What is Feng Shui and how can it be helpful for the bedroom?

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of object placement that aims to maximise the ‘chi’ or flow of energy around our homes. This is important because stuck energy in our homes can lead us to becoming stuck in our lives.

Clutter especially can lead to low energy states and stagnant moods.

I think the most important thing that we need is to feel good in our surroundings. We need to listen to our body and be aware of environments and how we feel in them. Ideally we will do everything that we can to keep our energy high and feel positive in our living environment.

Sometimes all a room needs is a few quick fixes to completely change the energy and maximise the flow of energy (and ensure that there is no stuck chi!).

Your bedroom space is the most important room in your home – and often where you spend the most time! Considering that we spend roughly 1/3 of our lives asleep! 🙂 It is time that we give our bedroom space some extra love and attention.

The first step in setting your bedroom up for the best Feng Shui and flow of chi really is to do a thorough deep clean.

Here are some ideas, do what feels best to you:

• Declutter everything! Konmari all of the clothes in your closet. Go through every drawer. Only keep things that are useful/beautiful. Reorganise your nightstand, only keep the things that you absolutely need beside your bed.
• Clean your windows
• Thoroughly vacuum your space
• Wash your walls. I must admit that this is something that I don’t do very often either but it can make a dramatic difference and is very quick and easy to do. Simply pop a bit of sugar soap or dishwashing liquid into a bucket of hot soapy water and lightly mop down the walls with a long handled mop.
• Dust in every corner! Wipe down all of your baseboards.
• Thoroughly clean any light fittings.

What is the best layout for your bedroom?

Do: The most important thing to consider when setting your bedroom up for the best flow of energy is to put your bed in the command position (here is a great little video).

With your bed placed in the command position you can always see people entering your bedroom. Another thing that is important to consider is that we don’t want doors either side of the bed either. If you have any opening i.e. to a wardrobe or ensuite that lines up with where your bed is placed do your best to keep the doors shut or just shut the doors at night when you are sleeping.

Ideally the bed will be placed as far away from the door as possible but where if you were sitting in bed you can clearly see people entering into the bedroom.

Don’t: The worst position for your bed is to place the end of the bed hitting the open door. This is actually called the ‘death’ position in Feng Shui so if your bed is positioned in this way you might want to reconsider quickly! (The picture above is a good example).

This is because this is the way that the dead are carried out of a house – feet first. So we never ever want to sleep with our feet facing an open door. If you absolutely can’t change your bed out of this position make sure you keep your bedroom door closed while you are sleeping.

You will also need to be mindful of windows. If you absolutely have to place the bed in front of a window, go for a strong headboard that blocks out some of the energy flow and also make sure you have blinds or curtains on the window that you can securely close at night time.

Another thing to be aware of is if anything sharp is pointing at the bed. After you have made sure that your bed is in the command position lie on it and look around you. If there is anything sharp pointing directly in line with the bed try your best to remedy it.

Sometimes this might be items like a fan overhead or a wooden beam. You don’t want to have anything above you that is symbolically splitting up the bed that you sleep in. An easy way to remedy this is to hang netting above the bed which helps to soften anything on the ceiling which is distracting.

For good Feng Shui the best thing is to not store anything under the bed. But if you absolutely have to make sure everything is neatly organised under there and it is all items that you need and use.

Restful bedroom colours that promote good Feng Shui:

Calming pastel shades are best in the bedroom. Think pale sage, blush, blue.

I am really loving all of the new bedlinen shades available in beachy, muted tones. Go for calming, restful shades in your bedroom nothing too bright that is going to keep you in a high energy state and stop you from being able to wind down and relax.

Be careful about having a lot of pictures of friends/family in your personal space. Move them into more energetic parts of the house. If you are in a relationship it is good Feng Shui to have a few pictures of yourselves in this space.

Where is the best place to put your mirror in a Feng Shui bedroom?

To create the most restful, serene Feng Shui bedroom space in the world you would ideally have no mirrors in your bedroom! (I was a bit shocked when I heard this too!)

We often tend to accumulate excess mirrors that we don’t really end up using.

So really think consciously about the mirrors in your bedroom space and whether they are really necessary. Can they be relocated to other parts of the house? If not, then place them in a way where they are not reflecting the bed at all or simply cover them up while you are asleep.

The reason why you don’t want to have an mirror reflecting your bed is that it can drain energy while you are sleeping. It does this through bouncing the light around causing a reflection of the bed and disrupting the peace and tranquility of the bedroom.

Should you keep plants in your bedroom where you sleep?

It is perfectly fine to share your sleeping space with a plant or two. You might just not want to have it directly beside your bed as plants continue to respire at night in the dark which releases small amounts of carbon dioxide. In Summer it is fantastic to sleep with your window open anyway (if safe!). The benefits of having plants in your bedroom well out number any minor risk.

A number of house plants are simply fantastic at cleaning and purifying air. Try a peace lily or a bamboo palm.

Is it ever alright to have a desk in your bedroom?

It is good Feng Shui to just set your bedroom space up for sleeping and relaxing and keep work out of it! But if you have to share your bedroom with a workspace – as many of us do these days with WFH take on board the below tips.

Make sure you set your desk up so that when you are sitting at it you have full sight of the door to the bedroom. Have a little routine where you energetically clear the space from work and switch focus to relaxation at the end of your work day. A good energy cleaning spray is also a good thing to have on hand after a long work day.

Perhaps tidy and clean your desk at the end of the day and power down devices. You might also like to pop devices in another room while you sleep if you are able to. If not make sure everything is switched off and there are no lights still flashing.

You could also try and create some division with a screen if you have a particularly large space.

The best way to set up your bedroom for love or to bring in more love:

The best way to promote love in your bedroom whether you are in a couple or single is to create symmetry with paired objects. The objects do not have to be exactly the same or match. The most important thing is that there are two of them! i.e. two bedside tables, two bedside lamps, grouping of objects into sets and pairs.

If you are single always allow for extra space in your closet, the odd empty drawer so that there is physical room in your space for a potential new someone to come in 🙂

Also allow for free space on both sides of the bed. Don’t have your bed pushed up against the wall.

If you have art in your bedroom make sure there are no singular people in the images and always have two people.

Healing crystals for the bedroom:

Incorporating crystals into your bedroom space is also good for Feng Shui.

Rose Quartz: A must have crystal for the bedroom is rose quartz (again ideally two of them, positioned in a pairing somewhere). It is the most important crystal for the heart, being the stone of unconditional love and peace.

Amethyst: Amethyst is a great stone to have on your bedside table while you sleep because it helps with your dreams and intuition. It can also be very protective and ward off psychic attacks.

Rainbow Obsidian: Is very heart healing if you have been through a heartbreak. Rainbow obsidian also helps to cut cords to old relationships and absorbs negative energy and stress.

These are just some suggestions and ideas! There are a lot of guidelines in Feng Shui and you might not be able to get your space set up perfectly especially if you have an odd shaped room or a lot of windows in your space. The most important thing is to be aware of how you feel in your space – if you feel good in your bedroom and you are getting a great night’s sleep then it all must be working! ♡

Links:

Feng Shui do’s and don’ts for the bedroom

Feng Shui crystals for your bedroom

‘The Crystal Bible’ book by Judy Hall

Feng Shui cures for your kitchen