How to use feng shui for anxiety
Photo credit: Unsplash from RoonZ nl
Anxiety is a topic that is resonating with many people right now. Especially since the pandemic began, a lot of us have been suffering from heightened feelings of anxiety. We (Laura and Anjie) feel these feelings too, and we wanted to offer some ways to support and soothe anxiety using feng shui principles.
Here are five feng shui tips to try when you’re feeling anxious:
Put yourself in command.
The commanding position is usually applied to three important areas in the home: your bed, your desk, and your stove. If you’re experiencing anxiety, it’s especially important to make sure your bed is in command. This means that when you’re lying or sitting up in bed, you can see the door without being directly in line with it. Usually, the bed will be diagonally across from the door to your room. This allows you to see anyone who may be coming into the space. It’s also best to have a solid wall behind your headboard for support.
When you’re out of command, this can lead to elevated levels of anxiety. This is especially true of your bed position, because we spend about a third of our lives in bed sleeping! When you can’t see the door and aren’t aware of what’s coming towards you, your fight or flight response is activated. Placing the bed in command can help your subconscious mind relax, helping to soothe any anxious feelings.
Add yellow.
You can also work with the earth element to feel more grounded and secure. The earth element is stable and nurturing, and it’s a great element to introduce when you’re experiencing anxiety. Earth also feeds the metal element. This can be helpful because when metal is out of balance, it can make us feel like we need to control everything and seek perfection. By supporting the metal element with earth, you help to bring metal back into balance.
One really simple way to work with the earth element is to bring the color yellow into your home. This could be a bouquet of yellow flowers, a yellow scarf, or something else you’ll see on a regular basis. You may also want to think about when you tend to feel anxious. If those feelings generally come up first thing in the morning, try adding some yellow to your bedside table where it will be the first thing you see each day.
You can also work with a yellow or orange crystal, like citrine, carnelian, or fancy jasper. This could be something you carry with you and keep in your pocket to soothe any anxious feelings when they come up. To learn more about working with the earth element, you can listen to this episode of our podcast.
Work with the center of your home.
Earth is also connected to the mother or maternal archetype. It supports and nurtures us, in the same way a mother figure might. You can activate earth by adjusting the center of your home, called the Tai Qi, which is related to the nurturing earth element as well as your overall health and wellbeing. To adjust this area, you can add something yellow, like a rug or a piece of artwork that includes yellow. Feel free to use your creativity here and choose something that is meaningful to you!
Find the center within yourself.
Another technique that can help you feel more centered is to try this variation of a method we use in BTB feng shui: Simply sit down with your feet on the ground, and take a long inhale. As you inhale, visualize strong, nurturing qi entering your body. Then exhale slowly as you imagine letting go of anything that’s worrying you or causing anxiety. Repeat this process nine times and notice how you feel.
Cultivate patience.
Our last tip is inspired by Verse 15 of the Tao Te Ching, an ancient book that’s one of the foundational texts of Taoism:
“Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?” - Lao Tzu, translated by Stephen Mitchell
This is a wonderful visual, and we encourage you to try the following ritual to show yourself that you do in fact have the patience to let the mud settle. Start by finding a beautiful decanter, bottle, or jar, and some mud or soil from outside. You could use soil from a place that’s meaningful to you — perhaps a place where you’ve always felt safe — or you can simply collect some soil from right outside your home. Offer some fresh water of the highest quality you can find, and add it to the decanter along with your soil. Shake it, imagining that you are shaking into it the anxiety you’re feeling, and then set it down. Notice that as the earth settles, clarity arises. Everything is temporary, and cultivating the patience to wait until the mud settles can help you gain perspective.
We hope these tips support you as you navigate your relationship with anxiety. If you’d like more personalized guidance, we encourage you to reach out to a feng shui consultant!