Interested in using feng shui for better health and well-being in your home? From aromatherapy decor to furniture placement, use these 11 simple feng shui wellness tips to balance the energy in your home!
Declutter Your Home to Maximize Flow
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Decluttering your home is a good first step in introducing feng shui fundamentals into your interior design. Clutter can worsen your mental health and, according to feng shui, block positive energy from flowing through your home. Conversely, a tidy space is optimal for chi flow and personal wellness. Using hidden storage solutions, like a storage ottoman or decorative totes and baskets, can help keep your space neat yet functional.
Use the Bagua Map to Your Advantage
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Energy mapping is a common feng shui practice that uses the bagua map to maximize the chi in each direction in your home. These energy maps have nine distinct areas—known as guas—that reflect a specific concept. Each gua is also associated with certain features, and using them in the correct areas can promote wellness by creating balance in your home. The main health gua is at the geographic center of your home. There, you should use earth-based decor like clay pottery or crystals. Placing art with grounding imagery in the health gua, such as landscape paintings, can also help promote harmony and wellness!
Create Separate Spaces for Work & Leisure
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Balance is one of the fundamentals of feng shui, and keeping work and leisure areas separate can help bring balance to your life and home. The northern gua is associated with career and life paths, making it a popular feng shui direction for home offices. Meanwhile, health and family-centric eastern gua is a great area for relaxation spaces like living rooms or bedrooms. That said, there are many other areas of the bagua map that are suited for work and leisure—the important thing is that these areas are distinct from one another to allow for healthy boundaries between different areas of your life.
Reposition Your Bed for Better Sleep
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The positions of certain items are some of the most important feng shui rules—where you place your bed is especially important because sleep quality is essential to health. In a feng shui bedroom, your bed should be placed against a wall, away from windows, and never with the end of the mattress facing the doorway. Symmetry is also important, so place your bed in the center of a wall, preferably with the door still in your direct line of sight—an alignment known as the commanding position.
Optimize Your Lighting
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Not only is good lighting one of the best feng shui tips to boost wellness, it’s also one of the simplest. Light is tied to the fire element in feng shui, which is associated with inspiration and enlightenment. Natural light will bring energy to your space and has been shown to boost vitamin D levels and improve sleep. Artificial light can have benefits, too, like incandescent or warm LEDs that give off an orange hue—a color associated with health in feng shui. Adding a dimmer switch to rooms that may benefit from lower light, like a meditation room or bedroom, is also a good idea.
Opt for Natural Materials
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Furniture and decor made of natural materials are some of the best feng shui items for health. The wood element is linked to growth and health, and studies suggest that wood furniture has some physiological benefits, including reduced stress. Additionally, the element of earth is associated with health and stability, and can be incorporated into your interior design through decorative crystals, clay and terracotta planters, and Himalayan salt lamps, which are said to improve respiratory health.
Follow Feng Shui Color Rules
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Color is an important aspect of feng shui design, and studies have shown that certain paint colors can impact wellness. In feng shui, using different colors throughout your home is thought to optimize different areas of your life. An orange or yellow accent wall in the health gua, along with decor in similar shades, will promote positivity. Or use green, a color associated with vitality and growth, throughout the family gua. House plants and nature photography are just a couple of simple decor options for you to bring greens into your space.
Incorporate House Plants in Your Decor
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House plants are the perfect piece of decor for anyone interested in using feng shui for better health. Plants, associated with the wood element, introduce vitality into any space and have been shown to improve mental health, boost productivity, and even increase air quality, among other benefits. Certain houseplants are especially effective when used as part of a feng shui design for wellness. Grow a bamboo plant for luck and personal growth, or keep a snake plant to promote positive energy!
Implement Aromatherapy
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Good feng shui engages all the senses, including smell, so adding aromatherapy accessories around your home can take your design to the next level. Essential oil diffusers, incense burners, and scented candles can all enhance a space, as certain smells are known to have positive emotional effects. Try placing an oil diffuser filled with lavender for relaxation in the bedroom. Or use a wax burner with peppermint for mental clarity in your home office.
Grow an Herb Garden in Your Kitchen
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Bringing natural elements inside is a very common feng shui tip, and herb gardens combine the benefits of keeping live plants indoors with the benefits of aromatherapy. They’re also highly functional, since you can use what you grow in your cooking, decor, or even to make potpourri. Tending to your feng shui kitchen‘s herb garden may even serve as a form of meditation, which can help you find internal balance to match the balance of your physical space.
Select Symbolic Artwork & Decor
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Many feng shui concepts revolve around symbolism and manifestation. Essentially, you should surround yourself with imagery—including abstract imagery—related to the things you want to attract to your life. Hanging a painting featuring water or rounded paint strokes, or engaging multiple senses with items like miniature fountains, could promote flexibility and flow. Displaying a piece with a lot of yellow may help boost happiness. Meanwhile, artwork featuring natural images, like flowers, can introduce vitality into a neutral space.
Hang Wind Chimes for Positivity
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According to feng shui beliefs, hanging wind chimes outside of your home may deter negative energy. Not only can they be soothing, but they’re also thought to attract positivity and prosperity. Bamboo or metal chimes are used frequently in feng shui, but you can choose any chime that you like. Much like sound baths, the music created by wind chimes can have an emotional healing effect.
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