especially when you’re trying to attract a new relationship or bring more romance into your life, consider hitting the re-set button by purchasing a new bed that supports your intentions.

King-sized beds can be too big.

Luxurious as all that space may be, king beds can be roomy enough to accommodate uninvited guests.

• A King-size bed offers so much extra room that it’s inviting to third parties who want to join you in bed.  I’ve seen plenty of cases where the family dog shares the bed every night with “Mom & Dad,” taking the romantic feeling right out of that bed!

A third party doesn’t even need to be present in order to be a problem.  One of my clients felt threatened by her husband’s ex-wife: the vast size of their king-sized bed seemed to attract this invisible third party and things definitely improved when they downsized to a queen bed.

A king-sized bed can interfere with your relationship, allowing you to drift away from your lover.

• King-sized beds divide you from your lover because most King mattresses have twin box springs underneath them that split the bed down the middle, symbolically separating the two people in the bed.

In many cases it’s not just symbolic, either: you can actually feel the separation between those box springs right through the mattress. It’s uncomfortable to sleep on that center line, so two people drift apart during the night, losing their connection.

On the other hand, full or double beds are usually too small for two people.

So if you’re thinking of making some Feng Shui improvements to your bedroom, start by purchasing a queen-sized bed. 

And please let me know if you have any questions about this important topic!

(Photo courtesy of Alice965.com)

The materials your bed is made of make a huge difference in terms of the energy you attract to yourself, whether you’re seeking to attract or stabilize a romantic relationship, or simply get a good night’s sleep.

For good Feng Shui your bed should be made mostly of wood, with either an upholstered or a wooden headboard.

In Feng Shui, Wood is the expansive element of growth, new beginnings and family.

Wood also nourishes the intensity of the Fire element, symbolizing your emotions, your passion, and your heart.

Metal beds, by contrast, set up conflict in your bedroom. Metal symbolizes an incisive, “cutting” energy that’s necessary when logic and order or at stake. But these qualities are diametrically opposed to the soft, intimate energy you want to cultivate in your bedroom!

In addition Metal beds are often designed with bars that can trap people and pets, and may have dangerous sharp projecting angles (“sha” Chi).

Use wood and soft materials for most of the furniture in your Feng Shui bedroom, and feel the energy transform!

A water feature creates great Feng Shui by establishing a sense of reflection, depth and refreshing vitality in your space.

If a fountain, bird bath or small pond are in your future, you’ll want to place it properly and in the most auspicious location to encourage good Feng Shui.

According to the Feng Shui Garden Bagua Map, the best locations for your water feature are the Life Journey, Family/New Beginnings, or Wealth/Prosperity sectors of your garden.

These three areas are nourished by Water in the Five Elements cycle that drives Chi flow in Feng Shui.

The Water element represents your Life Journey and Career, the sector that’s located in the bottom center of your garden, near its entryway.

Likewise it nourishes the Wood element that’s associated with the Wealth sector in the back left corner as well as the adjacent Family and New Beginnings sector.

It’s just as important to make sure that your water feature flows in the most auspicious direction.

Any fountain or stream that you set up for good Feng Shui should flow inwards, towards the center of your garden.  When its flow is directed outwards you will lose out on the benefits of its natural Chi energy.

Good luck with your new fountain!

(Photo courtesy of Red River Interiors)

A missing piece.

It’s often the case, though, that your home is missing one or more Bagua areas.

When your home has an irregular, non-rectangular shape, your body senses that something is missing and tries to create balance in unpredictable and unseen ways. 

Feng Shui adjustments help you compensate for missing areas and create a positive flow of Chi energy in every part of your life.

One of the best ways to make up for a missing area and reinforce your Intention is to apply the Bagua to individual rooms.

• Most rooms have regular shapes that include all nine Bagua areas.  Here you can enhance areas that are missing elsewhere and bring a sense of balance back into your life.
• Using the Bagua to look at individual rooms brings focus to life sectors you’ve identified as particularly important to you right now.
• Placing the Bagua on a room shows you where your “double strengths” are, where a Bagua area of the room exactly overlaps that of your home.

To place the the Bagua on an individual room, align the bottom of the Map with the doorway to the room.  If there’s more than one entry into the room, use the door that gets the most traffic.

Begin simply, by applying the Bagua to key rooms like your living room and bedroom. 

Once you have placed appropriate Feng Shui adjustments, let them take effect.  Step back and let the energy flow in its new pattern for at least a few days before making further adjustments.

If you’re ready to reinforce your intentions with Feng Shui and are wondering where to start, please let me know.

The nine essential Chi adjustments form yet another part of your Feng Shui toolkit. 

Here’s a brief review of the Feng Shui objects you need to know so you can apply the most appropriate “cure” to anchor your intention in every situation.

1. Mirrors – often called the “aspirin of Feng Shui,” mirrors bring light into a space, reflect the beauty around you, and create dimension, especially when a Bagua area is missing from your space.   Here’s more about the proper use of mirrors in Feng Shui.

2. Lights– Lift the Chi of any area with good-quality lighting.  From candles to reading lamps, and from chandeliers to torchieres, lights attract attention and life, creating an attractive place for Chi energy to circulate.

3. Crystals – Crystals contain a power within them that cannot be duplicated with any other object.  Hang a clear faceted crystal in your window to attract the sparkle of the sun and its full color spectrum into your space. 

Crystals from the earth such as quartz or amethyst are an important source of Earth energy that bring a sense of groundedness to your life.

4. Sound Makers – Noise makers such as wind chimes are a classic Feng Shui adjustment that stir up energy in areas that would otherwise feel lifeless.  Hung indoors they lift the Chi of your space, while outdoors they attract Chi to your door.  Here’s more on using wind chimes as a Feng Shui adjustment.

5. Objects with Movement – Sometimes Sound-Makers are unwelcome   If you’d like to generate a sense of movement without sound, colorful flags and “wind-dancers” are excellent Feng Shui substitutes.  Flags can also be placed strategically to complete the shape of your home’s Bagua map if it is missing a sector.  Here’s more on missing Bagua areas.

6. Living Things – There’s a wide range of living things you can bring into your space to activate Chi. From live plants to well-loved pets, living things require your attention, which is a natural source of positive energy. 

If you can’t have living things in your space – lack of light, or perhaps your building doesn’t allow pets – representations of living things will do, such as high-quality artificial plants and pictures of animals.  Be sure to keep these items clean and fresh-looking!

7. Water Features – As one of Feng Shui’s Five Elements, Water is always a welcome way to generate a sense of movement and flow. To keep your life moving in your desired direction, place a water feature near your front door, inside or out. You’ll be sure to attract nourishing Chi by placing your fountain so the water flows towards your home, rather than away from it. 

8. Artwork – Art is one of the most important of Feng Shui’s Chi adjustments because it is so universal, yet so personal.  Look around your home right now to make sure the art you’re living with makes you feel great every time you see it.

It’s always better to have no art at all than art that depresses your spirits. If something is dragging you down, remove it from your sight and see how much better you feel.

9. Solid and Heavy Objects – Heavy things anchor Chi energy.  When you have the sense that your life is directionless, or feel that your intentions need an extra boost, place a weighty object in the Bagua sector you are focusing on.  A heavy plant, a beautiful piece of heavy crystal, even an extra-heavy piece of furniture will do.

With all of these Feng Shui adjustments the most important thing to remember is that your own intentions are paramount.  Place the objects with your intentions firmly in mind to do the best job of anchoring or activating them.

And please let me know if you’d like some help figuring out the adjustments that are exactly right for you and your situation.

(flag art courtesy of flutterflag.net)

The statistics on insomnia in the U.S. have just been updated, and the findings are grim: fully 30% of workers report getting fewer than six hours of sleep per day, where healthy adults need 7-9 hours, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

Lack of sleep affects your ability to be fully creative and productive.  It’s been linked to heart disease and obesity, and is a leading cause of accidents as well: one-fifth of vehicle crashes are linked to driving while drowsy.

I’ve had great success with many clients whose main concern was sleeping through the night. If you are among the folks who would like to get a better night’s sleep, bringing Feng Shui into your bedroom can make all the difference. 

There are so many things you can do to get better rest, from proper use of computers and tablets to making sure you’re not suffering from “cutting Chi.”

For even more on curing your insomnia, take a look at these Seven Steps To A Good Night’s Sleep.

We’re all looking for ways to bring more serenity into our lives. If you have sleep-secrets you’d like to share, please leave them in the comments! 

ps, Just for fun, check out this NSF Bedroom Poll.

(photo courtesy of 5stagesleepshot.com)

Just as clearing clutter is the first step to good Feng Shui in your space, decluttering your diet has the same beneficial effect on your physical health.

photo courtesy of http://johnstonefitness.com

If you’re looking for ways to bring positive and lasting change to your diet, give your body a new sense of Chi energy flow with these clutter-clearing diet suggestions.

• Do your best to avoid eating between meals, where calories can really sneak in.  You can help yourself by avoiding keeping your favorite snack foods around. (In my house that means no peanuts

 

• Give your internal organs a wash by drinking fresh, clear water throughout the day. Water is a natural energizer, so you’ll improve the Chi energy flow in every part of your body by staying hydrated.

 

• And don’t forget, a glass of water before a meal gives you a feeling of fullness with zero calories.  Drink a glass about a half hour before your meals to help yourself eat more slowly and stop eating sooner.

Keep your body’s Chi energy moving
Your body’s internal Chi reacts to your attention and intention. 

Keep your body moving — a walk every day, perhaps? — and your Chi energy will respond with improved health and a feeling of lightness, energy and clarity.

Looking for more?  Try these tips for setting up your kitchen with Feng Shui to help you lose weight.