How to Feng Shui Your Work-From-Home Space

Guest User October 6, 2021

In feng shui, different parts of your home represent different parts of life. Your home office represents your career, and it can affect how successful you are in your career and how supported you feel.

The number one thing you want to do for your home office is to make sure you have a desk. I know a lot of people aren’t set up to have room for a desk in their work-from-home space, but it’s important to carve out an area as best you can. If you don’t have a stable, steady location where you can do your work, that reflects upon how stable and prosperous your career is, and how you show up in your career. If you can, have a dedicated desk. If this isn’t possible, create a dedicated space. If you have to do your work at your dining room table, for example, make it into a nice workspace while you are working there. When you’re done working at the end of the day, put your work things away and convert it back into a dining room table.

Whether it’s an actual desk or a workspace that you’ve carved out on your coffee table, you want to put yourself in command. That means that you want to be able to see the door to the space while you’re working. If your back is to the door, your stress levels are elevated and you can’t see what’s coming to you. The metaphor in your work life is that you can’t see opportunities or possible conflicts coming your way in your career.

You also want to have a solid, stable desk that is big enough for you to work on. A glass desk is not ideal, because things can fall through, and it’s also fragile. You also want to avoid a desk that is lopsided, unstable, or too small. A tiny desk space represents a tiny space to receive opportunities and support, so you want to have a desk that’s appropriately sized for what you want to achieve. It’s also practical to make sure that your desk can accommodate your needs, to avoid creating unnecessary obstacles for yourself. If you think you may need to buy a new desk, keep in mind that this is the foundation of your career!

In setting up your desk, make sure you also have a supportive chair. In feng shui, we like to suggest that you have enough room behind you. Generally, that means at least three feet, so that you can receive support, and also have perspective and a backup plan. When you’re looking at chairs themselves, a chair with a high back is more supportive.

Lastly, one of my favorite decorative items to suggest for a home office is a desk blotter. They are generally rectangular or square in shape, which represents the earth element. A desk blotter creates some stability, and it’s a great addition to your work-from-home space, whether you have a permanent desk or not. If you’re working at your dining room table or coffee table, it helps to define a space for your work, and you can also roll it up and put it away when you’re not working.

by Anjie Cho

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com

Q&A Sunday: Feng Shui Plants for Attracting a New Job

Guest User September 26, 2021

I would like to get a feng shui plant to help me attract a job. Where can I buy one?

People often think that some plants are feng shui plants and some are not, but in fact, any plant can be a feng shui plant. You don’t even have to buy one. You can get a cutting from a plant, or you could receive a gifted plant from a friend, and it could be a feng shui plant. What makes a plant a feng shui plant is your intention. Are you putting this plant in a particular place for a specific feng shui reason? If so, then the plant can help to shift and provide more growth and healing in that situation. Not every plant in your home needs to have a feng shui purpose.

Similarly, it’s not necessarily the type of plant that is important, but rather where you put the plant. Since you are hoping to attract a job, you might find the fame area of your desk, since your desk represents your job. I would suggest putting a plant there to activate that area and invite recognition in your work. The fame area of your desk is the center back section.

Make sure you get a plant that’s well-groomed and healthy, and place it in this area with intention. The fame area, called Li in Chinese, is connected to the fire element. Because the wood element, represented by plants, feeds fire, a plant can be very supportive here. Your intention for your plant in this area can be to provide more growth and to feed the fire of your visibility so that you can attract a job.

I hope that helps! If you want to learn more about feng shui and plants, be sure to check out Plants & Feng Shui and Bad Feng Shui Plants on the Holistic Spaces Podcast.

by Anjie Cho

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com

Q&A Sunday: The Commanding Position and Living Alone

Anjie Cho May 30, 2021

I am living alone, and my desk is not in a commanding position. Actually, I have a my back facing the door. Nobody will ever come through that door unless I open it. Does it still need a mirror remedy, or is it irrelevant in this particular situation?

Ula, Letchworth Garden City, UK

Hi Ula

Thank you so much for listening to our podcast and for your very thoughtful question. I totally get where you’re coming from. If you live alone, your rational mind knows that you’re the only one that will ever come through that door unless you let them in. However, when we are talking feng shui and the commanding position, it’s not really based on your rational mind, but rather energy. In addition, the commanding position taps into your unconscious mind.

From the physical and scientific perspective, there are areas of the brain that are more primitive than others. These areas are connected with the fight or flight response, or “acute stress response." The feeling of danger and fear is a physiological response that you experience on a subtle level when you cannot see the door or what may be coming towards you. This stress is activated most strongly when the back of your neck is exposed and facing the door, and it applies to any situation with the door behind you, regardless of whether others are around. The increase in this stress level can lead to mood and health issues over time.

Although not everyone is consciously aware of it, it does affect you. I like to compare the effects to a stone with water dripping on it lightly for years; the stress levels begin to wear down at you, and eventually, you will experience symptoms.

Therefore, even if you live alone, and even though you know that no one will ever come through that door unless you open it for them, if you want to improve the feng shui of your desk, yes you still need to be in commanding position. This means ideally you move your desk. If it's impossible to place your desk in command, you can adjust with a mirror so you can see the door. Plus if you are in line with the door, you also need a feng shui crystal, which you can find at the Holistic Spaces store here. This will help disperse the energy coming through your door so that it doesn't all hit you at once, and you can find tips on how to hang a crystal here.

Be sure to also check out our other posts on the commanding position for more information on why this is an important feng shui adjustment. If you are able to relocate your desk to accommodate this position, I would love to hear if you notice any immediate difference in your stress level or if you find yourself more productive at your desk!

by Anjie Cho

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com