Create a Mindful Bedroom with Feng Shui
Photo by Devon Janse van Rensburg on Unsplash
Did you know that your bedroom is one of the most important areas in your home from a feng shui perspective? It’s also one of the most neglected areas in a lot of homes! Many people focus on the more public-facing parts of the home like the living room, kitchen, and bathroom, which can often correspond to spending more time on other people. Your bedroom is your private healing space where you go to sleep and recharge every night, so we encourage you to give it the attention it deserves.
What do bedrooms symbolize?
Your bedroom is connected to your relationship with yourself, as well as your romantic partnership. When life gets busy, self-care can get pushed to the bottom of our list of priorities. A neglected bedroom can be an indication of that, and we’ve seen this pattern many times. Someone may really want to focus on healing themselves or starting a new long-term relationship, but they save the bedroom as the last thing to work on. How you treat your bedroom can offer us a lot of insight into your relationship with yourself. Is it a supportive place to go back to at the end of the day, or the place you ignore the most? How might that parallel how you treat yourself?
If you haven’t been putting yourself first, or if you’ve gone through a big life change recently, it’s a great time to spend some time reviewing your bedroom and making sure it’s set up to support you. The bedroom is also a great place to start if you’re feeling overwhelmed or low in energy.
How to use this post
Below we’ve included three questions to explore when it comes to your own bedroom, along with some ways you can start to shift the qi in this part of your home. As you read through our suggestions, please remember you don’t have to do everything. We believe that even one simple shift in perspective can be more impactful than aspiring to apply every piece of feng shui advice you’ve ever heard. Approaching feng shui as a to-do list without really being mindful of what you’re doing can create a lot of unease and misses the point of bringing more intention into your home. Instead, notice what you feel excited or encouraged to look into, and what feels doable. Also, pay attention to anything that brings up resistance or fear — this can be an indication of something that could be really valuable to explore. If you are feeling this way, stay curious and take it one step at a time.
As you explore the following questions, lean into your own wisdom and experience. You may also want to do some journaling or share your thoughts with someone you trust. It can be really powerful to bring your ideas into the earth realm by writing them down or using your voice.
What does your bedroom mean to you?
What words come to mind when you think of your bedroom? If nothing comes to mind, that’s helpful information too. What about your bed? What life events have your mattress and bed frame supported you through? Notice how your bed has been your friend throughout this period of your life.
If your bed reminds you of events that you want to put behind you, you can use a space clearing method to help move past them. One of our favorite methods is to ring a metal bell with a clear sound above your bed. Ring it nine times, letting it fully reverberate each time. Then, set the intention to appreciate your bed and move past the event. If you feel that it’s time to say goodbye and start fresh and you want to buy a new bed, you can also do that. Alternatively, you can simply acknowledge and thank your bed for all of the support it’s given you, without feeling the need to space clear or get a new bed.
What’s around your bed?
When you’re sleeping, you’re in a passive, receptive state, so it’s helpful to think about the things that are closest to you while you’re in bed. What’s stored under your bed or on your nightstand? What artwork can you see from bed? What colors are you surrounded by? What’s the first thing you see when you wake up?
Your bedroom tells a story, and it can sometimes be challenging to step back and be objective in your own space. Try to imagine that you don’t know the person who lives here, look around without judgment, and notice the story that your space is telling. Ideally, you’ll next want to move or let go of items that don’t inspire the kind of energy you want around you when you’re in a healing, restorative state. Restful sleep is very important for our wellbeing, so do what you can to make your bedroom as conducive to rest as possible.
Do you feel secure and supported in your bedroom?
When you’re sleeping or lying in bed, do you feel restful and at ease? Or do you feel a low-level buzz of anxiety? If you don’t feel safe and grounded, notice how the furniture in your bedroom is set up. If there’s a lot of heavy furniture in your bedroom, notice how that feels and whether it limits the way you can move in your bedroom or how you can position your bed.
When it comes to the position of your bed, notice if it’s set up in a supportive way. The most supportive position is to have your headboard against the wall, and your bed placed in such a way that you can look across your room and see the opening to your bedroom. Having a good view of the main entrance to the room provides a subtle sense of security and ease.
You can also bring in more feelings of support with the earth element, one of the five elements we work with in feng shui. Take some time to consider what earth means to you. The earth is our home, and it’s always there to support us. The earth gives us and our homes a place to stand. Investigate your relationship with the earth element. Are you appreciating the earth?
If you want to bring more earth qi into your bedroom, this can be as simple as introducing earthy colors like yellow, terra cotta, or brown, with the intention of feeling more supported and balanced. A square or rectangular rug under your bed can also provide stability. Square and rectangular shapes represent the earth element in feng shui, and having a soft texture on the floor connects you to your feet and allows you to feel more supported and grounded.
If you like this post, you may also enjoy our forthcoming book, Mindful Living! One of our intentions in writing this book is to support more people in finding a path to mindfully living in their homes with ease. A lot of people who are drawn to feng shui already have a deep connection to their home, and we hope our book encourages you to bring even more mindfulness into your space.