The Chinese term feng shui may have leapt into Western vocabularies in the past few decades but it’s far from being a new-fangled fad.

Edel Cleary, interior designer and feng shui practitioner, explains that feng shui involves creating a balance in the flow of energy through your space so that it supports your sense of well-being rather than becoming a source of stress.

“With balance comes the opportunity for improvement of your health, wealth and relationships,” she says.

Tradition
Cleary, who has been a feng shui practitioner since 1997 and a member of the executive committee of the Feng Shui Society UK, notes that, although this knowledge comes from the Orient, all cultures would have a tradition of studying the environment and positioning themselves within it for positive effect.

Scratch the surface, she says, and similar knowledge has been passed down orally through generations here – even if many of us dismiss emotional and physical responses to our surroundings as superstition. “When I make feng shui suggestions to my clients, they will often say, ‘My grandmother used to say you should always do that – we just never knew why’.”

Yin and yang
Feng shui at its most basic level is a balancing act of ‘yin’ and ‘yang’, continues Cleary. “For example, an environment that is too yin (heavy, dark, blocked, fixed, cluttered) will result in its occupants complaining of fatigue, depression and lack of motivation. An environment which is too yang (light, bright, empty, active, open) offers no respite or relaxation for its occupants and may lead to bad temper and headaches.

“Places that are excessively yin – lifeless – are equally as difficult to thrive in as places that are too yang – busy and noisy.”

While reading a book on the matter is fine to start off with, Cleary says a trained feng shui practitioner will be able to give a detailed overview of the energy of your space and make suggestions on how to make quick and easy changes that will have a real impact on your life.

Improvements
Results include remarkable improvements in the quality of sleep, work, relationships and general level of energy and optimism experienced by people who have had feng shui applied to their living or work space.

She says that being asked if feng shui is all in the mind is like asking do you believe in the weather. “Whether you believe in it or not,” she says, “you are still going to get wet if it’s raining unless you choose to wear the right clothes or carry an umbrella.

“Utilising feng shui in your home is simply recognising the energy and reacting accordingly – like taking your umbrella out when it starts raining or positioning your sun chair in the sunlight rather than the shade.”

The main misunderstanding Cleary finds is an over-simplification of the subject. “It’s not just about hanging a crystal or keeping the toilet seat down, as some articles intimate,” she stresses. “This is like saying that the interior design of your home is all about the colour of your bedroom curtains – that’s a small part of it but definitely not the whole picture.”

Tips
Everything in your environment, from where you position yourself to work, cook and sleep, to the colours and imagery you surround yourself with, affects your energy.

Hallways
Look at the entrance to your home with an objective eye. Ask yourself, if you didn’t know who lived there, what would be your first impression upon entering it. The entrance to your home has a great impact on how you feel about coming home and about facing out into the world. As the mouth of chi or energy into your space, it is vitally important to ensure that it feels open, welcoming and uplifting.

Livingrooms
Sit in each chair in your living room, look around at everything you have in this space and ask yourself whether it lifts your energy or drains you. Surround yourself with things you love and that have positive associations for you. Clear out those things that no longer reflect you and the energy you wish to draw into your life at this time.