Feng Shui and Yoga

Many of us have experienced just how well certain alternative therapies work together. Aromatherapy massages, for instance, are wonderfully popular, and yoga has for a long time gone hand in hand with meditation. Yet have you considered a combination not so common, but which when paired up offers remarkable improvement to your Yoga practice? For Yoga’s natural best friend is Feng Shui.

How so? Well, consider the parallels. Whist Yoga centres the energy in our body; Feng Shui centres the energy in the environment around us, ensuring it’s comfortable and nurturing. Whilst Yoga strengthens our limbs and focuses our minds, feng shui strengthens the positive energy, or Chi, around us, and can be focused on an element that balances the areas of life we are working on. To practice Yoga within a feng shui space is to truly harness the power of the practice by drawing the positive energy of a room into our bodies, and in doing so, into our lives.

So with this in mind, you’ll be excited to find below 3 simple ways to boost the feng shui of your everyday yoga space, and 3 keys to look for in a yoga retreat where the feng shui will support you best in making positive life change.

Feng Shui & your Yoga Space

There are 3 simple ways to boost the feng shui of your everyday yoga space:

  1. Clean & clear

    Less is definitely more - more benefit - that is, to your yoga, the less clutter and unnecessary objects you have in the space. Unused furniture or knick knacks causes chi to stagnate and can hinder improvement in your practice.

  2. Have a helpful Friend

    A living plant, such as a Peace lily, is an excellent absorber of toxins in an environment and also powers up the energy of health in a room with its valuable Wood element.

  3. Minimise the mirrors

    Whilst helpful, professional yoga teachers would agree that it’s not necessary to have full length mirrors on every wall. It’s also a bad idea, according to feng shui. The more mirrors, the faster the energy in the room moves, which makes it harder to focus on and draw maximum benefit from your poses.

Feng Shui & Yoga Retreats

There are 3 keys to look for in a Yoga Retreat where the feng shui is supportive:

  1. Look for the celestial animals.

    A retreat centre is ideally in a tranquil, natural environment where the 4 celestial animals of feng shui can be identified in the surrounding landscape. According to the first feng shui masters, a positive-energy location features a Green Dragon, White Tiger, Red Phoenix and Black Tortoise. It’s easy to identify if you’re selecting a retreat with a good natural feeling by asking these questions before you book: Are there trees, forests or natural parklands around? (this indicates the Green Dragon) Is there a view, or pleasant outlook from the windows? (this indicates the Red Phoenix) Is there a hill, mountain or rock formation nearby? (this is evidence of the Black Tortoise) Note, the 4th animal, the White Tiger, is commonly now represented by man-made structures, like roads, cars or telegraph poles, and will usually be present in a location anyway. Do ask these questions and consider the responses you get! A retreat venue that can say “Yes” to having the celestial animals is a place with much positive energy to offer you.

  2. Look for the balance of Yin & Yang

    Most of us are over-Yanged in our daily life, with the constant barrage of noise, activity and electromagnetic energy, and choose a retreat to experience more Yin (the feminine aspects of quiet and stillness). But a retreat venue of pure Yin energy will make your transition back into daily life more difficult. The solution? Choose a retreat location which has a campfire, or open fireplace. Fire offers the most positive aspects of natural Yang energy, feeding your soul with its warmth, strength and light. Enjoyed on your retreat, it will balance the Yin activities and smooth your transition back into your everyday.

  3. Use your “feng shui eyes”

    When looking for a Yoga retreat, along with comparing price, dates, and location, take a moment to look at the offerings with pure “feng shui eyes”. In the pictures, do the facilitators look balanced and harmonious? As well as the colours and light pictured in the venue, do the materials (like the bedding or chairs) look comfortable? Does there seem to be an abundance of food, smiles, and space? These three items in photographs signify abundance and you’ll be likely to enjoy a retreat well worth your investment of time and energy.

Written by Samantha Honey

Samantha Honey is director of Feng Shui by the Sea. She often attends yoga retreats at The Martinsell Centre, 90 minutes from London. Come experience the tranquility for yourself or bring a retreat to martinsellcentre.com.