Your Kitchen and Your Health

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sxc2013may kitchenNo matter which section of the bagua your kitchen is in, it plays a critical role in supporting your mental and physical health. The kitchen is where you make decisions about your diet that have a direct impact on your health. Below are tips for both your home and business to help strengthen vibrant health at home and at work.


What are you keeping in your kitchen? I recommend minimizing gadgets. They are the junk food of kitchen utensils. If you are not using something at least monthly (or consistently when you have company) check to see if you have something else that already serves its purpose. Knife sets are notoriously over-complicated. Keep the 4 or 5 that you actually use, put them in a drawer and then you can eliminate the chunky knife holder taking up an entire square foot of your counter space.

The kitchen at your office can promote creativity and rejuvenation. Resist the temptation to store office supplies in the same cabinet as the coffee filters. You want people to feel like they are actually taking a break. It’s not a break when you move from your active office to another active space with physical reminders of other unfinished business.

Keep counter tops clean and clear. The kitchen is a creative space. When you start with a clean and clear counter, you will be able to support your health much more enjoyably. A messy kitchen counter with no room for food preparation can often lead me straight to a high calorie snack vs. a healthy lunch. Ice cream, cookies or chips seem like great alternatives to spending time cleaning up.

At the office, a clean and clear counter gives people the space to prepare healthier meals for themselves.

Add a symbol of Health. Our subconscious responds to the thoughts and feelings we have about the items in our space. Images can have an especially powerful impact. For example, images of chubby chefs are often incorporated into kitchen decor. If you are trying to lose weight, you might want to have images that remind you of health and not eating or over-indulging.

Businesses can incorporate images or symbols of the health of their business, their clients or their community.

Enjoy looking at your kitchen with an eye to improving your health.

Feng Shui: Step by Step

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After learning the basic concepts of feng shui – yin/yang, the five elements, and the bagua – people are often at a loss for how to start using these concepts. Here is an outline for applying feng shui that I use when I approach a room, a home, or an office. I’ve also given links to some of my other posts or good feng shui books if you want to look at it more.


Step 1: Clear Clutter and Organize
Before you can do anything, sort, clear, organize and clean. This step could take some time and the development of new habits. The room, however, does not need to be perfect before you move to the next step. If you’d like inspiration, read my June 2012 post Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, De-Clutter or Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shuiby Karen Kingston.

Step 2: Position Your Furniture
Make sure you can see the entrance to the room from your couch, your bed, your desk, and your dining table. For more details read my November 2012 post It’s Still About the Location or Interior Design with Feng Shuiby Sarah Rossbach.

Step 3: Balance Yin and Yang
Balance the opposites in your environment. For example, balance straight lines and curves, light and dark, hard and soft.

Step 4: Balance the Five Elements
Balance the colors, shapes and materials in your space. Make sure you have items that represent metal, water, wood, fire and earth.

Step 5: Incorporate the Bagua
Decorate your space with items that symbolize your dreams, goals, and ideals. Use your rooms to create metaphors for what you want to do in every area of your life.

Step 6: Space Clearing
Use your intention combined with beautiful sounds or aromas to clear old or stagnant energy from your space. There are many books on

Step 7: Enjoy Your New Space and the Changes it Brings to Your Life… Then Repeat
As you grow and change your environment needs to change with you. Engaging in feng shui is a lifetime practice.