Welcome to our Holistic Spaces Q&A Archive:
Enjoy this post originally published April 21, 2019

I was wondering if there were any feng shui recommendations for having a home gym or exercise equipment in my home. Does it matter which way my treadmill faces, or is the most important thing that I use it regularly?

Liz K., Austin, TX

Hi Liz!

There aren’t any specific teachings that I’ve been transmitted about exercise equipment in regards to feng shui. However, there are a few different ways we can look at this.

First, we can look at how it relates to the bagua. If you’re looking at exercise and gym equipment in terms of your overall health, that might relate to the Health area of the bagua map. This doesn’t mean you need to put your gym equipment in the center of the house. I don’t think your whole life should revolve around gym equipment, and generally whatever is in the center of the house represents something that’s affecting everything else.

If you haven’t been exercising and you want to create a new habit of using the treadmill regularly, then it might be beneficial to work with the New Beginnings area of the bagua. You could place your gym equipment in the New Beginnings area of your home, or the New Beginnings area of a particular room.

In terms of which way the treadmill should face, I feel that the commanding position does apply to the treadmill, because if you’re spending half an hour to an hour on this treadmill, it makes sense to be in a position where you’re in command of the room. To be in command, you would be facing the door without standing in line with it. You can still have a TV in front of the treadmill as long as you are able to see the door; that way you can feel safe while you’re exercising.

Finally, another thing you can do is place a vision board, a list of intentions, or an image that represents your intentions in front of your treadmill. I’ve read stories of celebrities or aspiring actors who have placed Oscars or trophies in front of their treadmill to visualize that they’re running towards their goal. Whether it’s an ideal weight, a career success, or some other life goal, there’s something wonderful about making your exercise not only an activity to strengthen your body, but also a metaphor of moving towards a goal you want to achieve in your life.

I hope that this helps, and let us know how it goes!

xo Anjie Cho

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