What is Feng Shui (pronounced fung-shway) and why should it be in your bedroom? Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art of placement where every corner and space of your home or office, in simplistic terms, has a compass directional pull.

 It is said that placing a painting with mountains in a space that will work better with a water theme could affect some aspect of your life. Or when you let clutter grow, the sight of it will surely upset you to some degree.  Safe to say then that your environment, to some extent, may cause you some stress or bring soothing calm.  Feng Shui is neither magic nor a passing fad, but a respected and often sought out practice.

As we focus on the bedroom, there are several things to remember to improve your sleep quality and ensure that you are not adversely affecting your relationships, health or wealth areas:

Never place a mirror facing your bed. The reflections will double the number of people in your bed which could potentially cause problems. Seeing a reflection of yourself while you sleep is also sort of creepy! To learn more about the reasons behind this, read this article from FengShui Nexus.

Cure: if you cannot remove the mirror, hang a feng shui crystal in the middle of the room ensuring that it is between the mirror and the bed.

Avoid placing your bed facing a door. This position implies that, as you sleep, you could float out the door. The energy, or chi, is always flowing and sometimes, we want it to stay put or deflect it.

Cure: if space is limited, make sure that you have a solid and tall footboard on the frame of your bed, or add a bench or chair at the end of your bed. This prevents the energy to flow out the door.

 Always have support behind your bed. While you sleep, subconsciously you need support while your body and mind go into restorative mode.

Cure: Purchasing a solid headboard, preferably made of wood or upholstered will ensure support.  Metal is not recommended in the bedroom as it implies weakness and leaking of energy, most especially the straight bars that resemble a prison cell. If you own a metal headboard but aren’t ready to give it up, drape a beautiful solid fabric over it to suggest a solid surface.

Avoid plants in the bedroom. Some believe that plants in the bedroom improve air quality as they produce oxygen, and this is true but energetically, plants are living things which imply strong energy, or chi, which could disrupt your sleep.

Cure: Consider removing plants from your bedroom. Do not, however, replace them with silk or plastic ones as they give off a totally different kind of vibe!

Avoid placing your bed where your head is under a window. As in the example of your bed pointing towards a doorway, a window implies the same. The energy, as well as sounds, vibrations, and lights coming from outside the window, whether opened or closed, will disrupt your sleep.

Cure: If space is limited, consider wearing a sleep mask and ear plugs and move your bed a few inches away from the wall to reduce vibrations. Hanging a feng shui crystal from the top of the window frame will not only shine beautiful colors in the day but help with redirecting the energy.

Avoid water scenes or fountains in the bedroom. For the same reason that plants emanate energy, so will a water feature. Moreover, pictures of family members like parents and children, for example, take away from the romantic, restorative oasis you are trying to create.

Cure: Avoid bold violet or blue colors as well as water themes.  Hang art or photos of romantic themes, if that is what you are looking for, or anything that relaxes you.

Always buy a new mattress to ensure that there are no lingering energies from a previous owner.

Cure: If you are getting a hand-me-down, ensure that you follow the steps in the recent blog about cleaning your mattress and invest in a mattress protector.

Beds should always be at a height where energy, or chi, flows freely underneath and around your bed. Using the space under the bed for storage is not considered to be energetically a good idea.

Cure:  If storage space is limited in your bedroom and you need that space, avoid placing anything under the top half of the bed.  If you own a bed with storage space underneath it, you should consider removing the drawers and modifying it to allow free-flowing energy. Visit Brandsource.ca to check out the many styles of bed frames, head and foot boards to improve your sleeping experience.

If you would like to read more about how you can Feng Shui your bedroom, the Feng Shui Nexus site has dedicated a full section to this subject. Simply click on this link Feng Shui Nexus.

Angela, Your Sleep Expert