Feng Shui of the Workspace

In this post I would like to share some of my thoughts on the art of Feng Shui as it is related to work space. Space suited for work.

Feng Shui literally means "clouds and water" and although there may be no clouds and no water in your work space there are elements pertinent to those related to air, water, as well as the earth, metal and wood, which is a classical Chinese perspective related to the 5 elements and the interchange and communication in the Tai Ji: the yin and the yang.


Taking that aside, one needs to feel comfortable and stable, depending on the course of the day as well as the call of the moment. What is the main element of your office, cubicle, or desk? I can hear voices yelling "Computer!" So place your computer in the spot where it creates a round corner, so the energy doesn't cut, but merges and flows. Here we can talk a little bit about energy, the chi as it is understood in the Chinese world view. The term itself came from "vapor" rising from cooked rice, and came to mean among other things: vitality, because the ruling element of vitality, the life force is like vapor that starts rising during the movement and circulating around the body. On a deeper level, and I can safely assume that the professional Feng Shui adepts were and are on the level where the understanding is that this vitality flows not only internally but also externally, and it is THAT, that we are trying to attract when we set the elements of the office space up a certain way. The space becomes the extension of the body, and you treat it just as such. Yes, that cactus in the corner is your body, it is your palm that you stretched out into that corner and made into a cactus.


Well, how about which direction to face? There are the four cardinal points and the 4 corners. Which one to choose depends, in a very strict sense on a level of comfortability. Try an easy exercise. Sit down in your chair with the straight back. Relax and close your eyes. Now slowly turn around the whole 360 degrees and try to feel something. A wisp of air, coldness or heat, emotional arousal or a depressed feeling. Really get in touch with what you are experiencing, and slow down there, keep rotating now stop at the most comfortable spot. What are your feelings? Are you excited, or may be not so much? Are you seeing any particular colors? Are you feeling magnetism, attraction towards that spot or the contrary? Try it several times.


So, after several tries you have located your "cornerstone" spot, now you have to start creating your space, so take a rock from your backyard, or somewhere and just place it in front of you. Look at it - what does the rock tell you? Does the rock want to be there? Wants to be moved? Is it a male or a female rock? Does it need a company? And so on....


This simple but profound beginning enlivens the space which comes alive with energy. Sometimes literally. If you are fully successful in this endeavor, you are definitely on the way to becoming your own master, and Feng Shui, that mysterious Oriental science and art is beginning to work. Of course things get more complicated with larger spaces, and those where there is a need for lots of furniture, but generally that feeling of beeing grounded and stable that is very familiar to chi gong and tai chi practitioners should be there at all times, assisting you on your way to becoming a better, perhaps more effective professional.




Feel the vitality! Enliven your Space!

With love,


Iggy.