Traditional Chinese Medicine
Feng Shui

Feng shui (pronounced ‘fung shway’) is the ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement of space, which is claimed to achieve harmony with the environment. The goal of feng shui guidelines is to orient dwellings, possessions, land and landscaping, etc., so as to be attuned with the flow of qi. Feng Shui involves the understanding of existing and potential chi (energy) flows while making changes appropriate to each situation and individual needs.

Feng shui is related to the sensible notion that living with rather than against nature benefits both humans and our environment. It is also related to the equally sensible notion that our lives are deeply affected by our physical and emotional environs.

Feng Shui literally translates into "The way of the water and the wind." Wind and water are two containers for qi. Since life exists within either air or water, qi is said to be the life energy that flows within these two environments.

Before the 20th century, very few written, authoritative Chinese texts describing feng shui existed. Knowledge primarily passed down through the oral tradition, but it was also believed to be intuitive and derivable from common sense and our feeling of what is natural. Feng Shui developed thousands of years ago in little villages of the Orient. It was called Folk Feng Shui because each village had their own guidelines on how to use it. Their livelihoods were dependent on it. They studied the formations of the land and ways of the wind & water

Feng shui involves a mix of geographical, religious, philosophical, mathematical, aesthetic, and astrological ideas. For a place to have "good feng shui" is for it to be in harmony with Nature, to have "bad feng shui" is to be incongruous with Nature. People aren't usually described as having good or bad feng shui themselves. It is believed that certain people by force of personality or visual appearance are able to add or subtract from the feng shui of their surroundings.

In the West, feng shui has become an aspect of interior decorating - declaring where bathrooms should go, which way doorways should face, where mirrors should hang, which room needs green plants and which one needs red flowers, which direction the head of the bed should face, etc. They decide these things on the basis of the feel for the flow of chi and a sense of balance.

Feng Shui is all about balance. A balanced state of existence brings the greatest harmony to the mind, the people and their building. Having too much of something creates over stimulation, having too little creates stagnancy, getting the right balance is where it's at.

It is said, “when the winds are mild, the sun is bright, the water is clear, and the trees are lush, Heaven and Earth are in perfect harmony”. By adjusting the elements in your immediate environment, you can create the feeling of being in a beautiful natural setting and transform your home, office, or garden into a personal sanctuary.